Muscle spasms strike suddenly, often during exercise or strenuous activity. Although it may be tempting to try to work through the pain of a muscle spasm, ignoring the initial spasm can cause your symptoms to worsen. Addressing muscle spasm symptoms immediately may help reduce their intensity and duration.
Identification
Your brain sends signals to your muscles, alerting them to contract and relax as you move the various parts of your body. A muscle spasm occurs when a muscle suddenly contracts on its own. A contraction can last for several seconds or several minutes. Short contractions are called spasms, while longer contractions are called cramps, although the underlying process is the same for both conditions.
Symptoms
In addition to pain, muscle spasms may cause your muscle to feel hard. If you look at the affected body part, you may notice the muscle under the skin appears to bulge or twitch. Spasms may occur multiple times, particularly if you don't rest the muscle. Although spasms are common with exercise, they may also occur with very little movement and can occur when you change positions while you sleep.
Causes
Muscle spasms can occur due to fatigued muscles during exercise, particularly if you are just beginning an exercise program or sport and your muscles aren't conditioned to the activity. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that some people are predisposed to muscle cramps and get them regularly with any physical exertion. Aging can increase your chance of developing muscle spasms. Older muscles may begin to atrophy, or decrease in size, and can no longer handle intense workouts as easily.
Dehydration, or loss of bodily fluids, can also cause spasms. Dehydration can occur if you don't replace fluids and electrolytes lost by vomiting, diarrhea or sweating. Spasms may be more likely to occur when you sweat profusely when you exercise, particularly if you exercise outdoors when temperatures and humidity levels are high. You may be more likely to develop spasms if you have certain diseases or conditions such as thyroid disease, compression or irritation of spinal nerves, spinal canal narrowing, hardening of the articles, Lou Gehrig's disease or metabolic disorders that cause an imbalance in potassium, calcium or magnesium.
Treatment and Prevention
Using your fingers to stretch and massage the muscle can help it relax. Applying heat to the affected muscle may also decrease the duration of the spasm. Treating underlying conditions or diseases may decrease muscle spasms. In severe cases, your doctor may prescribe medications such as quinine, phenytoin or carbamazepine. If spasms occur when you exercise, stretching before exercise, stopping when you feel fatigued and drinking sports drinks while you exercise can help prevent spasms.
