SGBP Final 4

Muscle spasm

protects the

injured area

from further

damage

Muscle spasm

A muscle spasm is experienced when your muscle tightens up and does not relax.
Spasms usually occur as a reflex (meaning that you cannot control the contraction).
When any part of the spine is injured – including a disc, ligament, bone, or muscle – the
muscles automatically go into spasm to reduce the motion around the area. This
mechanism is designed to protect the injured area and prevent
further damage.

When muscles contract they produce lactic acid, which is a
waste product from a chemical reaction inside muscle cells.
During contraction, the small blood vessels traveling through the
muscles are pinched off, which causes a build up of lactic acid. If
the muscle cells cannot relax, as happens in a muscle spasm, and too much lactic acid
builds up, it causes a painful burning sensation. It is this burning sensation that is felt as
an acute severe pain. When the muscle relaxes, the blood vessels open up, and the lactic
acid is eventually washed away by fresh blood flowing into the muscle.

Paraspinal muscles are thought to play an important role in preventing serious back
injuries, such as a herniated disc by going into spasm. When you experience a back
spasm, it is often a paraspinal muscle tightening up, which is a warning signal that your
back is either bearing more weight than it should, or bending and twisting improperly.
Paraspinal muscle spasms are extremely painful; the pain normally stops a person from
doing whatever activity caused the pain, before a more serious injury to the discs or
spinal cord can occur. In this way, a back spasm can prevent a serious injury, as well as
protect an existing injury while it is healing.

Paraspinal muscle groups

The two most important causes for low back pain are:

 Abnormal posture

 Improper and/ or excessive weight lifting