Back pain is often accompanied by an increase in the tone of individual muscles - a muscle spasm occurs. This can cause the patient not only severe discomfort, but also significant harm. If muscle cramps in the back are clearly pronounced, then a person cannot move normally. In addition, this causes changes in the physiological bends of the spine, in other words, deformation. In most cases, muscle spasm occurs as a result of a compression or reflex complication after osteochondrosis, myofascial pain.
What harm muscle cramps do
When the muscles are constantly tensed, there is a strong pinching of the blood vessels, as well as the fibers of the affected muscle. As a result of this, energy-information metabolism is disrupted not only in the muscles, but also in organs located nearby. They begin to suffer greatly from a lack of blood circulation, and an innervation disorder also occurs.
For example, in the cervical spine the vagus nerve may be experienced. Because of this, impulses cease to flow to the pancreas. As a result of such changes, there is a violation of the innervation of this organ and, as a result, serious enzymatic problems can occur directly in the gastrointestinal tract.
Another negative effect that occurs due to muscle spasms in the back is an increase in energy costs, which are used to constantly maintain the contraction of a particular muscle. If the spasm area is too large, then the energy will be spent several times more than usual.
Symptoms of pathology
When the doctor examines the patient, then painful areas can be detected in the trapezius muscle, the one that straightens the back or raises the shoulder blade, less often in the rest. The following symptoms can be attributed to the main symptoms of muscle spasms in the back:
- Aching, oppressive, rolling pain.
- The painful sensations are constant, from time to time they may increase or decrease.
- Pain radiates to the shoulder, head, or even the eyes.
- Due to the symptoms of muscle spasm in the back, the patient cannot turn his head completely or perform full-fledged arm movements.
Causes of the disease
The main reasons that cause muscle cramps in the back include:
- Osteochondrosis, as well as flowing from this disease. It can be protrusion, herniated discs.
- A variety of injuries or bruises of the spine. The reaction to them will be pain from muscle tension, which over time can develop into a trigger syndrome.
- Spasm can occur if the muscles have undergone prolonged static stress. Most often this happens if a person has been in an incorrect or uncomfortable position for a long time, carries a bag on only one shoulder, and so on.
- Strong emotional stresses that cause a significant increase in muscle tone can provoke the problem.
Other causes of muscle spasm of the back
Muscle cramps are very painful muscle contractions that occur quite involuntarily during or after exercise. The exact causes have not yet been established, but experts identify several common factors that can help determine the nature of the origin of muscle tension, which will help you learn how to relieve muscle spasm in the back.
Electrolytes
A huge role in the occurrence of muscle spasms is played by the state of hydration of the human body. If you ever visited the gym, you probably noticed that some of the people involved there are constantly drinking vitamin drinks. They do it for a reason.
They contain the necessary amount of sodium, calcium, potassium. These microelements have a very positive effect on the state of muscles and nerves. If there is an imbalance in the balance of electrolytes, which is quite possible during severe sweating, then very serious health problems can arise.
The same situation will happen when during sports, a person drinks a lot of water. It is not right. When sweat is released, the body loses sodium. As a result, a person changes one fluid to another, but this important component is no longer in it. Similar becomes the cause of poor muscle functioning.
It is worth noting that doing better in a cool room. Then you are unlikely to need to learn how to relieve muscle spasm in the back. In addition to the fact that a person sweats heavily during sports, the heat also affects muscles very badly. It causes rapid fatigue and severe weakness.
The amount of calcium in the body
Muscle cramps can occur due to an insufficient amount of calcium in the body. The lower the amount of calcium, the less is the intracellular fluid that is around the muscles and nerves. Because of this, the nerve roots will undergo unnecessary irritation, which will lead to severe spasms.
Muscle fatigue
After the muscles were tense, a certain period of relaxation begins. Its duration is several times longer than the duration of compression. At the same time, relaxation also occurs on sensory feedback that occurs between the muscles and the spinal cord, tendons, neuromuscular spindle.
When the muscles get very tired, they begin to actively contract. Because of this, the load on the neuromuscular spindles begins to increase, and on the tendons, respectively, decreases. If this happens simultaneously, then there is a violation in the process of proper compression and relaxation of the muscles, which becomes the cause of the spasm.
Excess or lack of carbohydrates in the body
If a person’s diet is deficient in carbohydrates or, on the contrary, there are too many of them, this can begin to affect the muscular system. Try to consume the optimal amount of carbohydrates to avoid muscle spasm caused by this cause.
When you need specialist help
There are several serious situations when you can not do without the help of an experienced doctor:
- When the muscles practically do not move for three days and there is constant severe pain.
- When in the neck, back, muscle cramps occur almost simultaneously with numbness, attacks of weakness, severe tingling.
Methods for treating muscle spasm
In order to get rid of the problem, it is necessary to use a whole range of diverse techniques. The main and most effective are the following:
- Pharmacopuncture.
- Spinal traction.
- Acupuncture.
- Therapy is a vacuum type.
- Muscle relaxants to relieve muscle spasms of the back are a great option for temporarily relieving symptoms.
What to do so that there is no repeated muscle spasm
The best way to never face this problem again is to constantly train your muscles so that they are strong, flexible and trained. If you play sports, never forget about stretching and warming up muscle tissue. It is important to do special exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles of the back.
Treating problems at home
There are several treatment options for cramping at home. This article presents the most common methods. Using these methods, you can effectively get rid of pain and other symptoms of spasm.
Physical impact
This method is suitable in cases where the pain is too strong. Before you start moving, you need to press four fingers of your hand to the spine or to the place of spasm, then press it as hard as possible. After this, do not move for a while to understand whether the spasm has passed or not. If nothing happened, you need to try to push even harder. Then stand or sit and wait a few more seconds. After that, take a few steps, but do not remove your fingers from the place where you pressed.
