After a tough sweat session working your abdominals, your stomach might feel tight, sore, and irritated. When you overuse and strain your abdominal muscles they swell and require a few days of rest to properly heal.

In human anatomy, the rectus abdominis muscle, also known as the “abdominals or abs,” is a paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall that makes up the core muscles of your body. There are two parallel muscles, separated by a midline band of connective tissue called the linea alba. It extends from the pubic symphysis, pubic crest and pubic tubercle inferiorly, to the xiphoid process and costal cartilages of ribs V to VII superiorly.

The rectus abdominis muscle is contained in the rectus sheath, which consists of the aponeuroses of the lateral abdominal muscles. Three bands of connective tissue called the tendinous intersections traverse the rectus abdominus, which separates this parallel muscle into eight distinct muscle bellies. In the abdomens of people with low body fat, these bellies can be viewed externally and are commonly referred to as a “four, six, or eight pack,” depending on how many are visible, although six is the most common.

During a strenuous workout, abdominal muscle strains can occur, causing partial or full tears of the small muscle fibers in the abdomen.

Other causes of Abdominal Pain and Inflammation include:

• Activity that the muscle is not ready for
• Excessive exercise
• Improper technique while playing sports
• Lifting heavy objects
• Sharply twisting the body

Rectus Abdominus Muscles and Trigger Points
If your abdominal muscles get too tight or harbor trigger points, it can send pain to your abdomin as well as refer pain to your lower and mid back region. In addition to physical exercise, emotional stress is a common cause of this type of pain.

Whether your sore abs (and possible referred low back soreness) are from a tough workout, overuse injury or trigger points, don’t suffer in pain! Instead, relieve your sore abdominal muscles and treat your trigger points with percussive massage. Massaging sore abdominal muscles with the MyoBuddy PRO® Percussive Massager can help reduce tightness while promoting blood flow, treat trigger points, which in turn helps ease pain and speed recovery.

MyoBuddy Fitness Educator Mary Biancalana, MS. Edu CMTPT, LMT, Certified Personal Trainer demonstrates how to use the MyoBuddy PRO Percussive Massager to treat Abdominal Muscles and potential trigger points (Treating Rectus Abdominus) in the video below: