Have you ever experienced painful spasms, maybe across your entire body? It’s something that Natalie at Yoga Field & Sea has learnt to live with. Today she shares her experience and some tips on how to cope.

Have you ever felt a small niggle somewhere in your shoulder, upper back or neck? And after a few days of trying to ignore it, it turns into a major, immobilising, debilitating pain that knocks you out of action for multiple days, sometimes a couple of weeks?

The culprit is likely to be a spasm. These spasms really suck, and whether your spine is super healthy or not, we can all suffer spasms from time to time. In fact, according to ‘Spine Universe’ 80% of adults experience back spasms at least once in their life. While spasms can be caused by underlying injuries, imbalances and spinal problems, a common cause is simply stress and anxiety. If you are overly stressed your body enters into its built-in fight or flight mode (just as though you are a cave man or woman running from a hungry lion). The release of adrenaline increases your blood pressure, enhances your blood supply around your body and can cause your muscles around your spine to tense. In turn this can lead to a nasty and unwelcome spasm.

Over the years I have learnt to recognize them for what they are, live through them, minimize the struggle and move on.

The first major spasm I suffered was epic.

My husband, Nick, and I had just got married. 12 years ago! Our honeymoon was a camping trip to Cornwall. You might be thinking “Camping for your honeymoon? Are you mad?” It was an awesome holiday but when we got back we started planning our real dream trip which was hiking in the Himalayas.

It was a long time in planning, but finally we were almost ready to set off for Kathmandu for our hike to Annapurna base camp. Before we even left London my back was in bad shape. Nick and I had been moving house. Sleeping on a friend’s sofa in between apartments, moving heavy boxes, stress….it was the perfect recipe for a spasm build up. Next up was the overnight plane journey to Kathmandu. The final straw was the last leg of our journey from Pokhara to the start of our 12 day hike which entailed a very long and extremely bumpy ride in a van. By this time every muscle in my back felt like they were in full spasm. The further into the mountains we drove, the worse the situation became.

So here we were, after months of planning, finally at the starting point of our dream hike, deep in the Himalayas at 6,360 feet elevation, about to embark on a 12 day trek through some of the most stunning scenery on the planet and I was hardly able to move. My back was in a torturous spasm, and little did I know it was about to get worse, much worse.

It’s worth pointing out here that I was 30 years old back then, and I had never had one of these spasm episodes before. My main feeling, I now recognise, was fear. Here I was in Nepal, surrounded by mountains, no phone coverage, no way of calling for medical assistance, no way to be airlifted out should something terrible happen, absolutely no idea what was going on with my back, and in a lot of pain. Backing out was not really an option. So I decided to just get on with it, and start walking the best I could.

A couple days in, as we hiked deeper into the mountains things got a little out of hand. During the day, it was bearable. I was able to walk using a stick, I didn’t have to carry my pack, and the scenery was a fabulous distraction. However, at night my entire back would seize up. On the third night I woke up in the pitch black unable to move. I must admit, it was a little unfortunate that the first spasm i encountered happened when I was 4,000 miles from home, in a tiny village called Tikedhunga somewhere in the Himalaya mountain range, and the only way out was to walk about 60km or possibly try and find a pony…I was terrified, I was crying, I wanted to go home. Thank-goodness Nick, my husband, is rational in a crisis. He persuaded me to get moving, think positively and hike on to base camp no matter what!!

This was my first lesson in spasms and thank goodness I made the right choice and carried on with the hike. I now know that when this happens, I need to keep moving to loosen things up. Hiking was actually excellent for my back. Sleeping and staying still was not. The more I moved the less it hurt. As the week went on, and with the help of a positive attitude, the pain lessened and we had a magical experience reaching Annapurna base camp, at 13,500 feet. This awe-inspiring glacial basin surrounded on all sides by the towering peaks of the Himalayan range helped put things in perspective but the whole experience did teach me a few important lessons about spasms:

1. Conquer your fear, spasms are scary but they don’t last forever. Fear leads to stress and this will just make it worse
2. Try gentle movement such as walking to promote blood flow and loosen up all that tension
3. Cold then hot. Initially try ice packs to reduce any inflammation. If you are still suffering after a few days try heat pads or a hot relaxing bath. 
4. Listen to your body and notice what led to this spasm (stress, too much time at your desk?), notice what helps it get better.

Most of all, think positively and keep smiling :-)