A Tale of a Back Spasm
Here’s a long meandering tale for you about Kathryn’s recent back spasm experience…
The first time
I’ve had a back spasm one other time in my life.
In 2017, when Dempsey was just a bitty 2 year old, my mid back completely seized up and gave out.
I ended up on the floor, with a toddler’s hand down my shirt, unable to move.
What was the cause?
The dreaded Crib Lift.
Lifting a 2 year old up and over a crib railing forces a ton of excessive pressure in the back, since it’s hard to get into a more proper hinge position.
Fortunately, it was relatively short lived, and after manual work and rehab exercises it eased up.
What IS a spasm to begin with?
A spasm is when a muscle contracts or seizes involuntarily, and uncontrollably and cannot relax.
If you’ve had one, you KNOW how awful that feeling is.
It’s a seizing that can very often take your breath away.
(I recently decided it reminded me of a birth contraction… you have no control… it leaves you breathless… moms? Anyone? Just me?)
Spasm #2
So, back to 2025.
Back Spasm #2.
Friday at the gym.
I was in the middle of double overhead kettlebell push presses and felt a ZING down my left side.
I thought - “oh dear….”
But that was it.
A single ZAP and I continued my workout, cautiously, and with no real issue.
Saturday was fine.
Sunday, a stressful morning.
I felt the left side tighten up a bit.
Did my training at the gym and was OK.
Monday, a little bit of a pull but managing….
So I thought it would be OK to demonstrate a little box jump for a patient…
It did NOT go well.
The minute my feet left the floor I felt my left side completely give out.
It seemed to be a very aggravated, strained QL.
For a couple days it spasmed occasionally on and off.
NOT fun.
I was frustrated but stayed positive…
Things happen.
I know how to rehab.
Everything’s a process.
Kara worked on me on Tuesday and Thursday...
It definitely was getting a bit better...
Then, after a week of slow improvement, I spent an entire Sunday sitting down.
In the car to NYC… at a restaurant for lunch… in very tiny smushy-cushioned chairs at a Broadway show… on the drive home.
And that night… YIKES.
My left side spasmed All. Night. Long.
If I tried to roll to the side?
Spasm.
If I tilted my head a 1/4 inch to any side?
Spasm.
If I gently TOUCHED my back?
Spasm.
It was dire straights.
To get out of bed I had to literally barrel roll myself straight to the floor.
My 10 year old had to put my socks on for me.
NO position felt good.
It was constant, seizing, take-your-breath-away spasms with so. many. different. tiny. movements.
(This was 10:15pm - husband was out - I was literally stuck in the recliner like a turtle on it’s back and couldn’t figure out a way to get up...)
It has been slowwww progress back to the land of the non-spasming.
It’s amazing how quickly one’s positive outlook starts to tank when you can’t even look to the side without finding yourself clutched in the midst of a spasm.
After a week of positivity… no longer.
I was bummed and feeling sorry for myself.
And, to add insult to injury, my 40th birthday was days away.
If this wasn’t some sort of test - or a little ironic nudge - then I don’t know what is…
So, what was my approach?
What helped?
What did I realize?
(Are you still reading? If so, gold star. This is a long one…)
How do you heal a back spasm?
If only there was an easy answer…
The truth is, there are lots of things that help, and some things you may want to avoid.
Things that helped:
MOVEMENT
Moving always felt better than staying still.
Throughout the day things would loosen up a bit, and the spasms would decrease.
Walks… rehab exercises + stretches… all felt good, and better than static postures.
MANUAL WORK
Praise be that Kara was able to squeeze me in for some manual work.
ACUPUNCTURE
This was HUGE for me.
Pain causes your body to guard.
Which creates tension.
Which causes more pain.
It’s a vicious cycle, and hard to break.
When I was constantly spasming, it was SO hard to just let my body relax.
I was on high alert all the time, despite my best efforts, because so many things resulted in a spasm.
Acupuncture and cupping was pivotal in forcing my body to relax, and really helped eased those awful spasms.
HEATING PAD
My mom Amazon-ed me an electric heating pad, which was a nice option to try and ease the angry area.
TIME
An aggravated area needs some to recover.
Sometimes, we need to force ourselves to slow down and truly rest.
Walking and frequently changing my position felt good.
I tried to do rehab exercises that promoted creating space + expansion in the area.
But, I really haven’t done a true workout for almost 3 weeks now.
My priority has been rest and gentle movements to ensure I don’t flare the sensitive area again.
Things that did NOT help:
SOFT SURFACES / STAYING STILL
I am still not friendly with the couch.
As much as I wanted to flop onto the couch while watching Severance, it proved to NOT be helpful for my cranky back.
What has felt best is sitting on the floor, and changing position often.
Slumping onto the couch to watch TV was a recipe for tightening and spasm.
(Note that what had initially really flared me up into the worst of the spasms was that full day of being sedentary)
STRESS
Emotional stress has a DIRECT impact on our physical pain.
Remember that my initial ZING at the gym was not a big issue… until a few days later when stress started to very much flare it up.
Especially for those with more chronic pain and injury scenarios, there are some truly fascinating articles + podcasts about pain science that dives further into this subject.
This podcast with Dr. Rachel Zoffness is one of my favorites.
SUGAR / ALCOHOL / INFLAMMATORY FOODS
One day last weekend I had a little get together with friends.
I ate a lot of cheese.
A bunch of cake.
And a few glasses of champagne.
The next day I was FLARED.
None of my movement had changed much — so I can only attribute it to an increase in inflammation, which peeved my poor QL.
Wrapping up (finally)
So, are spasms fun?
No.
They’re awful and can quickly make even the most optimistic and body-aware human become cranky.
But they’re relatively common, whether from lack of activity, or overdoing it with too much activity.
I hope some of the details above can provide some accessible tips on how to help get back to feeling better… and to know you’re not alone!
Like almost any injury or instance of pain, progress will be gradual, and very rarely linear.
One day, you’ll find yourself pop up to a sitting position in bed and say “ Hey! Look what I just did! I didn’t have to have my husband push me off the edge of the bed to get up!"
And then, you’ll know you’re on your way.
Need help managing your way through a spasm?
Trying to prevent yourself from getting to a spasm altogether?
Give us a call or shoot us an email and let Dr. Kara and Dr. Danielle deep dive into the root cause of your pain and movement restrictions.