A feeling of dull, recurring pain all over the body that may or may not be accompanied by weakness is known as body ache. Generally, a person cannot recognize the pain’s exact location or origin. Instead, it is characterized by dull, aching pain or a feeling of soreness all over the body.
Overall, discomfort or body pain is increasingly common among individuals of all ages. Body aches may vary in frequency and intensity of pain depending on the root cause. This may also differ from person to person.
Our body is a multifunctional machine that works continuously. Pain is a natural way for our body to indicate that something somewhere is not right and needs attention.
What is more critical is that one should identify the factors causing discomfort or pain and adopt preventive measures to reduce and eliminate the pain.
There can be many factors causing generalized body aches. Lifestyle factors are the primary root cause of any discomfort or body pain. These factors may include:
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Nutritional deficiencies: An unhealthy diet may increase an individual’s risk of developing nutritional deficiencies. Lack of essential nutrients like Vitamin B complex, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium can cause our body to feel tired, weak, and achy.
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Lack of sleep: Insufficient sleep is the most critical factor causing body aches. We require a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of undisturbed sleep. This is when our body recovers, regenerates its energy, and refreshes itself. A lack of sleep can hamper the overall health of our body.
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Stress: Stress is dangerous for our overall well-being. A constant stressful lifestyle exposes our body to fatigue and increases wear and tear. A person who is often stressed has a shorter life span than a less stressed person. Stress weakens a person and increases the risk of infections due to a reduced immune response. All this may cause an individual to have body aches. Stress is also associated with causing muscular pain, headaches, stiffness, and shoulder pains.
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Dehydration: The human body is made up of about 70% water. Our body requires plenty of water to function normally. When we don’t drink sufficient water or lose more water than we consume, our body gets depleted of its water stock. This may trigger generalized body pain.
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Heavy exercise: Too much of anything is bad. An intense full-body workout session may cause tension in certain muscles, causing tiredness. Sore muscles may cause a dull pain and collectively may lead to body aches.
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Medications: Certain medications such as statins (lipid-lowering medicine) or a few blood-pressure relieving medications are known to cause body aches.
Apart from lifestyle factors, certain health conditions, such as viral fevers, anemia, fibromyalgia, and lupus, can also cause body aches and require immediate medical intervention.
It is essential to identify and not ignore any body ache or dullness as it may indicate something big. If you experience body aches occasionally, you can associate it with lifestyle factors or a recent infection. Dietary and lifestyle modifications can manage such body aches. However, in case of any chronic body ache accompanied by other symptoms one must consult a doctor at the earliest.
