Rehydrate And Rebuild Your Nutrient Stores
Make sure that you are drinking enough fluids as dehydration and loss of electrolytes affect the length and success of your recovery. Low blood calcium, magnesium and potassium levels can affect some people who suffer from spasms.
These levels will fall drastically during intense exercise and can contribute to the problem of muscle contractions. If you allow these conditions to become chronic, you end up with muscle imbalances which will put your back at risk again.
A very good friend of mine told me about her chronic nightmares of spasms and pain. She tried everything only to finally resolve them by increasing her calcium, magnesium and potassium levels adequately with a supplement. It didnt take long for her to feel a lot better. She said it was like night and day. Its definitely worth a try if you havent considered it yet?
What Is A Low Back Spasm
Back spasms are very common, and they are completely debilitating when they occur. Often, they come unannounced with no explanation and it can take days or sometimes even weeks for the spasm to release off. Why is that? Well, there are a number of reasons why that occurs.
Often there may be some history, if youve had a trauma or had some kind of back injury even if its just something simple like a pulled muscle, then your brain is constantly monitoring that area and looking out to protect you from further reoccurrence.
Applying Cold Packs And Heat To Your Back
Regular hot or cold therapy can loosen the tightness around your back muscles and relieve spasms. Both therapies help to relax your muscles and ease the side effects of muscle spasms.
Hot Therapy for Muscle Spasms
Apply a heating pad to the area around the spasms for 15 to 20 minutes. After this, massage the area with a cold compress to calm any inflammation caused by the heating pad.
If youd rather do without the pad, try having a warm bath, hot tub or spa session, or a hot shower.
Cold Therapy for Muscle Spasms
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Antispasmodics: Centrally Acting Skeletal Muscle Relaxants
Centrally acting SMRs are used in addition to rest and physical therapy to help relieve muscle spasms. Theyre thought to work by causing a sedative effect or by preventing your nerves from sending pain signals to your brain.
You should only use these muscle relaxants for up to 2 or 3 weeks. The safety of longer-term use is not yet known.
While antispasmodics can be used to treat muscle spasms, they have not been shown to work better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen. In addition, they have more side effects than NSAIDs or acetaminophen.
The more common side effects of centrally acting SMRs include:
- drowsiness
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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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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.
What Causes A Low Back Spasm
In our muscles and ligaments, we have stretch receptors and what they do is they send information constantly to the brain in terms of where the muscle is, what kind of tension or load its under and what position its in.
These little receptors are called Golgi Tendon Organs and they fire and send information to a particular part of the brain called the cerebellum, which is right at the back. When they are over stimulated often the brain responds with a protective guarding event. So, if it feels that the area is going to become injured or strained it will lock that area with a preventative spasm to stop you from doing more damage.
Now that locking mechanism is extremely painful and its painful because its there to stop you from doing harm to yourself. Often peoples backs go into spasm first thing in the morning because the relationship between the muscle and the brain in some respects becomes disconnected whilst were sleeping.
We leap out of bed in the morning, throw back the duvet and all of a sudden theres a rush of stimulation from the Golgi tendon organs to the brain, the brain becomes overwhelmed and then preventively it locks everything up and throws the back into a protective spasm because its concerned that youre going to do something that you shouldnt.
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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
Potential Side Effects Of Muscle Relaxants
Prescription muscle relaxants like carisoprodol and cyclobenzaprine are known for causing side effects like fatigue, nausea, and drowsiness. Additionally, some classes of muscle relaxants have a high potential for abuse. Muscle relaxants are not a long-term solution for back spasms and are typically only prescribed for a few weeks at a time.
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A Back Spasm Is A Muscle Cramp In Your Back It Could Be Just A Strained Back Muscle Or It Could Be Part Of A More Serious Back Problem Find Out What To Do And When To Call The Doctor
You’ll know when back spasms hit you the pain can be sudden and even intense.
Almost everyone gets back pain at some point. People may say they have a backache or back spasm, or that they threw their back out. These are all descriptions of acute low back pain, back pain that starts suddenly. A muscle spasm is another word for a muscle cramp. It happens when a muscle contracts and cant relax.
