What is a muscle spasm?
A muscle spasm or a muscle contraction is an unintentional contraction of a muscle.
Muscle spasms can occur very quickly and resolve quickly as well and they can be very painful as well.
There is a difference between a muscle spasm and a muscle twitch. A muscle twitch is also known as fasciculation and it is an uncontrolled movement of a large muscle in the body which can be viewed in the skin.
The pains associated with the muscle spasms are very painful and one can only get relief when the spasm is released.
These kinds of pain can also occur in the chest when the muscles in the chest contract involuntarily.
There can also be a chance the muscle spasms in the chest could cause a squeezing pain that might be mistaken for a heart attack.
There can be many causes and health conditions that lead to muscles spasms such as chest injuries, pulled chest muscle, and fibromyalgia.
What causes the muscle spasm in the chest?
Pulled chest muscle: A pulled chest muscle can cause muscle spasms. It is common that anyone can suffer from a pulled chest muscle.
But sports athletes and sportsmen for instance basketball papers, weightlifters, tennis players, and boxers are more prone to get muscle spasms in the chest.
Muscle spasms in the chest are caused by a trauma or a force of the hit during the play and hit. This can even tear the muscle.
Muscle spasm can be very severe and it is the most severe symptom of a pulled chest muscle.
People affected by muscle spasms may face uncontrollable pain and their muscles will become extremely sensitive.
Chest wall injury: Chest wall injuries are common in people who practice a lot of sports and in athletes.
There are 12 pairs of ribs in the chest and they are separated by the intercostal nerve, vein and the artery.
Any injury to these can automatically injure the chest wall or the thoracic wall which will then end up in a spasm.
Pain the chest muscle is very common for people who play football and for football players and even for those who do a lot of bodybuilding exercises.
There is a lot of equipment used in bodybuilding and even that can cause spasms in the muscles.
Bench press, dumbbell press, and pushups can cause muscle spasms and thus muscle pains in the chest.
Stress fractures: Stress fractures are normally witnessed in athletes and sportsmen. Excess strain causes stress in the ribs.
This problem is also faced by people who play golf as bending causes stresses in the ribs.
Repetition of action and sports may cause stress fracture and in some cases, this might cause a muscle spasm.
This can be life-threatening and it can cause excessive pain, so it is necessary to be cured.
How to get relief from muscle spasm
In order to avoid pain from muscle spasms, you should be careful about a few things such as:
- Water intake is very important for the flow of electrolytes to all parts of the body. You should drink at least 7 to 8 glasses of water if you wish to avoid muscle spasms. Liquids and healthy juices can also be taken to avoid this problem.
- A warm water bath or a hot water pad should be kept on the affected area for the relaxation of muscles. A hot water bath should be taken for 30 minutes and this will relieve the muscle spasm and will greatly reduce the pain.
- You can even apply ice packs which will help to relieve the pain and swelling and the soreness in the affected areas.
- You should also avoid lifting heavy weights as this can cause heavy strain on the muscles and easily cause muscle spasm.
If you follow these procedures you can get relief from the pain and although you will not get 100 percent relief, all of this is worth a try, so you should definitely follow these procedures.
Some facts of muscles spasms
Spasms can affect many different types of muscles in the body and cause a lot of symptoms in the body.
Muscle spasms in the skeletal muscles are very common and occur due to muscle fatigue, dehydration and due to electrolyte abnormalities.
This can be extremely painful and is short lived and it can be relieved by gently stretching your muscles.
If the muscle spasms pain is very severe and intense you should immediately seek the doctor and get medical help because the problem can then get quite severe.
Is dehydration a common cause of muscle spasms?
Dehydration occurs due to loss of water in the body and as mentioned above, you should drink 7 to 8 glasses of water a day in order to avoid muscle spasm in the body. Common symptoms of dehydration include:
- Dry mouth
- No sweating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Cramps in the muscles
- No flow of tears from the eyes
Chest muscles- few things that you should know
The first and foremost thing is to understand what exactly are chest muscles.
There are muscles in the chest, but there is also muscle in the back which supports the chest muscles. All these muscles are involved in the movements of the arms and shoulders.
A muscle spasm can occur in any of these muscles and the pain can be quite intimidating. The pain can be due to a number of reasons and many muscles might be involved in the pain.
The pectoralis muscles are the largest muscles of the chest and they are commonly knowns as the pecs.
