Muscle Spasms in Chest

Muscle spasm is involuntary contraction of muscles causing drain of energy from that particular area of the body. Muscle spasms can affect all sorts of people no matter what their age and gender is. Muscle spasms are very painful and relief is experienced only after the spasm is released. There are many causes of muscle spasms and also there are many health conditions that lead to muscle spasm. Muscle spasm in chest occurs, when the muscles in the chest go in a spasm or are involuntarily contracted. Muscle spasm in chest causes chest pain and chest pain is often concluded by many of us as heart attack. However, muscle spasms in chest have a different reason. Chest injuries can also be a cause of muscle spasm in chest. Body builders can suffer from muscle spasm in chest due to a pulled chest muscle. One of the many causes of muscle spasm is fibromyalgia. In fibromyalgia, the chest muscles become tender and lead to severe chest pain. Chest pain is one of the severe symptoms of muscle spasm in chest.

Muscle Spasms in Chest Wall
Chest muscle injury can be a common problem with athletes. There are total of 12 ribs in the chest and each rib is separated by a bundle of intercostal nerve, vein and artery. Sometimes, neck pain is referred to the chest wall due to some sort of injury. The ribs are joined to the breast bone via costochondral cartilages. The rear part of the ribs are connected to the collar bones via the synovial joints. Thus, injury to any of these parts can cause an indirect injury to the chest wall. Chest muscle pain is a common problem for football players and for those who are on a bodybuilding regime. The use of machines used for bodybuilding like bench press, dumbbell press and push ups can cause muscle pain in chest.

Stress Fractures
Stress fractures are commonly seen in athletes, where excess strain causes a stress on the ribs. Even golfers and rowers suffer from stress fractures. Repeated contraction of muscles produce a strain on the ribs and is a reason for chest pain. In addition, stress fracture of the sternum is an unusual case. This stress fracture results from intense and repetitive exercise of the upper body.

Pulled Chest Muscle
Pulled chest muscle can cause chest pain. Anyone can suffer from a pulled chest muscle. However, athletes and sportsmen are more susceptible to muscle spasms. Basketball players, tennis players, weightlifters and boxers are more likely to get a muscle spasm in chest. This muscle pull is caused due to the trauma during a hit. This trauma can result in a pull and can worsen up to a tear in the muscle, which is much more severe. Muscle spasm is one of the most severe pulled chest muscle symptoms. Along with the muscle spasms, there is intolerable pain and sensitive muscles.

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 parts of body in the form of blood, through the coronary arteries. The walls of coronary arteries have muscular fibers and 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 is an uncommon condition and is experienced by patients in the early hours of morning. As soon as this muscle spasm relaxes, the patient is relieved from chest pain. The blockage created due to muscle spasm in the coronary artery is a temporary one. Moreover, this is rarely an indication of a cardiac reason behind the muscle spasm in chest.

Esophageal Spasm
Another non-cardiac cause of chest spasms is esophageal spasm. In esophageal spasm, the muscles of the esophagus experience abnormal contraction which results into a severe chest pain. Often, this pain is confused with the pain related to some cardiac problems. In a esophageal spasm, severe chest pain is experienced behind the breastbone.

Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition of chronic fatigue which causes severe muscle pain and usually, affects the muscles of the neck, shoulders, chest and hips and knees. Fibromyalgia is more commonly seen in women. In fibromyalgia, the muscle spasms in chest can occur, leading to severe chest pain. Also, the bronchi muscles go in spasm and result in asthma in fibromyalgia.

The treatment for chest muscle spasms in chest depends upon the exact cause of the muscle spasm. For this you need to visit the doctor immediately. Never neglect a pain of the chest as it might be a symptom of some major ailment. It is recommended that you consult a physician as soon as you have any type of chest pain.