When you rub a sore muscle, you are trying to exploit the mechanism described in the Gate Control theory of pain.
There are 4 most important theories of pain. They are:
The gate control theory of pain is a mechanism in which the pain signals are transmitted to the brain passing through the spinal cord. Here the spinal cord can let pass the signals or restrict the pain signals to go through. As the very name suggests, the spinal cord acts as a 'gate' to control the pain.
When you rub a sore muscle, the pain is relieved for a bit. This is because the gate mechanism is got activated. That is the spinal cord will close the gate to brain so that the pain stimuli will not be passed to the brain. So the person will feel less pain.
Learn more about gate theory of pain at https://brainly.com/question/1164976
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