Spasm of back muscles: causes, symptoms, treatment, consequences

Muscle spasms are a sudden contraction of the muscle fibres. Is accompanied by painful sensations surge of muscle and trapped nerve fibers. Extremely excruciating pain from a spasm that pinched a nerve fiber sensory nerve to the spinal cord.

As there is a spasm?

The human spine consists of 33-35 vertebrae that form the spinal column – the main "core" of the body. The spine is the spinal cord, which are responsible for transmitting impulses from the brain, reflexes to external stimuli and control the internal body systems through the nervous vegetatie. The spine is closely surrounded by muscles, which pull together the vertebrae form a dense muscle layer that prevent injury and keep the spine together.

There are two layers of back muscles – superficial and deep. The deep layer muscles connecting the vertebrae with the attachment of the muscle to the transverse processes of nearby vertebrae. Transverse muscles allow the person to do the trunk bending forward and backward. The surface layer is responsible for turning, trunk bending. Muscle tissue in the body is divided into smooth, striated and cardiac muscle.

Smooth muscle tissue is not controlled by the person. Smooth muscle is concentrated in the internal organs – stomach, intestines, uterus, vagina, etc. Striated muscle tissue is called skeletal, surrounds the bones and organs. Contracting, striated muscles allow you to move parts of the body in space. Skeletal controlled by human consciousness.

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Called spasm involuntary contraction of individual or groups of muscles. Spasms accompanied by pain.

This spasm is the emergence of a nerve impulse, which with high frequency affects muscle. After excitation of the muscle tissue in the work of the involved myosin and actin "gear" muscles, which compress the working muscle. Normally, this process leads to motor activity – contraction of the muscles, however, pathology reduction turns into a painful process, which is the spasm.

Reasons

Spasm of the back muscles can be divided into having an epileptic nature, and not binding. The difference in the cause of the spasm is the epileptic spasm is due to the development of the powerful induction impulse from the affected group of nerve nuclei, which are frantically reduce muscle. Not epileptic spasms occur due to excitation of the certain structures of the CNS, dysfunction of single neurons, under the influence of toxic, endocrine, electrolyte and metabolic substances, violations of some psychogenic factors.

Also cramps are divided into tonic and clonic. Tonic spasms provoked by prolonged stress muscle fibers that contracts and causes the patient prolonged and lingering pain. The muscle will be felt on palpation, there is a feeling of tautness. Clonic spasms are jerky contractions alternating with relaxation of muscle. In common this phenomenon is called a cramp.

Spasms of the back muscles occur due to internal and external disturbances in the normal functioning of the body. There are the following causes of spasm of the back:

• Injury;
• Diseases of the spine;
• Muscle fatigue;
• Stress;
• Epileptic seizures.

In most cases, spasm complicates the disease. Therapy puts one of the goals to eliminate spasm, relieve pain and alleviate the condition. Spasms can be complete only when the exact result of the user antispasmodics.

Injury

The pain will inevitably arise during the damage of any human tissue because of the presence there of nerve tissue and receptors. In response to the pain will occur muscle tension – muscle tissue tends to isolate the injured area of the body, thus stopping the inflammation from the damaged tissues. While spastic contractions develop compression of the muscle fibers and blood vessels.

With prolonged spasmdevelop painful lesions and tissue hypoxia, which threatens to further consequences of necrosis, apoptosis and death. Develops trigger the syndrome.

Also with the injury of the vertebra may occur complete rupture of the ligaments. Vertebrae falls out of its normal location. Muscles begin to pull the vertebrae, there is tension and spasm.

Diseases of the spine

Spastic contractions are inseparably accompany the diseases of the spine. Such diseases include:

• Osteochondrosis;
• Herniated disc;
• Scoliosis, pathological kyphosis and lordosis.

Osteochondrosis is a pathological changes in the joints of the spine. When the expansion joint is occurring nerve entrapment, which causes pain. Pain causes muscle spasm, as a logical reaction of the organism. Spasm of the back aggravates the disease is prolonged tonic spasm occurs a displacement of the vertebra. This leads to scoliosis, osteoporosis of the vertebral bodies and irregularities of the spinal cord.

