Treat a Back Spasm

While back pain from a strain or pulled muscle is always hard to deal with, back spasms can be a whole different animal. Back spasms can result when a muscle has been torn or overworked, resulting in inflammation. Inflammation then stimulates the nerves that connect to the back muscles, causing the muscles to tighten and contract. Read this article for some tips on how to treat a back spasm with ideas ranging from medical treatments to at-home remedies.

Steps

Physical treatment

1. Use pressure. This method often works to reduce a lot of painful muscle spasms. Before moving, rolling over, or getting up, place all four fingers or fingertips close to the spine and over the spasm. Press down. Try to move––if the muscle spasms, press harder and wait for the spasms to stop before trying to move again. When you have moved or stood up completely, wait a few seconds.
   • Try walking with your fingers on the muscle spasms.
2. Try hydrotherapy. In the shower, turn on the hot water and focus it on your back for 2-3 minutes. Alternate with a blast of cold water on the back for 30 seconds. Repeat until pain has somewhat subsided.
3. Begin gentle stretching exercises once inflammation has been reduced and the back spasm eases. Stretching the muscle fibers can help them relax and further soothe the back spasm. Always stretch before performing physical exercise.
4. Add strength training to your exercise routine. If you are a bodybuilder, make sure to balance your back muscle training with other muscle groups.
   • Pull-ups work the upper back and biceps, but don't neglect the scapular retractor muscles. When you do exercises to work your upper back, make sure that you squeeze your shoulder blades together to strengthen these muscles.
   • Do any type of light rowing exercise (1 dumbbell, cable, elastic tube or machine) using a full range of movement. Those stabbing pains between your shoulder blades will quickly disappear.
   • Rearward fly exercises can also work well if you only have light weights. Doing rows with a 1-pound dumbbell may take too many repetitions, so do flys instead to save time.
5. Use good lifting technique to prevent further injuries. Whether you are lifting 25 pounds or 1 pound, follow these steps:
   • Approach the object that you plan to lift. Place your feet on either side of the object, slightly behind it.
   • Bend at the waist and knees. Try not to round out your spine.
   • Pick up the object. Make sure you have a good grip.
   • Stand up using your thigh and butt muscles. Tighten your abdominals to support your back as you stand up.

Relief through heat or cooling

1. Apply ice to a back spasm for the first 48 to 72 hours. Apply ice for 20 minutes, remove for 1.5 hours, then re-apply for 20 minutes. Repeat this cycle as often as possible during the first 2 to 3 days after a back spasm begins.
   • Use a thin barrier between a chemical ice pack and your skin, such as a towel, so that the ice can be effective and prevent conditions such as frostbite. Ice will reduce the inflammation that can cause spasms, and can effectively reduce the use of dangerous and addictive painkillers.
2. Start applying heat after 72 hours. Moist heat, such as damp heating pads, hot showers or hot tubs is usually recommended. Heat helps to promote healing by drawing healthy blood cells to the area of the back spasm. Heat also relaxes the nerves and muscle fibers.
   • Try an ice/heat cycle after the first 72 hours. Some physical therapists suggest using heat applications before stretching and ice after stretching.

Relief through over-the-counter painkillers

1. Try taking acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is a very popular OTC drug for back pain, and generally has few, if any, side-effects. Acetaminophen, unlike non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, relieves pain by lessening its perception in the brain. There is little chance of addiction to acetaminophen, and patients tend not to develop a tolerance to the drug.

Resting

1. Rest. You don't have to go on strict bed rest, but you should avoid any activity that aggravates or causes back spasms including heavy lifting or certain exercises.
   • Get plenty of rest both at night and after periods of intense back muscle use.
2. Limit complete rest to only 1 to 2 days. Prolonged bed rest can be more harmful than helpful when treating back spasms.
3. Elevate your legs. Some patients report feeling better after they elevate their legs. As you elevate your legs, try diverting the mind from the pain of the spasm and try focusing on relaxation techniques.
   • Use pillows as simple props.
   • Lie down of a stiff mattress, or the floor, with your legs propped up or a support (or chair), maintaining a 90-degree bent on the knees.
   • Prop your feet or lower legs onto a footstool while sitting down.