They can be easily seen, and they are the ones which bodybuilders normally boast about. Secondly, there are the pectoralis minor muscles just below the larger ones.
Next are the intercostal muscles just below the pectoralis muscles and the pectoralis minor muscles.
The intercostal muscles aid in the breathing and support the muscle movement with the pectoral chest. All these muscles are connected to the chest and all of these are the chest muscles.
The main causes of chest muscle spasms
Muscle spasms are normally caused due to the imbalance of electrolytes. Electrolytes are a form of minerals and these minerals include calcium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, and sodium.
When the balance of these minerals is off, either they increase in number or decrease it causes an imbalance of the minerals.
This imbalance of minerals might also be caused by deficiencies or dehydration which can be extremely painful and hard to resist.
Pain from these muscles spasms can be quite intense and one can definitely feel that their muscle might be ripped or torn off.
In some extreme cases, there have been reports that the muscle was ripped off the bone and this can cause intense pain, one that is not bearable at any cost and which would definitely require medical assistance.
These muscle spasms can occur to anyone at any age and to either men, women or children though it is said that most people who are into a lot of sports and physical activities and to bodybuilders it occurs the most because their activities involve a lot of vigorous exercising of the muscles.
When it comes to muscle chest spasm, immediate action should be taken to avoid any life-threatening issue which can be quite dangerous.
Although there is nothing serious but coronary arterial spasms can occur in people specially aged above 40 and in that case, it is best to stay safe and call the ambulance as soon as possible and get medical help.
You can think that there is no serious issue but even then, you should be careful and not take any chance at a slight mishap can make things worse and you would not want to regret it later.
It is just the imbalance of the electrolytes which causes the muscles spasms in the chest and electrolytes and water are needed to provide ease and relief to the body and to the muscles.
Pulled muscles in a race or in a sports activity, sprains and even fibromyalgia can cause muscle spasms in the chest and the medications taken to treat them might make the minerals to deplete rapidly thus the electrolyte imbalance and the muscle spasm.
Missed meals and no intake of fruits, vegetables, and vital nutrients, not enough salt and too much water loss can be a cause of dehydration.
If you take a balanced diet and good water intake you might be able to avoid the muscle spasms.
Water is very important especially for growing age we should make sure to intake a good quantity of fluids and liquids either be it water, juices in the form of milk but it should be there.
With growing age, the person should take care of his own self as with age the pain that used to be in the ages of teenage life and in 20’s was easier to resist rather than now in the age of 40’s so it is up to you to control yourself and take care of your self for your own good.
The pain is uncontrollable and in some cases very severe. It is advised to lay down, and take a proper diet and some fluids or ice packs.
You should get anything that has good electrolytes such as orange juice as it is packed with potassium and magnesium.
Although these measures if taken will be good for the body but they will not cure the muscle spasm pain to the fullest.
Full recovery will take time, rest and most important of all proper medications are what will be best to heal them.
Rest is very important in this situation in order for the pain to heal and your doctor will suggest the same to you.
You should get a checkup from a good doctor if there is a pull in the chest muscle and this problem can occur frequently with age and as you grow up.
Muscle spasms in the chest- something to ponder over
For people involved in a lot of sports on an international level, it is their entire career as they work for fame and for money and follow their interest as a profession.
Often in news, we hear that some of the sportsman either a basketball player, a footballer or a bodybuilder has some serious injury and will not be playing the next game.
These kinds of news always disappoint the fans but who would have thought that they might be facing any of the issues that we have just mentioned above.
It seems that muscle spasms are fairly common among all. But with people involved in sports activity, it is the most common because they are always involved in some activities and they also take some special supplements in order to stay fit.
In other people either men or women, this problem can occur as well. They might be due to the imbalance of electrolytes or due to a heavy weight lift as well.
All of the information above implies on the one fact which is that you yourself should try to stay fit and take a very healthy diet which is full of nutrients and vitamins.
The imbalance of electrolytes is due to less water intake and can cause dehydration thus leading to a muscle spasm in the chest.
For people living in countries where it is extremely hot, you should be very particular about the water intake as this can greatly affect your health and cause muscle spasms.
These measures, if taken can save one from a lot of problems, but even then, proper checkup should be done every few months or so specially by people who age 40 and above.
You should regularly visit your doctor to find out if there is an issue which needs to be taken care of.
Although muscle spasms have a lot of causes even then, it can be also caused by itself without any reason and it also requires proper medication from a qualified doctor.