Muscle pain, also called myalgia, can be localized or widespread through the whole body.

Localized muscle pain is basically when you have pulled or strained one muscle, such as through exercise or overuse. This type of pain is usually related to some activity you recently performed, and can be a symptom of tension, strain, muscle imbalance, or overuse. But many people suffer from more widespread muscle and body pain, which feels like it impacts their whole body.

Joint pain, also called arthalgia, can result from many types of injuries or conditions. Joint pain can be caused by injury affecting any of the ligaments, bursae, or tendons surrounding the joint. Joint pain affects most people at some point in their life, and can range from mild to severe. Joint pain can affect the daily life so completely that the individual requires assistance to perform everyday tasks. Joint pain can last anywhere from a few hours to a lifetime depending on the cause and the treatment. Joint pain can be cause from injury, stress from overuse, disease, degeneration, fractures, tendon or ligament tears, pulls, strains, or sprains, steroid withdrawal, tumors, or cartilage damage.

Muscle Imbalances and Pain
Physical trauma aside, chronic muscle pain and joint pain can be attributed to many things, including pulled muscles, sprains, tears, trigger points, poor posture, sciatica and even herniated discs. When the muscles of your body are not equally toned on left and right sides from front to back, they are said to be imbalanced.