How To Get Rid Of Back Spasms
A back spasm is a common muscle problem that one can experience when waking up and getting out of bed, lifting something heavy, or after a sudden or jerky movement. These types of spasms usually strike without warning.
The spasm occurs due to an abnormal contraction of the muscle that takes hold and does not relax. Factors that can contribute to such spasms include obesity, poor posture, structural imbalance in the body, dehydration, electrolyte loss and poor sleeping positions.
Occasionally, back spasms can be a sign of a spinal injury or other illness that require medical attention.
When it comes to common back spasms, treatment should start as soon as possible or the pain can become unbearable and severely affect your daily activities. In fact, muscle spasms are one of the most common causes of back pain.
Spasms in the back can be easily treated with home remedies and other popular techniques.
Note: If the pain is consistent and gets more severe with movement, consult your doctor immediately.
Here are the top 10 ways to get rid of back spasms.
Contents
The Quickest Way To Relieve Your Muscle Cramp Naturally
Through my research and personal experience, heres the quickest natural way to stop your back muscle strain:
Magnesium oil/Epsom Salt hot bath.
Ill bet you want to know: why Magnesium oil?
Because when your back muscles go into spasm, the fastest way to relieve the pain is to simply relax them.
And Magensium, through my research, is the best natural muscle relaxant on the planet.
Magnesium oil is the best way to absorb Magnesium quickly, and definitely much faster than ingesting it.
It is absorbed through your skin fast and pulls excess fluids out of your tissues while reducing inflammation and relaxing your muscles.
All you have to do is rub some Mag. oil on your painful area and wait that aaaah moment.
If you want to supercharge this muscle spasm home treatment, hop into an Epsom salt bath at home.
The powerful combination of heat and the Magnesium in the Epsom salt can stop your back spasm in just a few minutes.
Next Step A Short Rest
Various studies have found that too much bed rest will worsen your condition.
When you rest, do not attempt to use the injured muscle in any way.
When Should I Go To The Emergency Department
Back spasms are sometimes a symptom of a serious condition. See your healthcare provider right away if you also experience:
- Loss of bladder or bowel control.
- Muscle weakness in arms or legs.
- Odd sensations or numbness or weakness on one side of your body.
- Loss of balance and coordination.
- Loss of a sense of feeling in a limb/limbs.
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Back Spasms: Symptoms Treatment And More
Do you feel a sudden tightness in your back or pain in your back muscles in the morning?
Did you overexert yourself at the gym, or could it just be the way you slept?
Sleeping in an awkward way, training too hard at the gym, bending, lifting, or standing can sometimes cause a back spasm.
Back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the United States it can occur from both extreme exertion and doing innocuous tasks, and the worst part is your likelihood of experiencing it increases with age.
Almost 65 million Americans have recently experienced back pain, hitting the country with $12 billion a year in health care costs.
Sometimes it may resolve on its own, as long as you take it easy in the meantime, and sometimes, you may need to see a doctor for proper treatment.
How Inverted Decompression Can Help Back Pain From Muscle Spasms
Inverted Decompression is a natural form of traction that utilizes your body weight in combination with gravity to elongate the spine and reduce pressure in the discs. Using an Inversion Table from Teeter, youll be able to take advantage of the same gravitational force that compresses your spine every day while upright and convert that energy into relieving pressure. Medical studies show this type of therapy seems to separate the vertebrae, remove pressure or contact forces from injured tissue, increase peripheral circulation by a massage effect, and reduce muscle spasm.5
Inversion therapy allows you to easily and actively stretch deep, hard-to-reach muscles that support your spine, a stretch that is beneficial in reducing extrinsic muscle guarding and spasms according to the Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy.2 One study concluded that the explanation for the positive effects achieved by inversion therapy is due to the stretching of the muscles and ligaments.3 This is especially true for muscle spasms in the lower region of the back, an area that is hard to stretch and endures much compression from normal daily activities each day.
How a Teeter Works to Relieve Back Pain
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Lower Back Stretches And Exercises For Muscle Soreness And Lower Back Spasms
Low back pain can make even small daily activities like getting dressed, bathing or going to the bathroom feel like they are impossible to do. Prompt and thorough treatment of even small back with back exercises pain can prevent the underlying problem from worsening. Doctors, therapists and sport rehab specialists will always put a lot of emphasis on the need to exercise tight and sore lower back muscles. But often not enough emphasis is placed on preparation the need to first get the muscles and other soft tissues ready to do back stretches for lower back problems. Taking enough time to properly warm up and stretch the back muscles can make the difference between lower back exercises helping or making the problem worse.
