Take These Steps When You Have Back Spasms: Bonaventure Ngu, MD: Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

Take These Steps When You Have Back Spasms: Bonaventure Ngu, MD: Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

Back spasms are involuntary contractions of back muscles that fail to relax. Spasms can occur in any muscle in your body, and can cause sharp and intense pain. 

Back spasm episodes may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and when your muscle contracts, it may also feel hard to the touch or appear twisted under the skin. 

From our expert at Premier Spine Institute, Dr. Bonaventure Ngu, here are the steps you should consider taking when trying to relieve your back spasms. 

Take a hot bath 

Warmth increases blood flow and relaxes muscles. Your blood carries nutrients and growth factors to injury sites, so, if you’re suffering from spasms due to an injury, increasing blood flow through a hot bath may also help you heal faster.

Alternatively, you can use hot packs to help relax your back muscles and increase blood flow. 

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.

Consume electrolytes 

Electrolytes are minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. These minerals control muscle contractions throughout the body, including your heart. 

When these minerals are depleted — whether due to poor nutrition or stress — spasms can occur. 

Whole foods such as avocados, potatoes, spinach, fresh meat, and eggs are rich in minerals. Another easy and simple way to get more electrolytes is to drink water with salt.

Massage the painful muscle 

Gently massaging the contracted muscle may help release tension, stretching the muscle and allowing it to relax. You can massage the muscle as a preventive measure.

Treating muscle spasms 

We all experience spasms at some point in our lives, but if you experience back spasms on a regular basis, you may benefit from seeing a medical professional. Often, recurring back spasms are caused by strains or injuries, weak muscles, or degenerative diseases. Dr. Ngu addresses the underlying cause and may also prescribe a muscle relaxant to bring you immediate relief.

Contact us to schedule an appointment at Premier Spine Institute located in The Woodlands, Humble, and Baytown, Texas. We can determine what’s causing your muscle spasms and teach you how to combat painful episodes.

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How Long Does a Back Muscle Spasm Last? Spinal Backrack

Back muscle spasms manifest as involuntary contractions, sustain cramping or tightening of the back muscle fibres. Spasms can involve one or more muscle groups along any of the three main regions of the spine: lumbar, thoracic and cervical. They are, however, most common in the cervical and lumbar spine regions.

A muscle spasm can occur due to a response to weakness, overuse, strain, or injury to the soft tissues of the back.

What does a spasm feel like?

Muscle spasms can vary in intensity. The feeling ranges from mildly annoying twitches to intense pain. The spastic muscle may appear distorted and usually feels hard to touch. These muscular contractions last from a few seconds up to minutes, and may occur again and again.

Symptoms of muscle spasms:

• Muscle twitching or cramping
• Sudden intense pain in the back
• Tension along the back
• Difficulty in moving after bending or picking something up
• Weakness

What are the most common causes of back muscle spasms?

Some common causes we have observed for back muscle spasm are:

• Damage to the nerve roots in the back
• Dehydration
• Disc disorders, such as having a herniated disc
• Electrolyte imbalances
• Exercising in heated temperatures
• Insufficient stretching before exercise or a physical activity
• Muscle fatigue
• Muscle overuse
• Not getting enough exercise
• Poor posture
• Spinal disorders such as spinal stenosis or arthritis
• Sprains
• Strains
• Stress/ Anxiety

How to deal with a muscle spasm on your own?

You may try some of the following approaches to alleviate pain caused by muscle spasms at home:

• Rest and allow the muscle to recover.
• Stretch the affected area
• Apply an ice pack or a heating pad to a sore or a tender muscle to relieve pain.
• Massage the painful muscle
• Drink plenty of water or even an electrolyte drink to replenish a lack of electrolytes.
• Try taking a short walk around the house that lasts no longer than 20 minutes. Walking improves the blood circulation which speeds up the healing process.
• Using muscle relaxants might also help relieve pain caused by back muscle spasms.
• Use anti-inflammatory pain medication. You should, however, do so after consulting with a medical professional, as such medication only provides limited benefits and short term pain relief while being accompanied by quite a few side effects.
• Get help from a physical therapist and engage in physical therapy.

