Muscle spasm in back!

[Badbackbetsy!]

Hi,

I have various aches & pains in my lower back. I have been seeing a physio and
doing all the excercises, however these trigger a muscle in my back to spasm. I have been advised that this is because the muscle is week and the more I excercise the stronger it will get.

The muscle wont relax on its own, ive tried gentle stretching and soaking in a bath, but it wont go. The only thing that stops it is when the physio put something similar to a tens machine on it.

The pain of this muscle is making me not want to do the excercises.

Im not back at physio till next Thursday and can bare this till then.

Any suggestions???

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[MrPhysio+]

Hello Badbackbetsy,
There are a few reasons why muscles will spasm. 1. The muscles are too short, requiring stretching. 2. The body is making the muscles spasm to splint or guard an underlying problem (disk bulge, nerve entrapment, muscle tear or other musculo-skeletal problem. 3. A learned response in the muscle that is no longer relevant to actual physical injury or disability,
All of the above can give the same symptoms, which can be very painful and frustrating.
Treatment requires a good assessment otherwise improvement will not occur. The description of muscle weakness may be misleading. The problem may be causing your body to inhibit the ability of your muscles to provide full strength contractions until you exercise resulting in an excessive splinting reaction for protection of the area ie a spasm.

The TENS like machine inhibits the muscles ability to spasm. A spinal scan would be a good idea if physio techniques are not providing longer lasting improvement. Have you had a second opinion and physical assessment?

Trigger point dry needling (using an acupuncture needle but not acupuncture) can be very effective for this type of problem, especially if the needles are connected to electrical stimulation. Sports taping can also assist.

More information may help me fine tune the suggestions to assist you further.
Cheers,
MrPhysio+

[nmarman]

Good advice mrphysio+ I agree

The body is making the muscles spasm to splint or guard an underlying problem in the back this is often down to two things disc bulge or inflamed facet joints (the small joints of the back of the spine which are highly sensitive). As long as you don’t have leg symptoms I would recommend manipulation most of my patients get relief with 24hrs post treatment.
Go and see a Chiropractor or Osteopath or possibly a physio that has been taught this technique post grad. Warning: if you are very tender it might ache afterwards but as the inflammation goes down (24hrs) you will start to feel loads better.

hope that helps

[Badbackbetsy!]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info. Since initially posting this query I have seen 2 other physio,s and am no better. On Monday whilst leaning forward my lower back just completely went hard and the muscles spasmed again. This is the worst its ever been and the pain was so horrendous it made me cry. I can now only walk at the speed of a snail. Been back to the GP and he is referring me to a specialist. There is definately something going on deeper in my back that is causing this!

[Emanuele]

Hello, BadbackBetsy

Would you mind to tell us a bit more about your presentation?

Reading through what you have just said, there are few points which are not particularly clear which I would like, if you don't mind, to know more about

1) Where exactly is your pain? Could you be a bit more precise? Does affect both right and left area of the back or it stays at the centre of it or maybe a side is more painful than the other?
2) you said the pain started 3 months ago, Can you recall any particular reason? Any trauma? Or was an insidious building up problem?
3) Do you get any associated symproms? Pins and needles, weakness or funny sensation on groin, thigh, legs or feet?
4) How would you describe the nature of this pain?
5) You said your pain is worse in the morning, does it get any better during the day? when you say that is constantly there, do you mean 24h? Does the pain disturb your sleep?
6) You said that sitting and standing still for too long make the pain worse... anything else that you can think of? what about bearing down, sneezing or coughing? what about twisting or bending backward with your back?
7) Have you had any previous episodes of LBP?
8) which kind of excercises did your physio ask to do?
9) would you mind to tell us a bit more about your profession? (can be relevant for the case)


Thank you very much hope you will get better soon

[nmarman]

don't worry to much! Spasm situation are painful and disabling but most or the time are just a sign that we havn't looked after the core well enough. You will need a MRI to confirm any disc problem we can then rule out disc instability (if you don't have leg symptoms this is unlikely)

Can I ask why have u seen two physios and was the only treatment in exercise form? I would say you will need around ten manual therapy session at a reasonably high frequency to get you any better. This should include passive stretching, mobilisation, massage to get this condition under control. It might be best to go private where you should find you are given more hands on treatment.

P.s - like I said before I would seek
Manipulation from a osteopath or a chiropractor (a chiropractor can take x-rays and check for any signs of disc degeneration). Most of the complaints these professions see are from the back so you would be in good hands.