The muscle relaxants is used routinely for the treatment of muscle aches and contractures. You may well have heard of many muscle relaxants on a daily basis., since they are really useful for the relief of specific pain. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that responsible consumption must be carried out; and always be carried out under medical supervision, to avoid short-term and long-term side effects.
Index
What are muscle relaxants?
a muscle relaxant is a drug that is commonly used for treatment of muscle aches. These are responsible for acting on the nerve centers, in ways that reduce muscle activity, reducing muscle tone and involuntary actions of the body. In this way it is achieved mitigate the pain.
In this sense, it is important to note that muscle relaxants must be prescribed by a specialist., can be administered orally, through capsules (some of the best known and most commonly used are naproxen and ibuprofen); or inject them directly into the muscle, in those cases in which the pain has a greater intensity.
Types of muscle relaxants
When talking about muscle relaxant we can distinguish mainly two large groups, what are the following:
Muscle blockers
The muscle blockers, that cause muscle paralysis and are capable of blocking nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction. It is common to use this type of muscle relaxant on those occasions in which a patient is going to undergo a surgical intervention or in Intensive Care Units (FIA) to facilitate mechanical ventilation.
Spasmolytic muscle relaxants
On the other hand we also have to talk about the so-called spasmolytic muscle relaxants, which serve to calm or relieve muscle spasms and seizures. They are used regularly when dealing with the treatment of pathologies such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, since they take care of relax the muscles of the intestinal tract; and at the same time relieve abdominal pain that may be suffered.
Main uses of muscle relaxants
a muscle relaxant it is mainly used for the treatment of injuries, since they mitigate pain by being able to relax muscle tone. It is common to use these muscle relaxants in surgical interventions or in those patients who need mechanical ventilation. In this way, are commonly used when placing an endotracheal tube, to relax the neck and throat.
Muscle relaxants are also commonly used in eye surgeries, since they make some muscles of the eye relax, so that certain risks can be avoided.
Muscle relaxant treatments
A muscle relaxant is used to treat different pathologies such as low back pain. For the treatment of this pathology, when the pain is punctual, are used spasmodic relaxants. The latter are muscle relaxants that are a medication that has an identical function to that of painkillers; and this makes the treatment cannot be extended beyond one week.
If it is a chronic low back pain, diazepam will have to be given, although consumption is not recommended for long periods of time. In the case of back pain, regardless of its cause, it is also customary to prescribe muscle relaxants. The most frequent are the diazepam o la cyclobenzaprine, which, combined with other pain relievers, help relax the affected muscle, and this contributes to a reduction in pain.
Another pathology that is treated thanks to muscle relaxants is the insomnia. In this case, diazepam is also widely used.; and as it happens in other cases, It is not advisable to prolong your consumption excessively, since it could end up creating dependency.
Contraindications of muscle relaxants
When consuming a muscle relaxant a series of considerations that are very important about its consumption must be taken into account. To begin with, it must be borne in mind that these are drugs that have a series of contraindications.
First, the danger of mixing a muscle relaxant with other drugs, how are anxiolytics or some types of painkillers, since they can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system.
Muscle relaxants act directly on the spinal cord, so it affects the nervous system, being able to originate neurological symptoms such as dizziness, sedation or vomiting; and in more extreme cases, can lead to blurred vision, loss of reflexes or incoordination.
Side effects
The consumption of muscle relaxants should be in all chaos supervised by a doctor. This is because excessive consumption can make it toxic to the liver.; and it can also end up resulting in an increased risk of respiratory complications after having undergone a surgical intervention, such as lung infections or reduced lung capacity.
The vista It can also be affected by uncontrolled consumption of muscle relaxants, from loss of focus or blurred vision, even more serious pathologies such as glaucoma, which is linked to the consumption of cyclobenzaprine.
When consuming a muscle relaxant it should also be taken into account that, by having sedative effects, a percentage of patients end up developing an addiction to the sedative effects of these drugs.
Muscle relaxants and risk patients
The muscle relaxant is contraindicated for different risk groups. In the event that a woman is pregnant, muscle relaxants can cause irreversible and serious damage to the fetus, since they can cross the placenta.
In the case of children its consumption is not recommended; and neither to those people who have cardiac pathologies, kidney or liver problems and glaucoma patients. The reason is that it could have negative effects on the affected organs.