Back Spasm Relief
Back spasm is an extremely painful condition that occurs when there is a sudden involuntary contraction of back muscles. The origin of the pain is the area around the spinal cord and it mostly affects the lower part of the back. The main symptom is a severe form of back pain which intensifies with any kind of movements of the back. Usually, the pain starts while doing activities like pulling, pushing, lifting heavy weights or twisting of the back particularly during exercises. Within a few minutes of contraction of the muscles, blood starts rushing towards the damaged muscles or tendons and causes inflammation in the area. Before we learn about the methods that can be used for back spasm relief, let us find out the causes behind the problem
Causes
Spasm occur when there is swelling or strain in the back muscles. This can happen due to some bad back injury or excessive use of the muscles for a prolonged period of time. Any underlying diseases like arthritis, spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis, formation of tumor near the spines can weaken the back. Lordosis is one such condition where the curvature of the vertebra column is abnormally bent forward and put a lot of pressure on the muscles and ligaments that give support to the back. If the muscles around the spine, are weak and inflexible then it is prone to painful contraction. Hamstrings are the tendons that are present at the back of the legs. If there is a muscle fatigue, due to some reason then it can lead to back spasms. Weakness in the muscles of the stomach can also be responsible for causing this kind of spasm.
Treatment
The first thing that need to be done when you get muscle spasms in the back is to give complete rest to your back. Even slight body movements can adversely affect the spasm. Therefore, you should lie down immediately on a firm surface like a carpeted floor and let your back muscles relax. When you are lying flat, place two-three pillow under the knees for better relief. Put a hand towel in rolled condition under the neck to ease off the pressure from it
For the first two days, application of ice to the injury site gives a soothing effect to the pain and restrict blood flow to the affected spot. As a result, swelling can be controlled which helps in speedy recovery. Never place ice directly on the skin. Take the ice cubes in a packet and then wrap it with a towel and then place it over the muscle strain for around twenty minutes. Then remove it and reapply it again after half an hour. Continue this treatment for the next one or two days depending on the swelling and the pain.
When you have back spasms, it is advisable to always keep the legs in the elevated condition. Lying down on the floor and placing the lower legs on a chair is the best posture and helps to take off a lot of pressure from the back region. While sleeping keep the legs above a number of pillows and while sitting keep your foot on a foot stool
For the purpose of pain relief, anti-inflammatory medicines and muscle relaxers are prescribed. If the pain is severe, then injections may be administered for back pain relief. There are over-the-counter medicinal creams available, which when applied, can give relief for back spasms. An excellent home treatment is massaging the back with eucalyptus oil or mustard oil
To get complete back spasm relief, you have to be very careful about your sleeping posture. The mattress on which you are sleeping should be firm, and also never sleep with the face down position. Once the pain subsides, your doctor will recommend certain back and leg stretching exercises. These exercises will release the tension from the back muscles, strengthen them, and make them more flexible. As a result, the chances of getting back spasms in the future, decreases. However, at any point of time, if you find that the exercises are increasing the pain, stop them immediately.
By Bidisha Mukherjee
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/back-spasm-relief.html
Back spasm is an extremely painful condition that occurs when there is a sudden involuntary contraction of back muscles. The origin of the pain is the area around the spinal cord and it mostly affects the lower part of the back. The main symptom is a severe form of back pain which intensifies with any kind of movements of the back. Usually, the pain starts while doing activities like pulling, pushing, lifting heavy weights or twisting of the back particularly during exercises. Within a few minutes of contraction of the muscles, blood starts rushing towards the damaged muscles or tendons and causes inflammation in the area. Before we learn about the methods that can be used for back spasm relief, let us find out the causes behind the problem
Causes
Spasm occur when there is swelling or strain in the back muscles. This can happen due to some bad back injury or excessive use of the muscles for a prolonged period of time. Any underlying diseases like arthritis, spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis, formation of tumor near the spines can weaken the back. Lordosis is one such condition where the curvature of the vertebra column is abnormally bent forward and put a lot of pressure on the muscles and ligaments that give support to the back. If the muscles around the spine, are weak and inflexible then it is prone to painful contraction. Hamstrings are the tendons that are present at the back of the legs. If there is a muscle fatigue, due to some reason then it can lead to back spasms. Weakness in the muscles of the stomach can also be responsible for causing this kind of spasm.
Treatment
The first thing that need to be done when you get muscle spasms in the back is to give complete rest to your back. Even slight body movements can adversely affect the spasm. Therefore, you should lie down immediately on a firm surface like a carpeted floor and let your back muscles relax. When you are lying flat, place two-three pillow under the knees for better relief. Put a hand towel in rolled condition under the neck to ease off the pressure from it
For the first two days, application of ice to the injury site gives a soothing effect to the pain and restrict blood flow to the affected spot. As a result, swelling can be controlled which helps in speedy recovery. Never place ice directly on the skin. Take the ice cubes in a packet and then wrap it with a towel and then place it over the muscle strain for around twenty minutes. Then remove it and reapply it again after half an hour. Continue this treatment for the next one or two days depending on the swelling and the pain.
When you have back spasms, it is advisable to always keep the legs in the elevated condition. Lying down on the floor and placing the lower legs on a chair is the best posture and helps to take off a lot of pressure from the back region. While sleeping keep the legs above a number of pillows and while sitting keep your foot on a foot stool
For the purpose of pain relief, anti-inflammatory medicines and muscle relaxers are prescribed. If the pain is severe, then injections may be administered for back pain relief. There are over-the-counter medicinal creams available, which when applied, can give relief for back spasms. An excellent home treatment is massaging the back with eucalyptus oil or mustard oil
To get complete back spasm relief, you have to be very careful about your sleeping posture. The mattress on which you are sleeping should be firm, and also never sleep with the face down position. Once the pain subsides, your doctor will recommend certain back and leg stretching exercises. These exercises will release the tension from the back muscles, strengthen them, and make them more flexible. As a result, the chances of getting back spasms in the future, decreases. However, at any point of time, if you find that the exercises are increasing the pain, stop them immediately.
By Bidisha Mukherjee
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/back-spasm-relief.html
