If you are facing severe muscle pain from drinking alcohol, you should seriously consider it, as it may not be a slight body hangover. The muscle pain that you usually feel after heavy drinking is caused by various factors, including inflammation, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance. Alcohol misuse can easily lead to this confusing side effect.
Let’s understand the possible causes and treatment of muscle pain from drinking.
What Is Muscle Pain From Drinking?
If you feel minor muscle soreness after consuming alcohol heavily once or twice, you can see the improvement within a week after stopping it. However, if you use alcohol and continue to neglect inflammation and other warning signals, you can face severe muscle pain, which is almost irreversible.
At this stage, the only solution left is to stop drinking entirely and wait for the complete recovery. The core of the matter is to stay away from chronic alcohol use so that you will never be facing regular muscle pain.
What Causes Muscle Pain From Drinking And How To Treat It?
Some major factors that result in body aches after drinking are given below.
Electrolyte imbalance
Heavy drinking can make you sick and directly cause the reverse peristalsis. So, this electrolyte imbalance can also result in muscle soreness and cramping. It usually happens when you continue to consume alcohol and also exercise regularly. For example, if you dance at the club and also become habitual of heavy drinking, you will feel a big storm in your muscles, and the severe pain will not seem to go away.
Decrease in muscle recovery process
Alcohol consumption is even worse for athletes and players and for all these people who engage in physical activities. We all know that physical activity requires considerable muscle usage, and the muscles need to be recovered after that. However, if the physically active person also loves alcohol, he will observe much more pain as compared to someone sober.
Joint inflammation
Various scientific evidence supports that muscle inflammation is a common consequence of alcohol consumption as the muscles have a very close relation with joints, and drinking alcohol can cause achy muscles. Sometimes, the impact of inflammation does not remain confined to the joints and muscles, but the whole body faces severe aches and uncomfortable sensations.
Dehydration
Dehydration stands as a prominent culprit behind the unpleasant symptoms of a hangover. When you consume alcohol, it acts as a diuretic, meaning it encourages your body to expel more fluids than usual. Consequently, this fluid loss can lead to dehydration, leaving you feeling parched and with a pounding headache.
But the effects of dehydration extend beyond mere thirst; it can also play a role in the muscle cramps and body aches that often accompany a hangover. When your body lacks the necessary hydration, your muscles may become more prone to cramping and stiffness, contributing to the overall discomfort experienced after a night of drinking.
Toxin release in the body
Another significant aspect contributing to the hangover blues and muscle pain is the release of toxins into your bloodstream. Binge drinking, in particular, has been shown to release these harmful substances, disrupting your immune system’s delicate balance. This disruption can lead to feelings of soreness and malaise after indulging in excessive alcohol consumption, even if it was just for one night. It’s a stark reminder that moderation and responsible drinking are essential to mitigate the aftermath of a night out on the town.
What Is The Science Behind Alcohol Myopathy?
Chronic alcohol usage leads to various deficiencies in the human body. When the body relaxes and measures minerals and vitamins, the muscle faces severe issues as a protein fails to convert into repairing muscles. According to the latest research, the deficiencies that drinking too much alcohol can cause include the lack of iron, zinc, potassium, and vitamins in the human body. Moreover, some research also supports the deficiency of vitamin D as a big complication of alcoholic myopathy.
Alcohol lovers can also face muscle pain and weakness because alcohol can cause oxidative stress. It also tries to break glycogen and lipids in the body to meet energy needs.
As the muscles can become weak considerably, hot muscles also fail to pump blood properly through the body, which can cause further health issues, including irregular heartbeat, retardation of the heart muscle functionality, and stroke.
Treating The Muscle Pain From Drinking
You do not need any medicine or proper physical checkup if you feel considerable relief in your muscle pain after stopping alcohol over-consumption. In most cases, the problem goes away on its own within a few days and weeks. However, if you feel intense pain after a week of stopping alcohol, it is a big sign that you need medical assistance.
Plus, do not forget to stop alcohol entirely during this timeframe. This is because you need to prevent muscle inflammation as much as possible.
Recovering from chronic alcohol abuse
Stopping alcohol entirely is not the ultimate solution if you are facing a chronic alcohol abuse problem. In fact, when you consume too much alcohol, it is not easy for you to stop it immediately. On the other hand, it is also not possible to keep facing muscle pain. So, this is where the importance of detailed treatment comes into the picture.
In this scenario, the patient has to stay away from alcohol by using therapeutic techniques and medicines. Once he learns to stop drinking and overcome the craving, he can stop taking medicines and try healthy ways to make his life better.
Final verdict
Muscle pain from drinking is the condition when alcohol directly interacts with your muscle tissues and causes inflammation, electrolyte imbalance, weakness, muscle fatigue, and dehydration. All these things combine and give rise to severe muscle pain. The best solution to this problem is to consume alcohol moderately and stay away from addiction, as excess of everything is bad. It is also important to seek medical assistance if muscle pain from drinking does not go away on its own.
I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.
