Muscle Relaxers Medicine

What are muscle relaxants?

Myorelaxants are a group of drugs, which, due to the action of the active substance, allow relaxing the skeletal muscles up to complete immobility. Pills to relax the muscles are used in the treatment of various diseases, as well as for diagnostic purposes, when you need a person to be conscious, and his muscles do not contract.

Myorelaxants help reduce excessive tension in the lower back, relieve excessive muscle tone in patients who have had a stroke, after craniocerebral or spinal injury, in multiple sclerosis and a number of other diseases.

Advantages of using myorelaxants:

1. Relieve muscle tension.

2. Reduce painful sensations.

3. Improve motor activity.

4. Allow to reduce the dose of analgesic drugs and increase their effect.

Universal muscle relaxants can be used in combination with analgesics and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), as well as with acupuncture and therapeutic exercise.

Myorelaxants have a number of contraindications and side effects. Often drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness, lethargy are observed while taking the drug. This should be taken into account. before you buy muscle relaxants, so without prior consultation with your doctor. can not do.

Myorelaxants are prescribed only when the pain becomes severe, the patient loses mobility, and other drugs do not help at all. On average, the course of myorelaxant treatment does not last long, making a period of 3 to 7 days. After that, there is a pause for a certain period of time, and then the drug course is prescribed again.

Do myorelaxants cause drowsiness?

Myorelaxants affect the brain and spinal cord, that is, the nerves controlling the muscles. They affect the nervous system by causing a general relaxation (not just of the contracted muscle tissue).

Myorelaxants can cause neurological symptoms such as sedation, dizziness, drowsiness, or vomiting. They can cause poor hand coordination, confusion, loss of reflexes, and blurred vision. Myorelaxants can cause snoring at night. Therefore, it is important not to drive during treatment and to take them in the afternoon or before going to bed.

How do muscle relaxants work?

Depending on their action, there are the following muscle relaxants:

• central;
• peripheral.

Central muscle relaxants are drugs that inhibit impulses of the central muscle structure, affect the departments of the central nervous system, the brain, and thus regulate muscle tone. The action of myorelaxing drugs is based on relaxing the skeletal muscles by blocking the receptors in the synapses, which stops the transmission of nerve impulses to the skeletal muscles.

Peripheral myorelaxants are used to locally relax the incident muscle and block the signal from the nerve to the muscle. They provide local relaxation of muscle tissue, relieving pain, spasms, and tone during surgical intervention, and are also used for tracheal intubation.

The mechanism of action of muscle relaxants is similar to the work of antispasmodics. However, they relax not the smooth, but the transverse striated musculature of the trunk and face. The drugs act on the synapse, a tiny part of the nerve, severing the connection between acetylcholine and its membrane. Impulse transmission is blocked, and the muscle fibers are relaxed. The therapeutic effect is to eliminate tension in the neck, thoracic and lumbar spine.

Myorelaxants to relieve muscle spasms. May be ineffective. Their action is aimed at a temporary weakening of muscle tone, so use such means only as part of complex therapy.

How do muscle relaxants affect the patient?

In neurological practice, muscle relaxants are used:

• As drugs to relax the muscles of the lumbar and cervical spine in the presence of hernia and osteochondrosis;
• Relaxation of the muscles of the peripheral skeleton if the patient is suffering from painful spasms;
• Calm the nervous system in case of excessive tension;
• Pain relief for neck and lower back muscles in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (myorelaxants increase the effect of these painkillers)
• Improvement of motor functions;
• Relief of care for the immobilized patient;
• Relief of painful muscle spasms;
• Strengthening the effects of therapeutic exercise;
• Preventing the development of contractures.

Severe spasticity requires increased doses of muscle relaxants, administration of which often causes undesirable side effects. Therapy with muscle relaxants begins with a minimum dose, slowly increasing to achieve the effect.

Myorelaxants and alcohol

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that has sedative properties: it reduces muscle tone, relaxes, makes a person talkative and cheerful, relieves anxiety and restlessness, reduces concentration and weakens short-term memory. 

Myorelaxants increase the effects of alcohol. That is, the effects of alcoholic beverages are distorted and become more pronounced: strongly drowsy, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, disorientation in time, anxiety may occur. The combination of large doses leads to psychiatric disorders: hallucinations, disturbance of consciousness and disorientation in space. Some people experience psychomotor agitation. 

