New Delhi, May 18 (IANSlife): With fitness centres closures and little workout activity at home, most Indians are not moving around as much as they should. Prolonged sitting at home, often in uncomfortable positions, can cause muscles to stiffen up.

Here are easy tips to reduce muscle stiffness and any accompanying pain and discomfort.

It is no brainer that flexibility tends to include the range of motion in one's joints. It is the ability to move your joints effectively. Being flexible can help you keep injuries at bay. Stretching on a daily basis can be opted for. Stretching everyday can help you make sure that the muscles present on each side of your joint have an equal pull to allow your joints to move freely without difficulties.

Stretching can strengthen your joints and help you reduce stiffness, says Dr Gautam Zaveri, Spine Surgeon, Zen Multispeciality Hospital, Chembur.

Cardio, strength training exercises, swimming, walking, and yoga can do the trick. In yoga, cat and cow pose, and cobra stretch can be helpful. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be helpful for the fitness enthusiasts out there.

Pilates can help your muscles become flexible. It involves slow and controlled exercises for your whole body. The static holds and dynamic stretching can improve flexibility. Avoid going overboard and stop immediately if you encounter pain.

An appropriate balanced diet can help your muscles. We are what we consume. Including good-quality protein post-exercise, as part of a balanced diet, is a good move. When collagen, which is made from the building blocks of protein, is combined with Vitamin C, it may help to decrease joint pain, supporting tendons and aiding recovery and reducing muscle soreness.

Take a warm bath. While a warm bath or shower may have more of a psychological benefit, it is worth a try. In this summer season, most of us take cold shower baths.

One of the things that you have to overcome in stretching and increasing flexibility is the muscles natural protective response. So if you can relax the muscles via a warm shower or bath, you could potentially get more out of your stretches because you are starting with nice, warm, relaxed muscles.