What To Do About Muscle Spasms

Low back pain or cramps in the calves can strike you at any moment in the form of muscle spasms. There are between 640 and 850 muscles in the body, any of which could experience cramping and spasms, causing you pain. Some patients have spasms that occur during specific activities such as exercising, while others with have pain that persists over many months. There are many symptoms of spasms and many causes as well. However, most causes stem from habits that simply need to be adjusted, such as drinking more water to combat dehydration. Let us help find the cause of your muscle spasms and educate you on how to avoid them and treat them properly when they strike.

Your Muscles

Did you know that there are hundreds of muscles all over the body? There are actually between 640 and 850 muscles in the body. Those muscles fall into three different categories: cardiac muscle, visceral muscle, and skeletal muscles. Cardiac muscles are specific muscles that make up your heart and keep it pumping each day. Smooth visceral muscles line the blood vessels and other parts of your body such as the gastrointestinal tract and certain organs. Then you have skeletal muscle, which makes up the bulk of your body’s muscles. Skeletal muscle helps the body to move, whether it’s voluntary or involuntary movements. These are the muscles that attach to your bones and are the ones that can grow larger and stronger with exercise and proper care.

Muscle Cramps and Spasms

There are many problems that can go wrong with the body, especially with the muscles. Low back pain or cramps in the calves can strike you at any moment. Some patients have spasms begin only when exercising, while others unexpectedly interrupt the day without warning. When you move, muscles tense and relax to help you dunk a basketball or reach for your alarm clock. These are voluntary muscles that you choose to move.

There is a difference between a muscle cramp and muscle spasm, but it is only a slight difference. A muscle spasm is when a muscle suddenly contracts, but then fails to relax. Muscle spasms are involuntary and can be very strong and forceful. They can completely debilitate a person and make walking or physical motion impossible. When a spasm persists for more than a few seconds, it is called a muscle cramp. Another common name for a muscle spasm or cramp is a “charlie horse”.

Trigger Points

Trigger points are frequently common causes of muscle spasms. A trigger point is a knot of tension located along your skeletal muscles. They can be large knots of tension or small nodes of pressure, but they can cause immense pain and neuropathy symptoms depending on where they are located. There are an estimated 620 different points on the human body that can form trigger points.

When you are active, any motion could activate (or irritate) one of these knots of pressure, and it could result in painful muscle spasms, cramps or symptoms such as pain or numbness. For patients with muscle spasms and cramps, we check the body to see if trigger points are present and then remove the knots once they are found.

Don’t Ignore Your Symptoms

When you have frequent muscle spasms and cramps, you don’t want to ignore them. Muscle spasms are usually not serious themselves, but they can ruin your day. However, they can  signal an underlying health issue you were not aware of. Some actions that cause spasms and cramps include:

• Not staying hydrated enough (which could also cause problems such as headaches, constipation, etc.)
• Not stretching fully before exercising.
• Improper posture that strains your muscles.
• Nutrient deficiencies in iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, etc.
• Chronic conditions that are not under control.
• A lack of electrolytes or medications that cause side effects.

If you have muscle spasms, you may feel pain in your back, neck, arms, wrists, calves, feet or practically anywhere else in the body. Your limbs might jerk involuntary with a spasm and you may feel tightness or irritation in your muscles. More chronic problems include loss of movement and flexibility, especially during a spasm. Don’t ignore your symptoms when help is so easily available to relieve those symptoms!

Undo that Cramp In Your Style

Massage therapy (especially deep-tissue massage) works wonders for relieving muscle cramps and stopping the frequency of muscle spasms. Assisted stretching can relieve cramping in hard-to-access areas. We can provide you customized stretches for your body. With our patients, we also like to provide diagnostic testing to rule out nutritional deficiencies and chronic illnesses that may be causing your symptoms.

If the problem is a misalignment of the spine (which happens frequently), we can provide you effective chiropractic care to realign your spine. This will relieve nerve pressure and stop back cramps from happening. If the problem is trigger points, we can provide you injections to relieve inflammation and therapy to find and relieve pressure in your muscles. There truly are so many options our patients have to find relief!

Stronger Muscles

If you get bogged down frequently by muscle spasms and cramps, then you can benefit from therapy today! Muscle spasms do not have to be a way of life and neither do the symptoms that they cause. If you get hit with cramps, spasms, and pain, call our Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center office at (512) 806-0015 and receive help today!