Treatment

If the problem persists and does not respond to home remedies, you should seek professional medical advice. In cases of severe pain, home attempts at treatment are no substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Another approach you can take is to engage in spinal decompression therapy with the help of a special orthopaedic device, such as the Backrack.

Backrack™ – A Revolutionary Back Pain Treatment Device

The Backrack is an orthopaedic device that safely and effectively decompresses your spine, providing long-term relief from back pain and spasms. Given its design, it targets the entire length of the spine, ensuring that any pain point along the back is relieved. It is 100% natural, comfortable, and free of side-effects and it provides long-term pain relief and prevention. Thousands of people have already seen its benefits, so why not be one of them?

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How does spinal decompression help relieve muscle spasms in the back?

Muscles spasms in this part of the body may be caused by spinal issues, which in turn can be caused by something called spinal compression. This is a process where the bones that make up the spinal column become squashed and can impinge onto other structures within the back, especially nerve roots, leading to pain and even to spasms of the muscles.

By reversing this process through spinal decompression, these back issues are addressed, and in turn the muscle spasms can be prevented from recurring.

Additionally, spinal decompression also helps massage the spine, including the soft tissues in the region of the back where the spasms and pain occur, helping to relax your muscles, reduce pain, stiffness and twitching, and allowing you to carry on with your day without having to think about managing your pain.

Muscle spasm: description of the disease, causes, symptoms, cost of treatment in Moscow

Muscle spasm in the back is a contraction of muscle tissue in an involuntary and accelerated mode. A person during its occurrence experiences significant pain, which can completely deprive him of his ability to work for some time. According to the general sensations, the attack resembles a convulsive convulsion, reminiscent of a high-frequency discharge.

Spasm in the muscles of the back has its own scheme of formation: the appearance of an electrical heating wave (nerve impulse) – an active effect on the muscle – muscle contraction in the absence of its relaxation – spasm. Its formation is easy to predict, because initially a person feels discomfort in the area of ​​​​the shoulder blades, which rapidly or undulatingly develops into pain. The occurrence of excruciating compression is cyclical or once manifested discomfort.

Varieties of back pain with muscle spasm:

1. Tonic. Pathology arises from the professional activity of a person. Office workers (programmers, assistant secretaries, accountants, etc.) cannot refuse sedentary work due to the specifics of their profession. Tonic pains also sometimes occur in students and pupils. These seizures last for a short time.

2. Clonic. A sign by which they can be identified is frequent muscle twitching. The main reason for their occurrence is damage to the nervous system of an organic nature. Clonic back spasm is dangerous because it is able to provoke paralysis.

3. Tonic-clonic. The voiced variety of pathology in most cases means that a person has a serious illness. It can be epilepsy, in which the attack of tonic-clonic spasm lasts a long time. The attack is fast and frightening. In a person, the back bends into an arc, and after the end of the attack it hurts for a long time.

Localization of lumbago in the back

According to the location of their location, the affected areas can be located in the following areas of the back:

1. Upper part. Spasm of the back muscles in the thoracic region has different causes of formation. It is characterized by intense pain in the central zone of the back or in the shoulder blades.

2. Lower part. Spasm of the back muscles in the lumbar region is often diagnosed by specialists. In everyday life, it is called sciatica and they are in no hurry to visit a specialist.

Causes of muscle spasms in the back, which often recur:

1. Problems with posture. In scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis, spasms of the back muscles occur due to the fact that the tissues are tensed in order to straighten the curved part of the skeleton. The same process occurs during destruction in articular cartilage during osteochondrosis and intervertebral hernia.

2. Pathological processes in the spinal cord. Such neurological diseases adversely affect nerve cells and contribute to the formation of inflammatory processes in muscle tissues. The scheme is repeated: the muscles tense up and provoke a spasm in the back.

3. Postponed shock. With the release of prolactin – the stress hormone – the nerve endings and muscles come into hypertonicity. The more often people get into critical situations, the more they are then disturbed by back spasms.

