A symptom that can make it very hard to get going in the morning are achy muscles, some people may find the aches hang around all day.

The best solution to achy muscles is some light stretching, a few simple stretches first thing in the morning, and as needed during the day might provide some much needed relief. For those with severe fatigue, spreading this over two to three brief sessions will minimise the drain on energy levels, even as little as 2mins of stretching will help.

Seated stretches are a really good idea on a bad day. Using surroundings such as a table top can help achieve a deeper stretch and can also help maintain balance (this is especially important if suffering brain fog, or if having severe fatigue or balance issues).

Some other simple strategies to relieve aching muscles:

• A warm bath with Epsom salt or sea salt (some people with chronic pain may find heat aggravates their pain rather than relieving it, a cool bath will be beneficial if this is the case)
• Drink plenty of water; dehydration will aggravate aches further
• Massage aching body parts with a mixture of massage oil and preferred essential oils
• Consume adequate amounts of nutrients, especially magnesium (magnesium supplements may be beneficial if not consuming enough in your diet).

If your aches are of short duration (a few days or a week on occasion) resting is a good idea. Aches are a sign that your body needs to rest; so put your feet up and do as little as possible when the body aches are bad. Remember to get up regularly and have a stretch between periods of rest, extended periods of inactivity will make the aches worse; so while rest is needed be sure to keep the body warm with regular stretching sessions.

If your aches are chronic, rest may not be a good solution and is likely not practical. Long term inactivity will lead to de-conditioning of the muscles, and therefore exacerbate symptoms. Where possible try to do activities seated to minimise energy use and to allow muscles periods of rest in the day, setting up a chair in places like the bathroom and kitchen is a good way to provide short periods of rest (e.g. sit while preparing dinner). If you do not suffer post-exertional malaise (fatigue after exercise) a short walk may improve the aches, swimming is also very beneficial (people with arthritic aches may find this the best exercise to do).