A Variety Of Muscle Pain

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - When we think of muscular pain we think about an ache or strain from overuse or an acute injury and this is the case for skeletal muscles. These muscles are attached to bones and contract to move your body.

Although we often think of skeletal muscle pain, problems with other kinds of muscle, such as smooth muscle and cardiac muscle, can also cause pain. Smooth muscles are found in the walls of hollow organs in your body, such as your stomach, bladder, and blood vessels, and play a big role in normal organ function.

Pain in smooth muscles can be more nagging or crampy in nature and we have very little control over these muscles.

The other type of muscle is cardiac muscle, which makes up the heart. The heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout your body and injuries to cardiac muscle can be disabling or life threatening.

In many ways the three types of muscle: skeletal, smooth and cardiac are more different than they are similar.

Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor