By Dr. Prakhar Singh, General Physician

Abdominal spasms occur when the muscles in the abdominal area become stiff and cause pain. This usually occurs due to gastrointestinal or urologic problems but the other possible causes include strained muscles, dehydration, fatigue, drug abuse or complications in the colon and intestine.

How to deal with abdominal spasms:

1. Staying Hydrated

Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps. Excessive sweating in hot weather or heavy exercise can lead to abdominal spasms as they cause fluid loss from your body. Drink a lot of water or any other fluid and keep yourself hydrated to avoid such spasms.

2. Stretch Before Exercise

Performing abdomen related exercises can put a lot of strain on your muscles. Therefore, proper stretching may help to relax the muscles and avoid abdominal spasms.

3. Treating Kidney Stones

Stones in your kidney may lead to severe abdominal pain. This pain is sporadic in nature and the severity of the pain tends to fluctuate. You should undergo treatment to remove such stones in order to avoid severe abdominal spasms.

4. Treating Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a condition when your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones. This can be one of the triggers for abdominal spasms. Treating hypothyroidism can thus prevent such spasms or lessen the severity of such spasms.