Knowing and using a few simple but extremely effective low back stretches can do wonders for muscle stiffness and pain and prepare you for a helpful series of low back exercise. If you have a history of a touchy low back that flares up easily, committing to a back stretching routine can mean the difference between having low back pain or not.
The following series of warm-ups and stretches are for sore and tight back muscles only, not for tears or back problems that have not been diagnosed. A serious back problem can be easily aggravated by making excessive demands on abnormal tissue. Always check with your doctor or chiropractor if you are not sure about a current back problem before doing these back stretches.
Back Muscle Spasms May Be A Symptom Of Other Spinal Problems
If your back muscles hurt, this may be a symptom of other problems with the spine such as facet joint arthropathy, degenerative disc disease, a herniated disc or a pinched nerve. Such problems can inflame surrounding tissues and cause back muscles to spasm protectively.
While general treatment practices like resting the back, wearing a back support brace or applying ice and/or heat to the aching area of the back can ease discomfort, you will need to treat the underlying problem to get lasting relief.
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How Do You Prevent Your Next Lumbar Muscle Spasm
First, you have to listen to what your body is trying to tell you.
The muscle spasm in your back tells you that something is wrong. The pain should not be ignored and never attempt to push through the pain, it will only cause more damage.
If you are very physically active, or alternatively not active enough, daily lower back stretches are critical to preventing the next muscle cramp.
This video demonstrates the best stretch for lower back pain:
While stretching is important, its not enough.
If you are serious about ending the pain in the lower back, these are the best natural treatments:
What Signs Should I Look For That Can Indicate A Back Spasm
If youve ever felt that your muscles in your lower back are tight or contracting, had a dull ache in your back when you moved, or a sharp pain in a specific area of your back, you likely experienced a muscle spasm. Lower back spasms can range from being mildly bothersome to intensely painful.
While some people feel a muscle spasm in a concentrated area of their backs, others find that their discomfort radiates to other nearby areas, including their hips or legs.
Specific symptoms signaling you could be having a back spasm include:
- Tension and tightness in your lower back
- Intermittent cramping in your lower back
- Intense pain in the lower back that comes on suddenly
- Lower back muscle weakness
- Difficulty moving after picking up an object or bending over
- Tightness in the back after standing, sitting, or driving for extended periods.
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You May Need To See Your Doctor For These Potential Underlying Illnesses
Dont just treat a back spasm as temporary discomfort. It may not merely be muscular in nature as they are often a big warning sign.
There may be something more serious that you are not aware of. This may be what your body could be reacting to.
In cases where treatment does not help, it is possible that you may have a disc issue such and a bulge or herniated disc. It is important to know when you should see a doctor to diagnose any serious injury that may be an underlying cause.
- Herniated Disc
What Do I Do If I Experience A Muscle Spasm
If your back is still painful after 1-2 weeks or if you are having recurring episodes of back muscle spasms, please schedule an appointment for a physical therapy evaluation. The Physical Therapy Team at Pro Physio can help you find relief from your back spasms. In our office we will provide a comprehensive examination to develop a plan of care personalized for you. Your treatment may include some or all of the following.
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What To Do With Lower Back Pain
Somewhere between total bed rest and exercising through lower back pain is a middle ground, or a sweet spot like the one Goldilocks aimed to find. If there are red flags of pain, curtail what you are doing. Your goal should be to work around the pain, not through it. Find other ways to stay active that dont make the pain worse or might cause further injury.
Bad Posture Can Cause Sore Back Muscles And Neck Pain
Bad posture in its many forms may be to blame for your back or neck muscle pain.
An overly rounded upper or lower back can stress the tissues of the spine and over time this can even lead to anatomical problems. Hunching over your phone or slouching at your desk can cause your muscles lose strength and flexibility that are needed to hold the spine in a neutral position.
Correcting any imbalances, strengthening your core and working on the loosening up your hip flexor muscles are key to fixing bad posture. A posture brace that helps hold your shoulders back can help train your body not to slouch. And you can check out this blog post for some quick fixes and tips for better posture.
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Avoid Rushing Into The 2 Most Common Mistakes For Treatment
MISTAKE #1. Do not to rush into basic strengthening exercises such as sit-ups, crunches or lower back extensions. This may help for some, but in most cases, these areas are already tight, short and strong. Tightness and overly strong muscle conditioning is usually the case with the lower back and hamstrings.
