Hi, I'm Natalie. And today, Veritas Health is going to bring you how to relieve a back muscle spasm. A back muscle spasm can be very painful and make daily activities even more very uncomfortable. Pushing through pain can increase injury and delay recovery. Rather than pushing through pain, you can give your back a short period of rest.
Another thing you can use to help reduce a back muscle spasm is some cold therapy. You can use an ice pack or ice cubes wrapped in a towel, and apply to your back for 15 to 20 minutes in the painful area. You should give your skin several hours rest before application of another ice pack. Ice packs work by reducing local inflammation and, thus, relieving pain in that area.
Another treatment option you can use is heat therapy. You can use a heating pad or a hot pack applied to the painful area for, once again, 15 to 20 minutes. This brings soothing pain relief and local blood flow to help reduce pain in that area. You should give your skin several hours of rest between applications.
Another option you can use is resting in an inclined position. You can lie on your bed on your back with your upper body supported and your knees supported with a pillow. Another option you can do is lying in a reclining chair with your upper body slightly inclined and knees supported by a pillow.
You can also use over-the-counter medications to help relieve back pain. You can use an anti-inflammatory such as NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen Advil, naproxen Aleve, or you can use Tylenol, which does not reduce inflammation but can still be very effective in reducing pain.
If the over-the-counter medications aren't working, you may be prescribed muscle relaxers, which help reduce the painful muscle spasm. When taking these medications, there are some serious side effects that can occur. So you should not drive while taking these.
Finally, once you are through your acute episode of back pain, your physical therapist or doctor might prescribe physical therapy for an individually tailored controlled progressive exercise program to help reduce the chance of a future flare-up. To learn more about how to treat your own back muscle spasms, please visit us at Spine Health and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this. Thank you for watching.