Disc herniation is a rupture of the fibrous ring of the intervertebral disc, which serves as a shock absorber between the vertebrae. Gelatinous body breaks outside the normal location and causes pain syndrome due to infringement of the paravertebral roots or the spinal cord itself. Thus there is a spastic contraction of the affected area.

• See also: Hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine

Muscle spasm in the back is in itself a cause of scoliosis in violation of the stability of the vertebra occurs, the vertebra tug in the direction of the muscle, which because of the pain the spinal cord is compressed. Muscle spasms lead to increased scoliosis in the lower back, chest or neck. You need time to remove the spasm, in order to stop the progression of the disease.

Spasms in the kyphosis and lordosis have the same nature – pain from injury to the disc, spinal cord and nerve roots cause spastic contraction of the muscles that leads to increased deformation of the vertebra.

The process is repeated and leads to terrible consequences – the body of the patient is strongly deformed. Syndrome occurs a compensating curvature, the other the spine is curved in the opposite direction, is formed S-shaped curvature, which leads to pathological changes in the spinal cord and organs of the body. Spasms are weakened, however, of a permanent nature, especially in the development of scoliosis in adulthood.

Muscle fatigue

With a long stay in an uncomfortable position begin the process of braking – tight muscles can't relax, since the nervous centers that are responsible for muscle activity, cannot cease to transmit impulses. As a result, the fibers remain in a contracted state, leading to pain syndrome.

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Stress

Stress mobilizes all the resources of the human body. Emotional stress causes increased hormonal secretion of thyroid hormones and leads to a voltage increase at the centers of higher nervous activity. This leads to an increase in the development of convulsive and spasmodic activity of muscle mass. Short-term stresses do not have strong consequences for the organism, however, if stressors continue to influence, changes may occur in the brain and spinal cord. An induction activity in the autonomic nervous system, which causes muscles to contract. This could also be a nervous tick that develops when frequent nervous shocks.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a consequence of the development of a painful lesion in the brain. Centers muscular activity is damaged and nervous fatigue there are epileptic seizures. At the time a seizure starts random uncontrolled muscle activity, which causes great suffering to the patient. Often patients with epilepsy are prescribed, excluding anti-epileptics, antispasmodics, which are designed to relax the muscles to prevent damage.

Treatment

Therapy is in most cases limited to the use of spasmolytic, which helps the body to remove the spasm of the muscles of the back. Apply additional methods such as psychotherapy and massage.

Drugs

Treatment involves medication and reducing pain with analgesics and muscle relaxation antispasmodics. Before use it is necessary to consult with a pharmacist and know the peculiarities of the organism. In hospital, treatment consists of injections of vitamins, staging blockades and even surgical interventions. It will be much more effective than self-administration of medications. Therefore, contact your doctor, especially if the spasm you feel constant tension in the spine and pain which gives in the limbs.

Psychotherapy and massage

Psychological methods are based on the natural relaxation of the body. Try to be calm – it will help in case of psychogenic causes spasm. You need to sit down, relax, read a book or drink a Cup of tea or warm milk, in one word – to do everything possible to bring yourself into a relaxed state.

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A relaxing massage can be done independently. Slowly, with an effort to massage the damaged muscle. If the spasm occurred in the waist or chest level, ask loved ones to massage the affected area. Note that to resort to self-massage is possible only with full confidence that there are no more serious factors that led to the spasm.

Effects spasms

Prolonged spasms can cause a variety of negative consequences – the strengthening of scoliosis, the development of sciatica in the lower back, the contraction of arteries and tissue necrosis. Tonic spasms of the neck muscles can cause constant migraine, fainting because of the kinked arteries. Possible toxic contamination of the tissues in consequence of the violation of the outflow of blood and excretions of the active metabolites of muscle activity. This condition can lead to jaundice and toxemia.

A sedentary lifestyle leads to degenerative disc disease, scoliosis – severe changes that interfere with a person to continue an active and fulfilling life. To prevent cramps, you need to do physical therapy. Swimming, stretching, charging increases muscle tone and are an excellent prevention of diseases of the back.