Causes

The most common causes of muscle pain are tension, stress, overuse and minor injuries. This type of pain is usually localized, affecting just a few muscles or a small part of your body.

Systemic muscle pain — pain throughout your whole body — is more often the result of an infection, an illness or a side effect of a medication.

Common causes of muscle pain include:

• Chronic exertional compartment syndrome
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Claudication
• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Dermatomyositis
• Dystonia
• Fibromyalgia
• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
• Influenza (flu) and other viral illness (influenza-like illness)
• Lupus
• Lyme disease
• Medications, especially the cholesterol medications known as statins
• Muscle cramp
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Polymyositis (inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness)
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Rheumatoid arthritis (inflammatory joint disease)
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Sprains