4. Serious injuries. Injury to the spinal region causes significant pain to a person. An alarm signal enters the brain, and the body instantly activates all protective reserves. The result is a chain reaction. The tissues in the lesion are compressed in order to create a barrier against increased spasm, creating an additional load on the vessels and nerve endings. The result is a rapid increase in pain.

Separately, it is necessary to highlight cases when back spasm occurs due to:

• neurological and mental disorders;

• pelvic bone problems;

• dysfunction of internal organs.

Triggers causing one-time spasm:

• performing heavy physical work during the day;

• slight bruising without health consequences;

• weakened muscles when loaded;

• hypothermia without signs of frostbite;

• sudden movements, turns or fast running.

Reasons for immediate medical attention:

1. The duration of the attack. It should not last more than 2-3 days. Otherwise, we are talking about the inflammatory process in the body.

2. Spasm intensity. An alarming sign is an increase in pain after taking analgesics and antispasmodics. An emergency call is the only help in this case.

3. Movement restriction. Should alert the inability to move the legs and arms. Move your hand towards the glass on the table

4. Appearance of additional symptoms. These include severe weakness, nausea, and numbness of the extremities.

Diagnosis of the disease:

1. Blood donation for analysis. The specialist will need the results of the UAC and a decoding of its biochemical composition.

2. Fluorography. A standard procedure is necessary to detect pathologies of the chest organs.

3. MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging is needed for detailed monitoring of the state of the spinal column.

4. Electrocardiogram. Assign it in the presence of spasms in the thoracic region.

Prevention of sudden back spasms:

1. Regular stretching. It is important not to overdo it in your endeavors, so as not to damage the ligaments. For insurance, it is better to seek help from a specialist who will develop an individual complex for the patient.

2. Massage sessions. It is recommended to lightly stretch the chest, neck and shoulders when numbing the back. Regular massage by a professional will significantly increase the chances of preventing painful spasms.

3. Active lifestyle. It is not necessary to immediately pick up a barbell or make many hours of cross-country. It is enough to purchase a subscription to the swimming pool, take walks and do gymnastic exercises.

4. Change of work activity. With weakened muscles, it is forbidden to work as a loader, miner and builder. To perform tasks with the use of power loads, special training is needed.

5. Correct daily routine. You should correctly distribute your schedule by periods of work-rest. With physical exertion or sedentary work, you need to take a short break for a couple of minutes.

6. Rational menu. It is better to compile it with the help of a specialist in the presence of back problems. The uniform rules for the diet in this case are the inclusion of lean meat, dairy products, cereals, vegetables and fruits in the menu.

7. Tracking the water balance. With its lack of problems with dry skin, it will not work. To prevent muscle hypertonicity, you should drink at least two liters of fluid per day. Alcohol is prohibited.

8. Water aerobics. A visit to the swimming pool should be made as useful as possible. Water exercises are recommended even for pregnant women, so this method is absolutely safe for the back muscles.

9. Insurance for sedentary work. The back will not greatly disturb those people who let it warm up every half an hour. If it is impossible to leave the office, it is enough to walk around the working room. When moving, you should make rotational movements with your neck, shoulders and arms.

10. Proper planning of recreation and work areas. Soft featherbed and voluminous pillows are the first enemies for the spine. At the first signs of pain in the back, it is necessary to purchase an orthopedic mattress

First aid for oneself

If it is impossible to urgently visit a neurologist, the following actions should be performed:

1. Lie down on the bed. Any hard surface without cavities will do. Ideally, you should use an orthopedic mattress.

2. Position your feet correctly. The lower limbs are placed on a small roller. In its absence, any flat and solid object can be used as a supporting base.

3. Take a pill. With a strong spasm, No-shpa, Spazmolgon will do, and during pain of moderate intensity, Diclofenac will come in handy.

4. Massage the problem area. If possible, it is recommended to treat it with a Kuznetsov applicator.

5. Put on the bandage. A corset will be needed for a person with a prolonged spasm if necessary to move around. With a tough work schedule, you can use a corset on a rigid basis.

6. Apply contrast compresses. They need to be changed every 15 minutes. You should monitor the reaction of the body during the procedure. For more relief from pain with a cold compress, it is recommended to opt for it.

