When your back goes into a painful spasm, it might be telling you to avoid a certain activity, or it could be a warning of a more serious underlying condition in your spine. While it may not seem like a major injury, when the large back muscles spasm, it can be surprisingly painful.
Today I'm going to review two main causes of lower back muscle spasm, plus, give you some tips on what you can do to immediately take stress off your lower back and start healing.
The most common cause is when your muscles are trying to protect themselves from muscle strain. Muscles have their own entry protective mechanisms to reduce the chance of tearing or otherwise getting injured. In this case, a back muscle may go into spasm to protect itself. If it senses it is getting stretched too far or stretched out too fast. This is a soft tissue injury and typically heals enough within a few days or a week or two for the muscle spasms to stop.
Another reason for muscles to spasm is in response to an underlying anatomical problem. If your back spasms do not get better within 1 to 2 weeks, or if it comes and goes over time in the same area of your back, you may have an underlying anatomical issue in your spine. For example, you may have a herniated disc or a degenerative disc in your lower back or facet joint. Osteoarthritis. When these or other spinal conditions are causing back spasms, they are likely to keep recurring due to ongoing inflammation and or instability. It's important to seek attention from your health care provider to treat the underlying cause of your symptoms, rather than just treating symptoms.
When your back goes into spasm. The initial treatment goal is to get the muscles to relax and thus relieve the pain. Some effective treatments include self help or active strategies such as stretching, walking, self-massage, self deep tissue trigger point therapy, ice, and or heat. While passive modalities often utilized by chiropractors and physical therapists include massage and trigger point therapy, neuromuscular rehabilitation, spinal mobilization and or manipulation, acupuncture, and or dry needling, and modalities such as electrical stim, ultrasound, pulse, magnetic field, laser, and others. Proper hydration and nutrition play a very important role. When muscle cramping recurs frequently to reduce stress on the back.
Start with a short period of rest or reduced activity, but only do this for a day or two. As you rest, you can substantially reduce stress on your lower back by lying on your back in bed, with your upper body supported at a slight incline in a pillow propped under your knees. You can also try sitting in a reclining chair with your legs supported in these slightly bend to reduce the inflammation.
Try cold therapy. This can be as simple as applying a bag of frozen peas on your lower back. Be sure to place a barrier between your skin and the ice pack to protect your skin against frostbite. Apply the ice for about 20 minutes at a time for every two hours throughout the day. Anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen can also help reduce the inflammation. For more severe pain, a prescription muscle relaxant might be warranted.
Often, the best thing you can do for your back is simply get up and walk. Movement, like walking, speeds the healing process by bringing healing nutrients to the injured muscle. While it may seem counterintuitive. The sooner you get up and move and walk, the faster you'll recover and find pain relief. If you're in a lot of pain, you may need to start slowly. For example, walk for five minutes rest for 30. Walk another five and then gradually build up your walking time to longer periods.
When a back muscle spasm occurs, the best course of action is to consult a spine specialist for an accurate diagnosis. A good diagnosis is the first step in the process of finding the right treatment for you to heal and feel better.
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