First aid in case of poisoning with a combination of muscle relaxants and alcohol:

1. Call an ambulance.

2. If the patient is conscious - crush 5-6 tablets of activated charcoal and stir the powder in a glass of water, give it to the patient. Make sure he drinks the solution completely.

3. If the patient is unconscious, lay him on his side so that his cheek is in contact with the surface (his head looks to the side and not on the back of his head). This prevents aspiration of vomit.

4. Open a window and let in some fresh air.

5. Do not leave the patient alone: try to talk to him, reassure and support him.

When doctors arrive, tell them about the situation, the number of pills taken and the amount of alcohol consumed.

How long do myorelaxants stay in your body?

Myorelaxants are effective for muscle spasms and have an analgesic effect, the effect of relief does not come quickly (from half an hour to 50-60 minutes).

The onset of action is fast, the effect usually lasts for 4 to 6 hours.

Do muscle relaxants help with pain?

The cause of lumbar pain is degenerative processes of the musculoskeletal system, accompanied by muscle spasm, which causes pain. The mechanism of pain syndrome development is the compression of the intervertebral discs, which leads to reflex muscle tension, resulting in a local change of metabolic processes, disrupts the functioning of the nerve fibers and peripheral circulation.

Muscle spasm also plays an important role in joint disease. At the same time, it can be caused by pathological processes in which various components of the joint mechanism are involved. In this case, the pain caused by muscle spasm, the body responds with more muscle contraction. Initially, it has a protective character, because it leads to immobilization of the affected segment, but later it leads to worsening of the patient's condition and chronic pain.  That is why muscle relaxants are prescribed together with analgesics.

Can pregnant women take muscle relaxants?

Myorelaxants should be used during pregnancy only if the expected benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risk to the fetus. Self-medication of a pregnant woman is inadmissible, each drug is prescribed after consulting a doctor.

Are muscle relaxants used for neck pain?

The use of muscle relaxants for cervical osteochondrosis or other type of disease can remove spasms in the skeletal musculature of the back, and pain, which tend to recur over and over again.

The muscles will contract at rest under the action of the medication, as a result of which tension is relieved and unnecessary tone goes away.

Such a condition can only be cured by comprehensive therapy. As part of the treatment, doctors include a variety of medications, prescribe physiotherapy, therapeutic gymnastics.

Can I buy muscle relaxants without a prescription?

Myorelaxants are available only in prescription form, usually drugs of this pharmaceutical group are available as tablets, capsules and solutions for injection. Your doctor will prescribe the right medication for your condition. You cannot buy this type of medication without a prescription.

Because prescription muscle relaxants act on the CNS by inhibiting muscle contractions that cause pain, they are known to be addictive drugs that can lead to myorelaxant overdose. Patients can also develop a tolerance to them. Because of this, all drugs in this class are in the prescription category.

If you're looking for the best over-the-counter muscle relaxants, buy from our online pharmacy. You'll be able to buy an effective muscle relaxant, with a prescription from a doctor on staff at the pharmacy.

Myorelaxants for anxiety

Benzodiazepines are a group of medications that can help reduce anxiety and ease sleep. They are also used as a muscle relaxant, to calm you during surgery and other medical procedures, and in the treatment of seizures and alcohol withdrawal.

Side effects of muscle relaxants

Myorelaxants can cause a variety of side effects. The most common are:

• drowsiness and fatigue;
• dizziness or loss of balance;
• headaches;
• nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain;
• allergic reactions;
• nervous agitation;
• difficulty concentrating and remembering.

Long-term treatment with muscle relaxants should be avoided, since some of them may be addictive and cause withdrawal syndrome.

Contraindications

Among the contraindications when it is not possible to use the medication, the following factors are worth mentioning:

• the presence of renal insufficiency;
• pregnancy and lactation period;
• atherosclerosis;
• gastric ulcer;
• Parkinson's disease;
• renal abnormalities;
• epilepsy;
• addiction to drugs and alcohol;
• allergic reactions to medications;
• myasthenia gravis;
• psychiatric disorders;
• ulcers.

Myorelaxant treatment is usually done in a hospital to control the development of complications and side effects.