7. Stay in bed. Its maximum duration is 3 days. Otherwise, there is a possibility of the formation of muscle atrophy.

Non-stop, if you want to block back spasms

In case of recurrence of the disease with severe muscle spasms in the back, it is recommended:

1. Refusal of exercise therapy. The recommendation is limited to the period of recurrence of the disease. The vibrocouch is also contraindicated for the period of exacerbation of the pathology.

2. Turn on the brake light. With excessive body weight, it is impossible to independently control the plan for further treatment.

3. Refusal to plan pregnancy. In this case, the mechanism of Russian roulette starts. Without verification, there will be a reconciliation with the reaction of the body. Without consulting a gynecologist with serious back pain is indispensable.

How treatment methods work

Injections. With an injection, it is easier and faster to relieve severe pain. Of the analgesics, Baralgin is most often prescribed, but it is purchased by prescription. Amateurs are not recommended to administer the drug. It is better for the patient to seek medical help. You can replace Baralgin with Aspirin. At a low price and the ability to buy a medicine without a prescription, the remedy helps to eliminate the inflammatory process, lower body temperature and alleviate the human condition. In case of spasm, which Aspirin and Baralgin are not able to block, Dexamethasone and Prednisolone are prescribed. In a critical situation, blockade with Novocain is used.

Tablets. After consulting a doctor, tension in the back is removed with Mydocalm and Tizalud. With pain of moderate intensity, it is enough to take antispasmodics in the form of Spasmalgon. For the relief of more serious discomfort, Diclofenac and Ortofen are prescribed. This form of release of the drug can cause pain and cramps in the stomach. The way out of the situation is the use of painkillers along with Omeprazole or Omega.

Ointments. It is not recommended to intensively treat an area with hypersensitivity with such a tool. With discomfort in the lumbar region, Radiculin is used (the second name is Valentin Dikul’s gel). During spasms in the spine that radiate to the neck, Fastum-gel and Traumeel S. will help.

Plasters. They do not have a strong effect, but they can alleviate the symptoms of the disease. Patch therapy involves the use of warming patches (pepper), orthopedic stickers (Zb Pain Relief) and plastic mass with anesthesia (Voltaren).

Treatment of a back bruise

A bruise in the back is a soft tissue injury resulting from a strong blow, fall, accident, etc. Such injuries are fraught with serious danger, since there are not many soft tissues in the back area that could reduce the effects of the blow by taking it upon themselves. On the contrary, there is a high risk of damaging the spine and causing irreparable harm to health.

Symptoms

• severe pain, especially during movement;
• throbbing pain;
• edema;
• the appearance of a hematoma in the area of ​​injury;

Otherwise, it all depends on which particular part of the back was injured.

Types of bruises

Depending on the location of the injury, there is the following classification of back bruises and their consequences:0189 cervical vertebrae may be affected. Sometimes this entails respiratory failure, paralysis, decreased tone and paresis of muscles, impaired sensitivity.

Bruises involving the spinal cord are the most dangerous. The consequences of such an injury can be varied: from circulatory disorders to rupture of nerve endings and paralysis.

Complications

In case of back bruises, the following complications are possible: bruising of the kidney, spine, lungs; fractures of the ribs, vertebrae; exacerbation of osteochondrosis; retroperitoneal hematoma;

Treatment of a bruise in the back

Regardless of the severity of the injury, the patient is prescribed bed rest. In the future, it is important to alternate the state of rest with little physical activity.

Painkillers are used, anti-inflammatory ointments are applied. After a few days, it is permissible to use heat compresses and carry out physiotherapy procedures. These activities can be carried out independently, without visiting a doctor.

If there is a suspicion that the injury is accompanied by any complication, it is necessary to seek the help of a qualified specialist. The doctor will examine the patient and, if necessary, refer him for an x-ray or computed tomography.

If the examination showed the presence of complications, then specific treatment is applied depending on the nature of the injury, up to surgery.

A bruise in the back area is an uncommon but very dangerous injury. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and get diagnosed.

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