Hydrotherapy
Turn on a rather hot stream of water in the shower. Point her to the sore back for a few minutes. After that, you need to turn on cool water for half a minute. The procedure must be done until the painful sensations pass or become less pronounced.
Stretching
You can do stretching after the spasm decreases slightly. Due to the fact that muscle fibers will gradually stretch, in the future spasms will become less painful and will soon disappear altogether. Before performing any exercise, you must definitely do a good warm-up of the muscles.
Strength exercises
Gradually, you need to add strength exercises to the training. With their help, you can well strengthen and develop completely all the muscles of the back, which will permanently get rid of spasms, provided that it is correctly and regularly performed. It is very important to adhere to the correct execution technique, so as not to further harm the muscles and avoid a variety of injuries.
Treating muscle spasms with cold or heat
Ice pack
In the first 2-3 days after the appearance of ailments on a sore spot, you need to apply a compress with ice for about 20 minutes. After that, you need to remove it and wait an hour and a half, then repeat the procedure. A compress is made with ice only in the first few days after the first cramps.
Between the skin and the compress, you must definitely make a thin lining. For example, you can use a thin towel. This will avoid overcooling in the affected area and significantly increase the effectiveness of the method. Using ice, you can eliminate the inflammatory process, reduce the need for the use of painkillers.
Heat treatment
After three days from the onset of muscle spasms, you can start heat therapy. It is best to use moist heat. It can be a compress, hot shower, bath. For example, if you feel a muscle spasm in the chest of your back, then direct a stream of warm water to this part of the body. Thanks to her, the muscles heal and recover faster, the nerves and muscle fibers relax perfectly.
After the first three days, treatment with heat and cold should be alternated. Some experts recommend the use of warm compresses immediately before stretching, and after its completion - cold ones.
Over-the-counter painkillers
Muscle relaxants to relieve muscle spasms of the back can temporarily relieve pain from this ailment. To get rid of pain, you can use "Acetaminophen." The drug is sold without a prescription, has a minimal amount of side effects. This drug, unlike most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, eliminates pain by reducing their perception by the brain. In addition, these pills for muscle spasms in the back are not addictive in the patient and, over time, the drug does not become susceptible.
Replenishment of fluid in the body
If you feel a muscle spasm in your back, you may not need the medicine. Drink a sufficient amount of liquid, because very often spasm occurs due to dehydration and loss of electrolytes, as mentioned above. It is especially important to replenish the supply of water during diseases that provoke an increase in temperature or cause vomiting.
Medical Assistance
If the pain does not go away for more than two weeks and it is difficult for you to endure it, you should stop self-medication and consult a specialist. He will prescribe the necessary drugs to relieve muscle spasms of the back and give direction to the chiropractor or prescribe a course of physiotherapy.
You can remove the pain for several months with a single injection of Cortisone. This option will be ideal if muscle cramps extend not only to the back, but also to the legs. Back pain and muscle spasm are closely related phenomena.
Useful Tips
- It is worth accepting that muscle cramps in your back will make you relax a lot, especially at the very beginning of treatment. In some cases, a spasm may occur even because you have lifted a small weight or started to move too actively. Give yourself some time to recover.
- Missing foods or special supplements should appear in your diet. A spasm may provoke a lack of certain substances in the body. Most often, this is a lack of potassium, calcium. To replenish stocks of these trace elements, it is necessary to take special additives. The menu should have a lot of milk, cheese, yogurt. A lot of potassium is found in potatoes, bananas, wheat bran.
- It is advisable to undergo a special course of acupuncture in order to permanently, if not forever, get rid of spasms of the spinal muscles. Numerous studies have proven that such a method of alternative medicine can significantly improve a person’s state of health compared to conventional methods of therapy.
- Surgical treatment of muscle spasms of the back should be resorted to only if a birth defect is present or when the pain does not subside, and you have already tried all possible treatment options. It is also worth doing if muscle weakness continues to progress.
Important warnings during spasm treatment
It is important to know not only how to relieve muscle spasm of the neck and back, but also how to do it:
- Do not apply compresses with ice directly to the skin. This can cause frostbite on the affected area. Be sure to use at least a thin lining. Ice will not do any harm if applied for no more than twenty minutes.
- You should not get involved in opiates or painkillers that are too strong, which are designed to treat muscle spasms of the back. They have not only very serious, but often fatal side effects, which can be expressed as significant liver damage. It is very life-threatening to take such medications for a long time. At the time of taking the medicine, it is worth completely eliminating alcohol, because in this case the reaction can be unpredictable.
- If you are taking muscle relaxants, you should completely abandon any strength exercises. In some cases, such drugs can completely remove the pain caused by spasm. Then it will seem to you that you are ready for absolutely any loads, but in fact this is not so. Do not aggravate your condition, and better wait for a full recovery.
- In no case do not fall asleep with a cold or thermal compress. This can cause frostbite of the affected area, burns or significant damage to nerve endings.
Spasm of the back muscles is a very unpleasant problem, which brings severe discomfort, pain, restricts movements and can lead to the development of serious pathologies of the back and spine itself. If you encounter this, you should not wait for the problem to disappear on its own. This will not happen and if nothing is done, then soon muscle spasms of the back can become chronic.
It is best to consult with a specialist first. He will tell you the best way to get rid of muscle spasm of the back. Then it is important to follow all his recommendations and combine this with alternative medicine methods. If you do not run the problem, then it is quite possible to cure it in a short period of time.