Back & Neck Pain Treatment How to Get Relief From a Back Muscle Spasm By Anne Asher, CPT Anne Asher, CPT Facebook LinkedIn Anne Asher, ACE-certified personal trainer, health coach, and orthopedic exercise specialist, is a back and neck pain expert. Learn about our editorial process Updated on November 27, 2019 Medically reviewed Verywell Health articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and healthcare professionals. These medical reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Laura Campedelli, PT, DPT Medically reviewed by Laura Campedelli, PT, DPT LinkedIn Laura Campedelli, PT, DPT, is a physical therapist with experience in hospital-based acute care and outpatient therapy with both children and adults. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print Muscle spasms, often the result of injury, can make for a very tense back. Spasms can occur in any of the body's muscles, including, of course, the trunk, hips and/or core—those areas where good muscle control and flexibility really matter to the health of your spine. Prostock-Studio / Getty Images Causes While many times spasms stem from the muscles themselves, they can also be a result of a more structural problem such as disc herniation. When this is the case, the muscles are trying to stabilize the affected area and to prevent you from moving in such a way as to cause further damage. In his book, Heal Your Aching Back, Dr. Jeffrey Katz, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Brigham Spine Center, says this automatic tightening is a reflex that you can't consciously control. Sometimes, he says, you don't even realize it's occurring until later—when you feel the related pain. Katz adds that another source of muscle spasm in the neck can be emotional stress. Maybe you can't control the spasming while it's happening, but afterward, the contraction can be so strong, it may significantly slow down the progress you might otherwise make in the treatment room. Or it may simply interrupt your life with too much pain. Either way, what do you do? Read on to find out what the experts recommend—from medication to holistic care. Stretching for a Back Muscle Spasm Ultimately, the best thing you can do for a back muscle spasm is stretch, says Dr. Loren Fishmen, a physical medicine, and rehabilitation specialist in New York. (Fishman is also a yoga instructor.) Though generally not serious, back muscle spasms often baffle doctors and family members, he says. This is because even though they likely produce little movement or support, muscles in spasm are hard at work; as such, they require oxygen and nutrient delivery as well as waste disposal. But contraction clamps down on blood vessels through which these substances pass, limiting the exchanges that can occur. Instead, acid builds up in your muscle which can hurt—and makes for more spasm. It's a vicious cycle until you can relax the muscle, he says. Other ways to release the muscle, according to Fishman, include hot baths, gentle massage, and hot packs. The idea, he says, is to dilate the blood vessels and speed tissue repair. Conventional Medical Treatment What can—or will—a conventional medical doctor do for your back muscle spasm? In 2006, a roundtable reported in the European Spine Journal consisting of four M.D.s who regularly treated pain explored the issue in an effort promote the best possible choices for screening, diagnosing, and treating acute low back pain caused by a spasm in the paraspinal muscles. (The paraspinal muscles are the long muscles located at the back of your trunk.) The docs talked about such things as when to order films and other diagnostic tests—and which tests to order—along with medication choice, non-drug treatments, the use of complementary therapies, and the role your emotional and social well-being (called biopsychosocial factors) plays in the healing process. Recommendations that emerged from the conversation included having a thorough physical exam and medical history intake, getting moving as soon after the pain starts as you can, using diagnostic imaging tests sparingly, and more. The doctors advocated patient education as well as good doctor-patient communications. They also concluded that taking a combination of muscle relaxers and NSAIDs may help reduce the spasm (and pain, of course). Fishman adds that conventional medicine can offer treatments designed to interrupt the blood vessel constriction—muscle spasm cycle. Examples include ultrasound, an injection of an anesthetic, or a visit to a physical therapist that includes electrical stimulation to fatigue the muscle, thereby enabling it to relax. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit 2 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Kurz JL. Muscle Spasms. North American Spine Society. 2016. Braun MB, Simonson SJ. Introduction to Massage Therapy (Third Edition). Wolters Kluwer. 2014. Additional Reading Hirayama J, Yamagata M, Ogata S, Shimizu K, Ikeda Y, Takahashi K. Relationship Between Low-Back Pain, Muscle Spasm and Pressure Pain Thresholds in Patients With Lumbar Disc Herniation. Eur Spine J. 2006;15(1):41-47. doi:10.1007/s00586-004-0813-2. Fishman, L., MD, Ardman, C. Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica. Norton. 1997. New York. Katz, J., MD, Parkinson, G. Heal Your Aching Back. Mc Graw-Hill. 2007.