The uncontrollable, involuntary spasms can affect many different types of body muscles, leading to many different symptoms.
The most common muscle spasms are those of skeletal muscle and are usually due to excessive stress., dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Convulsions occur abruptly, it's painful, but also, usually, brief. You may find relief from the gentle stretching of the muscles.
If the muscle spasms are particularly painful, if they do not recede, or if they recur frequently, You should tell your doctor about possible underlying causes.
The smooth muscles inside the walls of the hollow organs (such as the large intestine) may have a spasm, causing severe pain. This pain is called colic, which means "coming and going". Examples of such pains include cramps, diarrhea, gallbladder pain and pain from kidney stone excretion.
A special form of muscle spasm is the so-called dystonia, caused by a possible chemical abnormality, which contribute to the transmission of signals to the brain. Examples of dystonia include ravioli and eyelid spasm. Treatment may include medication to restore normal neurotransmitter levels and Botox injections to paralyze irritated muscles and stop spasms..
Muscle spasms: ALL possible causes
There are a variety of causes for muscle spasms and, each of them, depends on predisposing factors, from the part of the body involved and from the environment in which the body is exposed.
Muscle spasms can occur when a muscle is overworked, or if he has remained in the same position for an extended period of time. What happens is that the muscle cell runs out of energy and fluid, it is overstimulated and shrunk. This spasm may involve part of a muscle, the whole muscle, or even neighboring muscles.
Stress
Stress as a cause of skeletal muscle spasms often occurs in athletes who do intense exercise in a warm environment.. This is also a common problem with construction workers or other jobs that require working in a hot environment. Usually, muscle spasms will occur in the large muscles, which "lift" even the heaviest load.
Exercise after long inactivity
Exercises you are not used to can also cause muscle spasms. For example, abdominal muscle spasms can occur, when the person decides to start exercising vigorously on the abdominal muscles.
Muscle spasms in the hand and fingers are similarly caused by prolonged use of the small muscles of the hand., something that often happens to writers.
Dehydration
It is a common belief that dehydration and depletion of electrolytes in the body leads to muscle spasms and cramps.. Muscle cells require enough water, glucose, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium to allow proteins to enter and function normally. If any of these are missing, then the cells may become irritated and muscle spasms occur.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries (peripheral arterial disease) can also lead to muscle spasm and cramps again due to insufficient blood supply and nutrients to the muscle. Peripheral arterial disease can reduce blood flow to the lower extremities, causing leg pain, as long as you stand, you walk, or you run.
Chronic diseases
Nocturnal leg cramps and restless legs syndrome are considered a type of sleep disorder., which is related to muscle spasms.
Chronic sore throat and back pain can lead to recurrent muscle spasms. Large muscle groups make up the trunk, including the neck, of the chest wall, of the back (dorsal), hands and feet. Spasm in these muscles can be the result of an injury, or they may develop over time, due to arthritic changes in the spine. Systemic diseases such as diabetes, anemia (low red blood cells), kidney disease, Thyroid problems and other hormonal issues are also possible causes of muscle spasms.
Diseases of the nervous system, such as lateral amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and some spinal cord injury, can cause muscle spasm.
Convulsions in limb muscles
Smooth muscles can also cause spasms. When a hollow structure full of air or fluid is pressed by the muscle spasm, causes severe pain, since the liquid or air cannot be compressed. For example, smooth muscle in the intestinal wall can cause convulsions, causing pain waves, called colic.
Various diseases
When kidney stones are excreted through the urinary tract, the smooth muscles that are in the walls of the ureter (which connects the kidney to the bladder) they may spasm and cause severe pain. Often this type of pain is associated with nausea and vomiting and is called renal colic..
The muscles surrounding the esophagus may break, when irritated due to esophagitis, or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Diarrhea may be associated with colic, where the muscles inside the wall of the large intestine contract spasms just before a watery discharge.
Menstrual cramps in women occur when the walls in the uterus contract strongly.
Heart
The coronary arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood also have smooth muscle within their walls., who may have convulsions. This can cause chest pain, which is distinguished by the pain of coronary heart disease (where plaque buildup causes narrowing of the arteries). Coronary artery spasm often occurs in smokers, or in those with high blood cholesterol levels.
Motor disorders
Dystonia is a movement disorder, where muscle groups contract vigorously and cause twisting. Uncontrolled repetitive movements and the inability to maintain a normal posture can be the result of this type of muscle spasm.. The symptoms can be very mild at first, but they gradually evolve and become more frequent and intense. Muscle spasms of this type include the cervical spine (where the neck muscle spasms and causes the head to tilt to one side), eyelid spasm (where there is uncontrolled opening and closing of the eyelids) and laryngeal dystonia that affects the muscles that control speech.
Dystonia can be caused by an unnatural function of chemical neurotransmitters in the part of the brain called the basal ganglia.. These chemicals (serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine and GABA) are required to properly send messages between brain cells, starting with muscle contraction. Symptoms of dystonia can also appear as a complication of a stroke.
Source: iatropedia.gr
