Muscle Spasms in Chest

A muscle spasm is an involuntary contraction of a muscle. Spasms can affect people of all agegroups, irrespective of gender. These are very painful and one gets relief only after the spasm isreleased. These can also occur in the chest when the muscles in the chest contract involuntarily.Muscle spasms could even cause a squeezing chest pain that may be mistaken for a heart attack.There are many causes and health conditions that lead to muscle spasms in chest like, chest injuries,pulled chest muscle, fibromyalgia, etc.

What Causes Chest Muscle Spasm?

? Pulled Chest Muscle

Pulled chest muscle can cause muscle spasms. Be aware of a few straightforward improvementswhich ought tobe madeto a standard

centrifugal or positive displacement pump. For pumps containing overhung impellers, replacing theshaft with a solid one is a simple improvement over the more common sleeved shafts. Mechanicalseals ought to be upgraded through silicon carbide faces, and elastomers are better when changedto Viton. In addition, magnetic bearing protectors are a great improvement in relationship to the lipseals that the vast majority of commercial pumps depend on to keep bearing sump oil contaminationfree.

Anyone can suffer from a pulled chest muscle. However, athletes and sportsmen like basketballplayers, tennis players, weightlifters and boxers are more likely to get a muscle spasm in chest. Thismuscle pull is caused due to the trauma during a hit. It can even lead to the development of a tear inthe muscle. Muscle spasm is one of the most severe pulled chest muscle symptoms. Along with themuscle spasms, the affected individual may experience intolerable pain and the muscles may becomemore sensitive.

? Chest Wall Injury

Chest muscle injury can be a common problem with athletes. There are total of 12 pairs of ribs in thechest and each pair is separated by a bundle of intercostal nerve, vein and artery. The ribs are joinedto the breastbone via costochondral cartilages. The rear part of the ribs is connected to thecollarbone via the synovial joints. Thus, injury to any of these parts can cause an indirect injury tothe chest wall or thoracic wall which may result in a spasm. Chest muscle pain is a common problemfor football players and for those who are on a bodybuilding regime. The equipment used forbodybuilding like bench press, dumbbell press and pushups can also cause muscle pain in the chest.

? Stress Fractures

Stress fractures are commonly seen in athletes, wherein excess strain causes stress on the ribs.Even golfers and rowers may suffer from this condition. Intense and repetitive exercise of the upperbody may result in a stress fracture, which in some cases may cause a muscle spasm. Though stressfracture of the sternum is a rare case which is caused due to a severe chest trauma, it may result inthe sudden muscle contraction and can be life-threatening.

? Coronary Artery Spasm

Human heart is made up of muscles, that help the heart to pump in the oxygen required by the body.The oxygen and nutrients in the blood are pumped by the heart and are carried to the different partsof body via blood, through the coronary arteries. The walls of coronary arteries have muscular fibersand these muscle fibers are responsible for contraction and relaxation of the coronary artery, thus,regulating the blood flow to different portions of the heart. Muscle spasm in the coronary artery isan uncommon condition and is usually experienced by patients in the wee hours of the morningwhen the body is at rest. As soon as this muscle spasm relaxes, the patient is relieved from chestpain. The blockage created due to a muscle spasm in the coronary artery is a temporary one.Moreover, this is rarely an indication of a cardiac cause behind the muscle spasm in chest.

? Esophageal Spasm

Another non-cardiac cause of chest spasms is esophageal spasm. In esophageal spasm, the musclesof the esophagus (food pipe or the tube which carries food from mouth to the stomach) experienceabnormal contraction which results in severe chest pain. Often, this pain is confused with the painrelated to some cardiac problems. In a esophageal spasm, severe chest pain is experienced behindthe breastbone.

? Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a condition of chronic fatigue which causes severe muscle pain and usually, affectsthe muscles of the neck, shoulders, chest, hips and knees. Fibromyalgia is more commonly seen inwomen. In fibromyalgia, muscle spasm in chest can occur, leading to severe chest pain. Also, thebronchi muscles go in spasm, thereby causing asthma in people affected by fibromyalgia.

? Electrolyte Imbalance and Dehydration

Electrolytes (sodium, chloride, magnesium and potassium) play a very important role in thecontraction and relaxation of muscles. If there is an imbalance or deficiency of any of the electrolyte,it may disturb the electrical impulse of the body and may lead to muscle cramps or spasm. Watertransports these electrolytes to different parts of the. Most installed pumps were not initiallysourced for their present function. Very frequently, a line in a factory is relocated and the pump thatonce providedcooling water to an injection molding machine is now needed to transfer oil from a railcar to a tank. Unfortunately, this is the cause of numerous problems for the pump and the factory.Pumps operate where the pump curve crosses the system curve. If you relocate a pump from onesystem to another, this means that the system curve is different. This new system may cause thepump to operate away from its best efficiency point, leading to noise and other component problemsthat are simply symptoms of a mis-matched pump and system.body. Hence dehydration will result inthe improper supply of the electrolytes further leading to muscle spasms.

How to Get Relief from Muscle Spasm

Water is very important to maintain the flow of electrolytes in all the parts of the body. Have 7 to 8glass of water daily to avoid muscle spasms. You can have juices and other healthy fluids also.

A warm water bath or warm water shower targeting the affected area may help in relaxing the flygtmixer impeller muscles. This will relieve the muscle spasm and will reduce the pain.

Application of ice packs may help in relieving pain, soreness, and swelling from the affected area.

Avoid lifting any heavy object as it will put strain on the muscles which may further complicate the

situation.

The treatment for chest muscle spasm depends upon the exact cause of it. For identifying the cause,you need to visit the doctor immediately. Never neglect pain in the chest as it might be a symptom ofsome major ailment. It is recommended that you consult a physician as soon as you experience anytype of chest pain.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as areplacement for expert medical advice.