It is impossible that you will never be faced with muscle spasms in your life. These are really common. As with everything that is common in life, muscle spasms need to be understood. We will talk about facts that you have to know about and then identify the treatment options that can be used once muscle spasms appear.
Muscle Spasms Facts To Know
For starters, the spasms can affect various body muscles, leading to a multitude of presentations and symptoms. Skeletal muscle spasms are by far the most common. They usually appear due to electrolyte abnormalities and dehydration. Such a spasm will abruptly appear. It is painful and does not last a long time. By simply stretching the muscle, the spasm usually goes away.
There are situations in which the muscle spasm is particularly painful. If this happens, it is important that you always go to the doctor since there is a huge possibility that there is an underlying cause you have to solve so that the condition can go away.
It is possible that you have muscle spasms with the muscles that are found within hollow organ walls. This would cause particularly significant pain. Such pain will be colicky, appearing and disappearing without any apparent reason. Such examples include pain that is associated with diarrhea, kidney stone passing, gallbladder pain and menstrual cramps.
Dystonias are special muscle spasms forms that see an abnormality that exists with chemicals transmitting brain signals. For instance, we have blepharospasm and torticollis. In this situation treatment can include various medications that are necessary in order to restore neurotransmitter levels.
Treating Muscle Spasms
The most important thing that you have to understand about muscle spasms is that it is much easier to prevent them than to treat them. That is because most of the cases are caused by electrolyte disturbances and dehydration. You have to be sure that your body is always hydrated properly. In the event that you are faced with fluid loss that is caused by diarrhea, vomiting or fever, such symptoms have to be controlled. If you work out in a hot gym, you need to drink a lot of fluids and make sure that you are properly hydrated. To put it as simple as possible, if you sweat a lot, you need to drink more water.
In the event that you will go to the gym, for a run or you work out, no matter the activity, make sure that you prepare the muscles for what is about to happen. Athletes always warm up and stretch before a game. In a similar way, any non-athlete needs to warm up before mowing, raking, shovelling snow and doing any heavy labor.
If a really large muscle goes into a spasm, the treatment is to first stretch it gently to the regular length in order to break spasm cycles. Extra treatment would be necessary based on underlying muscle spasm cause. If muscles are strained or damaged, medication may be necessary in order to get rid of the associated pain.
Some people suffer from what is known as nocturnal leg cramps. These are difficult to treat and control. In this case, quinine is usually prescribed. However, such a drug can lead towards some side effects. Only take medication for nocturnal leg cramps if it is prescribed by a doctor. The same thing goes for dystonias.