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
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.