Upping your fluids

1. Drink plenty of fluids. Since back spasms are often associated with dehydration and electrolyte loss, it's important to get enough water to drink. Be especially vigilant about water intake if you live in a warm environment or are nursing an illness with fever or vomiting.

Medical help

1. Know when it's time to visit the doctor rather than continuing to attempt to self heal. Back spasms are painful, exhausting, and debilitating. Know when to stop trying to treat yourself and solicit the help of a professional. Call a doctor if:
   • Your back spasms are severe and unbearable.
   • Back pain and back spasms occur frequently, or have a history of occurring frequently. Back spasms can be an underlying symptom of other problems.
   • Your back spasm or pain has lasted for longer than two weeks.
2. Take medications to relieve pain. Doctors commonly recommend over-the-counter naproxen or ibuprofen.
   • For more severe pain, your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants or short-term narcotics regimens. Typically, muscle relaxants are prescribed early on in treatment, and on a short-term basis.
   • In some cases, certain tricyclic antidepressants are helpful in treating spasms. Tricyclic antidepressants are commonly prescribed for pain even when a patient doesn't demonstrate depression.
   • In most cases, your doctor should prescribe you some NSAIDS, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. OTC varietals of NSAIDS include ibuprofen and naproxen, but your doctor should be able to give you stronger drugs for more extreme cases.
3. Go to physical therapy or visit a chiropractor. In the beginning, these professionals will use treatments like heat, ultrasound and muscle release techniques to fight spasms. Then, they should provide exercises to increase flexibility and strengthen back muscles, which can prevent pain from recurring.
   • Some people have reported improvement of chronic back spasms after acupuncture. Look for a licensed, reputable acupuncture practitioner who has experience in relieving back spasms.
4. Ask for injections. A cortisone injection may provide pain relief for a few months, especially if the spasms are causing pain to radiate down your leg.

Tips

• Give in to the fact that severe back spasm does require rest for a while at the beginning, and sometimes even small weight bearing movements will immediately trigger it. Allow yourself time to heal.
• Add certain foods or supplements to your diet. Some deficiencies can lead to muscle spasms, such as calcium or potassium deficiency. Take calcium supplements or eat more cheese, milk or yogurt for calcium. Bananas, potatoes and bran wheat are some foods high in potassium that you can add to your diet.
• Try to get someone professional or just someone in your family to give you a nice massage and hopefully that should make some of your back spasms go away.
• Try acupuncture for your back spasms. Studies show that acupuncture can have significant positive effects, sometimes more than any other treatment.
• Back spasms rarely require surgery unless the problem stems from an anatomical defect or is associated with unrelenting pain and progressive muscle weakness.

Warnings

• Do not sleep with ice or heat applied to your skin. This can lead to frostbite, nerve damage, or burns.
• Do not return to physical activities if you are using muscle relaxants. Sometimes, muscle relaxants can calm down a back spasm enough that you might think you can do certain activities. However, you could actually make your injury worse.
• Opiates and strong painkillers used to treat back pain can have serious and fatal side effects including liver damage, especially when taken in high doses over long periods of time. Never combine these medications with alcohol.
• Do not apply a chemical ice pack directly to bare skin. Always place a barrier between the pack and your skin to prevent frostbite. Ice alone usually will not cause complications as long as it doesn't exceed 15 minutes or cover a large area of the body. Wrap in a thin t shirt if necessary.

Things You'll Need

• Ice
• T-shirt or towel
• Damp heating pad
• Exercise equipment
• Ibuprofen or naproxen
• Muscle relaxants, narcotics or tricyclic antidepressants
• Cortisone injection

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Sources and Citations

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• Remove Muscle Knots
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• Treat Upper Back Pain