Do you often experience sharp involuntary pain in your back and leg muscles? Does it get severe within a few minutes? Well, you must not be bearing this sheer pain for a longer span.
The pain you often experience in your back, leg, thighs (often in the Quadriceps), calves, or toes along with the tightening of muscles is known as Muscle Spasms or Muscle Cramps.
Muscle spasms give you a sharp pain that may last from a few seconds to around 15 minutes. This usually happens when any of your body muscles or group of muscles involuntarily and forcibly contract and can’t get relaxed.
In most cases, the muscles start relaxing after a span but can be severe if left untreated. Muscle spasms often result as a consequence of stress, dehydration, or wrong exercise pattern.
In this article, we will discuss the common causes, symptoms, types, and treatments for muscle spasms along with some interesting medical facts. So let’s get started!
Why Do You Experience Muscle Spasms? (Common Causes Behind Muscle Spasms)
- Muscle spasms mostly tend to affect your feet, hands, arms, thighs, abdomen, or intercostal muscles around the rib cage.
- Spasms or cramps often happen to people who are way more involved in physical activities such as running or exercise or people with stress, and anxiety.
- People in cases of dehydration often experience sharp muscle spasms in their legs and lower back.
- Trapped nerves in the back muscles also lead to severe spasms which can impact negatively on other muscle groups.
- Spasms also initiate in the state where your body is exhausted, overdone with any physical activity, injured, or strained.
- Staying or sitting in a position for a longer span can also result in muscle spasms.
- People working in a hot environment often complain about muscle spasms, especially those who work in the construction arena. Hence, muscle spasms can be considered an occupational issue.
- Depletion of electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium in your body also attracts muscle spasms.
- Standing or working on concrete floors is another reason to welcome muscle spasms in the legs.
- An improper body posture while you are sitting or walking; also causes sudden muscle cramps or spasms.
- Insufficient amount of magnesium and potassium also triggers muscle spasms.
Did You Know? The acute sharp pain you experience in your calves is known as “Charly Horses” whereas the sudden sharp muscle pain your experience in your leg during your rest hours is called “Nocturnal Leg Cramp“.
Diagnosis of Muscle Spasms
When the pain gets severe you ought to visit your nearest and reliable doctor for quick relief. In addition to your medical history and medications, he/she may ask you some certain queries as mentioned below-
- The intensity of the pain you are experiencing
- When the muscle spasms happen (in the night hours or post any rigorous physical activity)?
- How long do the cramps usually last?
- How does it feel?
- Other symptoms you are experiencing along with the spasms.
- People with overweight or obese are prone to muscle spasms or cramps.
How To Treat or Comfort Your Cramped Muscles After Spasms?
Stretch it Out
One of the best treatments to reduce muscle cramping immediately is to start stretching the affected area. Stretching allows your muscles to lose and hence provides more flexibility to your body. Remember to do a little stretching always before and after any physical activity or exercise.
Massage
If stretching doesn’t work, start gently massaging with your hands on the affected area as this may ease your tight muscles to relax. You may also massage with a roller.
Walk for Sometime
In the case of Charley Horse, stand up and walk for some time and gently bend your knee in between. This helps relax your calves and relieves the high intensity of the pain. In case, you are encountering leg cramping, sit on the floor, stretch your leg outside and start pulling your foot towards you.
Apply Hot or Cold Gel Packs
Applying a hot gel bag or ice packs may help your muscles to lose and relax a bit with a reduction in pain. Just wrap the hot gel bag or ice pack in a towel and apply it to the affected area. This will surely work to reduce your pain.
Elevate The Affected Area
If you’re experiencing cramps in your legs, thighs, or hands; try to lift them for a while so that the blood circulation may get back to normal in the muscles, and you will eventually feel the difference in pain.
Drink Water
Sometimes cramping initiates when there is a fluid deficiency in your muscles, resulting in sharp pain and spasms. Therefore, drink plenty of water or fluids to relax your muscles. Hydrated muscles are less irritable and uncomfortable than those that are dehydrated.
Painkillers
If you are not experiencing any differences in pain even after stretching, drinking water, or applying gel packs, seek guidance from your reliable doctor and take painkillers to get instant relief. You can take medicines such as ibuprofen or paracetamol as prescribed by your doctor.
What are the Preventions for Muscle Spasms?
Although muscle spasms are unpredictable and unavoidable; you can practice certain solutions to prevent the sharp pain and hardness of muscles. Ageing is something you can’t avoid and hence may experience muscle spasms often. However, other risk factors can be controlled with the following prevention methods.
- Start stretching out your body before and after any physical activity like running, jumping, or crawling behind your baby. By stretching out your body, you allow your muscles to be more flexible reducing the chances of muscle spasms.
- Avoid heat or a hot environment when you’re working or physically involved in any task.
- While sleeping on your back, use a pillow below your feet to lift them whereas, while sleeping on your chest, hang your feet over the end of the bed.
- Keep the sheets and blanket loose around you. Avoid rolling in them tightly as it may lead to muscle spasms.
- Wear shoes with proper fitting
- Avoid medications that cause muscle spasms as a side effect.
- Avoid excess intake of alcohol and caffeine. Drink plenty of water and fresh juices.
When To Visit a Doctor For Muscle Spasms Treatment?
If you think the DIY remedies are fruitless at the moment of sharp pain; seek guidance from your doctor and follow the medications strictly.
Bottom Line
Muscle Spasms or Cramps can happen to anyone anytime; yet they are more prone to the age range of more than 30 years. To avoid severe circumstances; we must follow up a regular exercise routine with a warm stretching and avoid hot environments.
Besides this, we should avoid sitting or staying in the same posture for a longer span to reduce the chances of muscle contractions. If the problem still persists, seek the guidance of your doctor. They know the treatment better!
