A lot of people come to me in pain, seeking treatments and thinking that a deep tissue massage will help alleviate symptoms. As I discussed in the Deep Tissue Massage article, this may not be the best treatment for your symptoms.
The Reason – Muscle Spasms. Commonly referred to as muscle cramps, spasms are sustained, involuntary muscle contractions. A natural reflex that occurs when the body detects a source of distress, and responds by guarding the area to protect it from further damage causes spasms. (Rattray, Ludwig, 2005, p. 193).
When the body is placed in an emergency (trauma, inflammation or infection), it responds by increasing the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight) that stimulates nociceptors (nerve receptors that cause pain) and puts the body in a state of stress. This results in a spasm. Without proper care, the spasm will manifest to more pain, reduced movement and blood flow (Rattray, Ludwig, 2005, p. 194).
Other causes of muscle spasms include (Rattray, Ludwig, 2005, p. 196):
Reduced Blood Flow – Without proper cellular nutrition, the body will go into protective spasm and decrease range of motion.
Increased Nerve Firing – stress/anxiety, tissue fatigue or an overuse injury.
Cold Tissue – Cold will reduce local blood flow (see above).
Inadequate Cellular Nutrition – without proper nutrition, there will be an imbalance in the body, which can cause a spasm. This could be from dehydration, stress or vomiting/diarrhea.
Hereditary – Sometimes nerve are damaged or malformed, which could cause chronic muscle spasms. (Fink, J, 2014).
Massage Therapy For Spasms (Rattray, Ludwig, 2005, p. 200-201):
When the spasm is acute, indirect techniques are used such as gentle mobilizations on the muscle receptors in the belly and tendon, contraction of opposing muscles (to let the body disengage the muscle in spasm), Swedish techniques to promote blood flow to the area and treatment of compensating tissues. While in the acute phase, the guarding should not be released until the source of the spasm is taken care of.
After the spasm has decreased, treatment focuses on increasing range of motion to boost the health of the muscle tissue. Deeper massage techniques, such as kneading, stripping and light trigger point therapy combined with stretching and a remedial exercise plan will help the tissues to recover.
How To Continue Healing Muscle Spasms At Home (Rattray, Ludwig, 2005, p. 201):
Appropriate hydrotherapy applications should be used to promote proper healing. Gentle Cryotherapy should be used with acute spasm to give a natural pain-free affect. During a spasm and after it has been reduced, Heat should be used.
With muscle guarding, Pain-Free Range of Motion of the surrounding joints will help maintain mobility, increase circulation and not let the tissues stiffen.
Appropriate stretches and strengthening exercises will increase mobility of the tissues and promote proper healing.
Exercises to reduce stress, such as meditation and diaphragmatic breathing, are encouraged as well.
As always, thank you for reading this article, and I hope that you have a better understanding of how muscle spasms work and how you can help to recover.
Stay well (and warm), and check back next month for a new and exciting article!
References:
Fink, J. (2014, February 14). Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Overview. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1509/
Rattray, F., & Ludwig, L. (2005). Clinical Massage Therapy: Understanding, Assessing And Treating Over 70 Conditions (11th ed.). Elora, ON: Talus Incorporated
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