Treatments for Your Muscle Spasms and Pain

Do you suffer from periodic muscle spasms or muscle pain? Muscle spasms and cramps can be caused by overworked muscles that tense up and fail to relax again. This can occur anytime physical activity is done and, if not addressed, the spasm can become a constant part of your life. Muscle spasms can cause pain in virtually any part of the body (back, arms, feet, neck, etc.) as well as tightness and irritation in the muscles, which may give you involuntary contractions that cause your hands and feet to jerk. You may experience a muscle spasm in the form of cramps that occur during exercise, rest or certain times of the day. We work with our patients to find out the cause of their muscle spasms so that we can treat the cramps and associated pain. Some causes could be medications, dehydration or electrolyte imbalances, repetitive activities, muscle strain, and even chronic illnesses you may not be aware of. The reasons are many, but at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we can help detect the causes and risks of your muscle spasms and provide rehabilitative treatments to get you back to your normal routine—cramp and pain free. Learn more about our massage therapy, assisted stretching, chiropractic care, trigger point injections and testing all designed to treat you and get you back on your A-game.

Muscle Spasms and Cramps

In order for your body to perform basic movements, muscles contract and relax all over the body to perform the functions you want. A muscle cramp or spasm is a sudden and involuntary contraction in one or more of your muscles. When this happens, the muscle can tense up and fail to relax again for a period of time. If you’ve had a “charlie horse” before, especially in the middle of the night, then you know the associated and sudden pain that comes with muscle cramping. With patients who suffer from muscle spasms and cramps, the tension can be constant and the occurrence can be very frequent, disrupting daily life.

Exercise or injury can cause the sudden onset of a muscle cramp, but other causes are: neurological problems with the muscles, diet imbalances and lifestyle choices. You could even have a trigger point in your muscle that is present, causing the pain. A trigger point is a knot of built-up tension and pressure that can cause pain and an array of symptoms in the affected area and other parts of the body far away from the trigger point. Certain medical conditions may also cause muscle spasms or cramps, but the only way to know is to see a professional.

Symptoms and Causes

Inflamed and tense muscles that cause sudden cramps and spasms can also produce a variety of symptoms throughout the body. You may experience pain in the back, neck, legs, feet, and other common areas of use in the body. You will generally feel tightness in the muscle and especially soreness after a cramp has occurred. Stretching can usually relieve a cramp such as a charlie horse, but a muscle spasm may not respond to stretching. Cramps that occur during exercise, rest or at predictable times of the day should be looked at by a professional at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, as it could indicate a more serious condition.

With our diagnostic exam, we can pinpoint the cause of the spasms and cramps so that proper treatment can be set in place. Physical motions such as exercise (especially exercising in heat), repetitive or new activities, muscle strains, injuries and unfamiliar movements can cause a spasm. Lifestyle choices such as alcoholism, or poor diet (causing dehydration or electrolyte imbalance) are also factors as well as diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Muscle cramps can be serious in certain cases, as they could signal artery blockages or obstructions in the body. So don’t wait to get checked out!

Effective Treatments for Muscle Spasms and Pain

• Massage Therapy – This is used as a therapeutic way to release the knots of tension in the body that could be causing your muscle spasms. Usually we have a deep tissue massage to pinpoint trigger points and release them. This can be coupled with a tapping pressure, vibration therapy or electrostimulation to speed healing to a muscle.
• Assisted Stretching – We give you exercises and tools to help improve your muscle tone while you are away from the office. Keeping your muscles strong and healthy will reduce the amount of spasms and cramps you have, especially when you know how to do them the correct way.
• Chiropractic Care – This care focuses on the body’s muscular, nervous and skeletal systems. When joints are out of line (especially in the spine), it can lead to herniated discs, compressed nerves and problems with the muscles. One of the most common symptoms is pain but muscle cramps and spasms can also occur. We use gentle, but effective force in properly aligning the vertebrae and joints so that the body functions properly and moves properly (remember sometimes movements can set off a muscle spasm or cramp). We will also combine chiropractic care with ultrasound, electrical nerve stimulation and traction.
• Trigger-Point Injections – Think of these as the knots you can feel in your back or legs and other parts of the body, because that’s what they are. There is an estimated 620 points on the body that can hold tension and become small knot-like lumps where muscles tense and even compress nerves. This causes pain and inflammation and symptoms that you might not even associate with trigger points. Usually we will use a therapeutic injection to break down scar tissue and heal the affected muscle after other methods such as deep-tissue massage, vibration exercises and electrostimulation have been used.
• Diagnostic Testing – Sometimes compressed nerves can cause muscle spasms and cramps. We provide a variety of diagnostic testing such as advanced nerve testing. When one or more nerves are damaged or compressed, you can feel inflammation and chronic pain as well as muscle spasms and more. We use electromyography, which is basically testing the muscles with electrical impulses for irregularities. We also provide nutritional assessments so that we can be sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs (such as potassium) that could be causing your muscle cramps. We have a whole list of diagnostic tests you can find by visiting our website or contacting us.  

Call for a Muscle Spasms Consultation

Muscle spasms and cramps are correctable issues that we are glad to help you with. You no longer have to live with pain or disruptions in your life! Muscle spasms and cramps can be caused for a number of reasons, but we can detect the cause and correct the problem non-invasively and quickly. At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Clinic, we specialize in chiropractic care to eliminate your pain and spasms. If you are suffering from spasms, cramps or unexplained pain, call today at (512) 806-0015 for your free consultation. A healthier and happier you is just one call away!