How does muscle spasm feel

Some effective treatments include:. A painful back muscle spasm can make it difficult to perform daily activities or even move. Pushing through the pain may lead to further injury and delay recovery.

Rather than trying to push through the pain, give it a rest. For example, stay home for the day and take it easy. Just remember to move as tolerated, such as by going for short walks. Prolonged inactivity can stiffen your muscles and lead to more pain.

In general, walking is gentle on your back and promotes blood flow, which in turn helps speed the healing process. However, in some cases uneven ground or walking down or uphill can exacerbate an underlying reason for the muscle spasms.

If that occurs, pay close attention to what aspect aggravates the symptoms and try to avoid it if possible. Applying ice wrapped in a protective sheath or towel, or a cold pack, to the painful part of your back is another way to help relieve an acute flare up of pain. As a general guideline, cold therapy will help reduce local inflammation, which in turn contributes to relieving pain. You can use a commercial ice pack or make one yourself.

Cold therapy can be applied for 15 or 20 minutes, then give the skin a rest for a couple hours before the next application. Applying a heat pack or heating pad to the affected area can bring increased blood flow and soothing pain relief. A muscle spasm is a sudden, involuntary movement in one or more muscles. People may also call it a charley horse or a muscle cramp or twitch. These movements can happen in any muscle of the body, and they are very common. Muscle spasms often occur as a result of stress, exercise, or dehydration.

They are usually not a cause for concern. Muscle spasms are very common. They can happen in any part of the body, but they tend to affect the:. Muscle pain, fatigue, and overuse are the most common causes of muscle spasms. Other causes include stress or anxiety, which can lead to muscle twitches in the face. Trapped nerves can result in spasms in the back. Athletes who either do not warm up before they exercise or exercise in very hot conditions may also experience muscle spasms.

Drinking insufficient water before exercise can also cause muscle spasms. People who have certain health conditions, such as nerve disorders or thyroid-related problems, also tend to experience a higher-than-average frequency of muscle spasms. Muscle spasms are not usually anything to worry about, but in some cases, they can be a sign of an underlying neurological health condition.

Neurological health conditions affect the brain, which is responsible for making the muscles move. Not all muscle spasms are painful, but some can cause pain. It can feel as though the muscle is jumping or moving on its own, with this feeling typically lasting just a few seconds. Some people might even be able to see the muscle twitching. Sometimes, it can feel as though the whole muscle has cramped up and cannot move.

This effect most commonly happens in the legs, and it can be quite painful. The muscle may feel hard to the touch. While the cramping sensation tends to pass within several minutes or so, the muscle may continue to hurt for some time afterward.

Ice will calm down the inflammation. Other heat options include a warm bath, hot shower, or a hot tub or spa if you have access to one, which can all help relax your muscles.

When you have a spasm, try drinking some water. While recommendations for how much water you should drink vary based on things like your individual needs, activities, lifestyle, and weather, here are some amounts to go by. The Food and Nutrition Board released a report in that includes general guidelines for total water intake, including the water you get from food and beverages.

The report noted that about 80 percent of the water we need can be taken in from beverages including plain water and 20 percent from foods we eat. Some people find that they can ward off leg cramps at night which can occur in up to 60 percent of adults by doing a little light exercise before they go to sleep. Over-the-counter pain relieving creams may help. These include products that contain lidocaine, camphor, or menthol for example, products by Tiger Balm and Biofreeze.

Emollient gel made from curcuma longa turmeric and celery seed reportedly helps ease the pain and inflammation of a muscle spasm. Buy topical pain relieving creams here. A review article on spasms reported an observational study with three participants who used hyperventilating at 20 to 30 breaths per minute to resolve cramps that were exercise-related. Hyperventilation is when you breathe harder and faster than normal. If you have anxiety, hyperventilation may not be a good choice for you, as it can induce feelings of panic.

Muscle relaxants used for muscle spasms are called centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants SMRs , and are often only prescribed for 2- to 3-week periods. They may order imaging tests to check for possible conditions, such as a fracture, or order blood tests to look for markers for other conditions.

Your doctor may refer you for physical therapy to help you strengthen a particular set of muscles, or to get flexibility and stretching exercises. If your spasms are in your back, consider seeing a chiropractor. They may give you some targeted therapies and exercises to relieve your muscle spasms. A professional massage therapist may also help. Common triggers include:.

Using kinesio tape or compression stockings may help prevent muscle spasms in your legs, according to a small study on runners. Changing that activity may help prevent future spasms. Muscle spasms are usually short lived and benign. Self-treatment, particularly stretching, works for most people. Leg cramps are sudden, involuntary muscle contractions that commonly affect the calves and hamstrings.

They can be caused by fatigue or overuse…. Toe cramps are usually harmless, but that doesn't mean they're not painful.