Muscle Imbalance = Sore Muscles = Pain

Jan 25, 2025
2 min read

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Experiencing muscle pain. — Pain caused by muscle imbalances.

Muscle Imbalance Equals Pain

Did you know that debilitating muscle pain can come from simple daily repetitive movements and doesn’t just come from an accident or injury? Many of us do the same movements day in and day out. This creates tight muscles in some areas and weak muscles in others. When muscles get out of balance, you might experience soreness or possibly acute pain that puts you out of commission. The imbalanced muscles can be located on opposite sides of a joint or bone, or even across your body.

The consequences of muscle imbalances in athletes is easy to understand. People who play sports with overhead movements, like tennis or basketball, often get shoulder, lower back, elbow and wrist injuries. Professional soccer players with strength imbalances were four to five times more likely to suffer a hamstring injury as compared to those with no muscle imbalance.

For most people though, muscular imbalances are caused by sitting in a chair for hours on end. When experts studied office workers, they found muscle imbalance tied to neck pain in as many as 70 percent of subjects (see “Your 42 pound head”). Sitting also creates tight hip flexors paired with weak abdominals and gluteals, and leads to low back pain.

While muscle imbalance does not always cause pain in the short term, experts say a focus on strengthening all the major muscle groups in your body over time helps prevent pain and injury by improving your body mechanics. Rather than lifting weights to target a specific muscle, exercises like squats will work all muscles in that body area… all while doing a movement we do daily. Another thing to be aware of is that muscles need to be equally strong and flexible, so stretching is an important factor in making muscles balanced.

People who develop muscular imbalances from habitually sitting at a desk should also strengthen the upper back, which becomes weak when hunched over. Exercising to overcome this imbalance also requires a different approach to exercise. Postural muscles are not strengthened by a typical repetition of moving or lifting. Postural strength requires the stamina to maintain a position and be able to move from that point. Posture is not being rigid.

Ultimately, whether you are a weight lifter, an endurance athlete or a desk jockey, you should vary your movement patterns. Long-distance cyclists could try swimming or hiking and office workers should take breaks during the day to change positions and move around.

Not sure what steps to take? Set up an appointment with Dr Doug to have him assess your painful condition and come up with a plan to help you find your balance!