Muscle spasms are common in the back, says Dr. Dominic King, an orthopedic physician at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Center. When you get a muscle spasm in your leg, you call it a charley horse. It may be caused by muscle fatigue or dehydration. Muscle spasms in your back can have more causes. Your back muscles are big muscles that keep you up all day, so they can get stressed and fatigued, but they can also be affected by changes in your spine, explains Dr. King.
Back Exercise Starter Moves
Daily stretching and strengthening exercises can help to prevent flare-ups of back pain related to muscle strains and sprains. Perform these three exercises daily after a back pain flare-up subsides and your doctor says it’s safe. Take it slow, and stop if it hurts.
Starting with the knees bent, pull one knee to your chest and hold the stretched position for 5 to 10 seconds. Alternate sides repeat 5 to 10 times each.
Starting with the knees bent, pull both knees to your chest and hold the stretched position for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
Starting with the knees bent, flatten your lower back to the bed or floor. Hold the back flat for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
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Addressing The Source Of The Spasm
Apply Over The Counter Topical Creams
For quick relief, carry an over-the-counter topical cream designed to combat muscle pain. These creams often contain counterirritants, salicylates, or lidocaine.
Commonly used counterirritants in topical creams are menthol, eucalyptus, and wintergreen. Salicylates are aspirin-like compounds, and lidocaine is a topical anesthetic.
Apply the cream in thin layers no more than three or four times per day. The active ingredients in the topical creams can penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream, causing side effects.
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Chiropractic Care & Acupuncture
Chiropractic care is another popular natural treatment for back pain due to sudden muscle spasms.
In a chiropractic care center, chiropractors use techniques like palpation, pressure, massage, manual manipulation of the spine, exercise programs and lifestyle counseling. Together, these techniques help reduce pain, swelling and inflammation.
Consult a doctor of chiropractic medicine for proper treatment, depending on the exact cause of your muscle spasm.
Like chiropractic care, acupuncture is another effective option to treat back muscle spasms.
In acupuncture, certain points on the body are stimulated with acupuncture needles to help relax the tight muscles. This in turn reduces pain and inflammation.
Always have acupuncture done by a skilled and experienced acupuncturist.
Additional Tips
Heat Or Cold Treatment
Ice and Heat tend to provide some relief from the pain that is caused by the back spasms. It tends to provide immediate relief and could be used throughout the day for pain management.
How to use?
- Apply ice to a back spasm for the first 48 to 72 hours.
- Apply ice for 20 minutes, remove for 1.5 hours, then re-apply for 20 minutes.
- Repeat this cycle as often as possible during the first 2 to 3 days after a back spasm begins.
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How Are Muscle Spasms Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will need to know, in addition to your medical history and medications, information about:
- How bad the pain is.
- When do the muscle spasms happen .
- How long the cramps last.
- What the muscle spasms feel like.
- When the muscle spasms started.
- Any other symptoms youre experiencing.
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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What Causes Back Spasms:
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Why Do You Have Back Spasms
Back spasm is common, and there are many reasons for it. One of the most frequent causes is high blood pressure. Other causes include poor posture, overuse or injury. These may be due to work or home life – lifting heavy objects incorrectly from bending your spine forward instead of with knees bent, for instance. But there are many things you can do to prevent back spasms! Stretching before and after physical activity and taking breaks when performing repetitive tasks at work or home helps avoid back pain as well as other injuries.
Your back and spine work hard for you, so the better you take care of it, the lower your chances of developing back spasms, and what better way to deal with it than stopping it from coming back? Here’s how you can do just that.
- Lose Weight – If you’re overweight, shedding a couple of pounds can relieve the stress on your spine and joints, reducing your chances of getting back spasms. Losing even a little weight can make an impact if you lose 10-20lbs, then it could be as much as 50% less pressure on your spinal discs!
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Low Back Spasm What Causes It
In a normal resting condition, our muscle comes to a relaxed state when there is no tension in the muscle fibre. But, when we work or move our body the concerned muscle gets into action resulting in increased tension in the muscle fibre.
Muscle spasm is a condition when the tension in the muscle fibre does not relax even if the body comes to rest. The muscle remains in the taut, contracted state which produces a great deal of pain and discomfort. Muscle spasm can happen to any muscle but is very common in the neck and low back muscles.
So, low back spasm is a condition where suddenly the muscle of the low back comes in a contracted state, and it remains in the contracted state, it does not come to a relaxed state on its own. This is why it is very important to relax the spasmodic muscle to cure this pain.