MISTAKE #2. Simply resting and returning to your daily whatever. Werent you doing this JUST BEFORE it happened? No, my friend. There needs to be a plan and you are here for actual solutions right?
Observe the degree of your pelvic tilt. The three common positions are neutral, anterior and posterior. An excessive angle can trigger another spasm.
Exercises such as sit-ups and crunches can help but should not be done first as they are considered as isolation type exercises. They do not condition the core muscle groups to protect you. If you are in need of some specific exercises, begin with these 10 exercises.
Lying On Your Side While Crossing Your Arms As You Hunch Forward Can Help
Gradually increase the extension slight fractions of an inch and hold.
Extending take several minutes to accomplish. If possible, have someone assist you in with the extension. Maintain very slow, controlled inward and outward breaths to become calm and to relax, even though you are uncomfortable.
Note: You are only trying to lengthen the muscle. Dont overstretch.
Only allow very slight increments. By increasing the length of the muscle, you will relieve that muscle. Youll also reduce the injury to the area that the muscle is trying to protect.
Alternate periods of stretching with resting pauses. Dont allow the muscle to contract during your rest phase as it may start again.
Reducing the intensity of the contraction can take anywhere from several minutes to hours if necessary. The degree of injury is a major factor. Each time that you attempt to relax and lengthen the muscle, it will try to respond by tightening up. Holding your position will help you avoid this.
If you have taken a very long time to use this tip for your pain, then please consider medical help initially. My site is loaded with lots of help for you also but you should also get your doctors support.
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How Are Back Spasms Treated
Healthcare providers used to prescribe bed rest for those who deal with back spasms. Such inactivity is no longer recommended. Instead, follow your provider’s instructions about the following:
- Ice/heat: Apply ice or heat to the location of your back spasms. Wrap the ice pack or heating pad in a towel or pillowcase and apply it to your skin for 20 to 30 minutes. Then reapply after 20 to 30 minutes.
- Over-the-counter pain medications: Over-the-counter pain medications, including acetaminophen , naproxen or ibuprofen .
- Muscle relaxants: Your provider may recommend taking a muscle relaxant like cyclobenzaprine, metaxalone or methocarbamol. If you do take them, take them at night and only for 72 hours or less.
- Physical therapy: Your healthcare provider might prescribe physical therapy, where you can learn relaxation techniques and stretches for your back muscles.
What Questions Should I Ask My Healthcare Provider About Back Spasms
- Whats the best treatment for me?
- Do my back spasms mean that I have a serious disorder?
- Should I see a therapist for help with my stress?
- Should I try a muscle relaxant?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Remember that its important to stay active even when youre in pain ! Get up and stretch every 30 minutes and exercise three times a week. To help with your pain, take over-the-counter medications and muscle relaxants and get a massage. Always discuss your symptoms with your healthcare provider so that you can get the best care.
Keep in mind that back spasms are sometimes a symptom of a serious disorder. Notice other symptoms you might have alongside them and go to the emergency department if you have tingling/numbness on one side, weakness or if you lose your ability to control your bowel or bladder. If youre debating whether or not to go to the emergency department, its better to go and be told youre not in serious condition than to stay home.
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What Is A Back Spasm
A back spasm is an involuntary contraction of the back muscles. Moving in a certain way may trigger a back spasm. More often than not, spasms happen because of muscle weakness, overuse, or injury.
Chronic back spasms may be the result of an underlying condition. If muscle spasms are particularly severe, they may stem from nerve irritation or damage.
What To Do For A Back Spasm
The best first treatment is moist heat. Moist heat relaxes a cramped muscle and increases blood supply to the muscle. You should apply heat for about 20 minutes. A warm, moist towel works well, or a hot shower. Rest your back until the spasm goes away and then try some gentle stretching. Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever right away may mask your pain and cause you to start using your back muscles too soon, advises King.
You may have heard that putting an ice on your back can help but Dr. King advises against this home treatment. Ice can make a sore muscle stiff and slow down blood supply which is important for healing, says King.
Although you should rest your back during a back spasm, prolonged rest is not recommended. You dont want to push through the pain, but once the spasm is gone, you can try sitting up and then standing. Gently turn and bend your back from side to side. If you dont have pain, try taking a walk. Then, gradually return to normal activity, says King.
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