Question
I have recently been waking up in the middle of the night with pain in my arms near my byceps, in my inner thighs, and my back, to the point I almost cant move.It takes about an hour for me to strech the pain away enough for me to be able to get ready for work.I take Glucosamine, and melatonin. I'm 38 and have been a construction worker for almost 20 years.This is affecting my job greately.Anykind of answers would be appreciated.Thank you/ Kathy, in Rchmond,V

Answer
Hi, Kathy,

You're describing muscular contractions and muscle fatigue (soreness).  Neither glucosamine nor melatonin help with that kind of problem.  It's conditioned muscular tension.

The best way I know of to deal with that kind of problem is a program of brain-muscle training to recover your ability to relax.  You can't stretch your way out of that kind of problem.

You may read my article on stretching and muscular tension at somatics.com/page4b.htm to understand why and what you can do.

There are professionals who help with that kind of problem and self-help programs.  See somatics.com/page7.htm for self-help and see the blue bar at the top of that page for practitioners.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold