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

Muscle pain that is felt throughout your whole body is most often caused by an infection, such as the flu. Other causes include more-serious conditions, such as some diseases or health conditions that affect the muscles. Muscle pain also may be a side effect of certain medicines.

Common causes of muscle pain include:

1. Chronic exertional compartment syndrome
2. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
3. Claudication
4. Dermatomyositis
5. Dystonia
6. Fibromyalgia
7. Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
8. Influenza (flu) and other viral illness (influenza-like illness)
9. Low levels of certain vitamins, such as vitamin D
10. Lupus
11. Lyme disease
12. Medications, especially the cholesterol medications known as statins
13. Muscle cramp
14. Muscle strains (An injury to a muscle or to tissue that connects muscles to bones, called a tendon.)
15. Myofascial pain syndrome
16. Polymyalgia rheumatica
17. Polymyositis (This condition inflames the body's tissues causing muscle weakness.)
18. Rheumatoid arthritis (a condition that can affect the joints and organs)
19. Sprains (Stretching or tearing of a tissue band called a ligament, which connects two bones together in a joint.)
20. Too much or too little of electrolytes, such as calcium or potassium