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What causes your muscles to lock up?
Spasticity is generally caused by damage or disruption to the area of the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for controlling muscle and stretch reflexes. These disruptions can be due to an imbalance in the inhibitory and excitatory signals sent to the muscles, causing them to lock in place.
How do you get rid of spasticity?
Spasticity can be reduced by:
- Performing stretching exercises daily. Prolonged stretching can make muscles longer, helping to decrease spasticity and prevent contracture.
- Splinting, casting, and bracing. These methods are used to maintain range of motion and flexibility.
Is there a disease that makes your muscles tight?
Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare acquired neurological disorder characterized by progressive muscle stiffness (rigidity) and repeated episodes of painful muscle spasms. Muscular rigidity often fluctuates (i.e., grows worse and then improves) and usually occurs along with the muscle spasms.
What is a contracture?
(kun-TRAK-cher) A permanent tightening of the muscles, tendons, skin, and nearby tissues that causes the joints to shorten and become very stiff. This prevents normal movement of a joint or other body part. Contractures may be caused by injury, scarring, and nerve damage, or by not using the muscles.
Why am I getting Charlie horses in my legs at night?
Many people experience charley horses during sleeping hours and are awakened because of them. Muscle spasms that cause charley horses while you sleep are common. However, why these nighttime spams occur isn’t entirely understood. It’s believed that lying in bed in an awkward position for a long time plays a role.
Which vitamin helps muscle cramps?
Some research shows that replacing certain nutrients, including potassium, sodium, and magnesium, may help counteract muscle cramps. Plus, deficiencies in nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D, and certain B vitamins may increase the chances of muscle cramps ( 3 , 4 , 5 ).
What does spasticity in legs feel like?
Spasticity may be as mild as the feeling of tightness of muscles or may be so severe as to produce painful, uncontrollable spasms of extremities, usually of the legs. Spasticity may also produce feelings of pain or tightness in and around joints, and can cause low back pain.
What is the difference between muscle spasm and spasticity?
Spasticity is a symptom of multiple sclerosis that causes your muscles to feel stiff, heavy and difficult to move. A spasm is a sudden stiffening of a muscle which may cause a limb to kick out or jerk towards your body.
Why won’t my muscles relax?
Muscle rigidity, also known as muscle tension, rigor, or stiffness, is one of the most common causes of muscle pain. It’s characterized by the inability of the muscles to relax normally. The condition can affect any of the muscles in the body, causing sharp pain that makes it difficult to move.
What is physiological contracture?
Dorland’s medical dictionary defines “contracture” as “a condition of fixed high resistance to passive stretch of a muscle, resulting from fibrosis of the tissues supporting the muscles or the joints, or from disorders of the muscle fibers”.