How Long Do Muscle Relaxers Stay in Your System

November 24, 2022 Ivy Smith

Read Time:9 Minute, 54 Second

It is estimated that muscle relaxers should be excreted within 5.5 to 16.5 days after administration. The half-life of muscle relaxers is between 1 and 3 days. This is the time your body takes to halve plasma drug levels.

Table of Contents

What is Muscle Relaxers?

Muscle relaxers are also called skeletal muscle relaxers. How to realize the function of muscle relaxers, we must first understand the principle of muscle movement. The signal of movement sent by the cerebral cortex reaches the terminal of the neuromuscular junction through nerve conduction. The nerve terminal will release acetylcholine. There are acetylcholine receptors on the cell membrane of the muscle. After the two are combined, muscle movement will occur under a series of electrophysiological reactions.

Muscle relaxants are divided into two categories: one is called depolarized muscle relaxants; One is called non depolarizing muscle relaxants. The two have a common principle, that is to block the acetylcholine of the nerve and the binding of cholinergic receptors on the muscle cell membrane, so that the signals sent by the cerebral cortex can not reach the muscle, so as to relax the muscle. Muscle relaxers are mainly used to treat the continuous muscle spasm caused by various reasons and relax the muscle during the operation, so as to achieve the purpose of easy operation and anesthesia.

How Does Muscle Relaxers Work?

Your muscles move your body, allowing you to chew food and keep your heart beating. They respond to signals from your brain and use the energy of the food you eat. There are two types of muscles, striated and smooth, responsible for voluntary and involuntary movements throughout the body. Molecules in muscle fibers in striated muscle allow muscle to contract. Contraction is the “shortening” of a muscle, usually sudden. The most important molecule involved in contraction and reaction is calcium.

Muscle spasm is the involuntary contraction of muscles. Spasms occur when muscle tissue is not getting the necessary nutrition due to overuse or fatigue, overheating or tension. For example, in peripheral arterial disease, arterial stenosis reduces the delivery of blood and nutrients to muscles. This can cause leg cramps and cramps. Other diseases that sometimes cause muscle spasms include diabetes, kidney disease, and other diseases. No matter what causes muscle spasms, or where it affects the body, they usually occur suddenly, disappear quickly, and often cause pain.

Nervous system diseases and injuries can also lead to muscle spasms. These include multiple sclerosis and brain or spinal cord injury. Muscle spasm usually occurs in the striated muscle. Horizontal lines, or parallel lines of the entire muscle, contain high levels of protein and carry oxygen and nutrients. But some smooth muscle can also cause spasms. In these acute or chronic diseases, doctors may prescribe muscle relaxers.

Sometimes your throat muscles may feel anxious after exercise, then read this post: How to Relax Throat Muscles

What Are the Side Effects of Muscle Relaxers?

No matter what kind of muscle relaxer you take, there will be common side effects. However, some muscle relaxers may have potentially serious side effects, such as liver injury. If you really need to use muscle relaxers, your doctor will work with you to find the most suitable muscle relaxer for your situation.

Common Side Effects

Drowsiness
Headache
Dry mouth
Nausea
Tiredness
Dizziness
Upset stomach
Constipation

Serious Side Effects

Fast or irregular heartbeat
Pain spreading to the jaw or shoulder
Slurred speech
Chest pain or pressure
Sudden numbness or weakness, particularly on one side of the body
Balance problems

In order to minimize the risk of muscle relaxers, the patient should inform the doctor of any history of epilepsy, liver disease and any other medical condition or problem. If a woman is pregnant, planning to be pregnant, or breastfeeding, she should notify her doctor.

How Long Does Muscle Relaxers Stay In Your System?

Blood: Around 24 Hours
Saliva: Around 36 Hours
Urine: Several Days
Hair: Up to a Month

How Long Does Muscle Relaxers Stay in Your Urine?

It is well known that most muscle relaxers have an effective half-life of 18 hours. This means that after taking the standard prescribed dose of muscle relaxers, people with average body weight will not be able to detect the drug in their urine within 4 days after the last use. Meanwhile, for people taking high-dose drugs, this muscle relaxer can stay in your urine for up to 8 days. These durations may vary depending on usage habits, metabolism, and health status.

How Long Does Muscle Relaxers Stay in Your Hair?

Muscle relaxers’ hair tests are rarely used to screen for refractive errors, but they can detect signs of refractive errors (and other drugs) for the longest time in all tests. Although most patients will remove it from the body within 72 hours, trace elements may appear in the hair 3 months or 90 days after the last intake, so muscle relaxers will stay in your saliva up to a month. The drug is deposited into the hair through the hair follicles, and the hair grows about half an inch every month on average. Finally, the hair test requires measuring 1.5 inches of hair from the root to ensure accuracy.

How Long Does Muscle Relaxers Stay in Your Blood?

The detectability in blood will again be based on the 18 hour half-life of muscle relaxers, so it can be assumed that trace amounts can be detected within 3 to 4 days after the last administration. However, keep in mind that the duration of muscle relaxers in the blood is highly dependent on several factors, and the detection window may be longer.

How Long Does Muscle Relaxers Stay in Your Saliva?

Like the hair test, the saliva test of muscle relaxers is rare. There is not much information about the time when this drug was detected in saliva, but generally, muscle relaxers can only stay for 36 hours or 1.5 days at most after taking. Of course, the detection window may be expanded according to the scope of use.

Can You Detox From Muscle Relaxers Faster?

Long term use or abuse of muscle relaxers can quickly lead to physical dependence and addiction. It can also lead to serious medical problems, overdoses or deaths. Although you may feel that you will never stop smoking, the truth is that you can. With help available, you can stay awake.

If you are ready to take the first step, the medical detox program is a good start. Medical detoxification provides a safe and supportive environment and medical management for withdrawal symptoms, so that you can rest comfortably. It also provides clinical counseling to help you deal with some psychological symptoms of withdrawal and prepare you for entering the rehabilitation program when you choose to continue treatment.

After detoxification, the rehabilitation of inpatient or outpatient muscle relaxants is usually the next step. This phase of the muscle relaxation therapy process allows for continuous rehabilitation through individual and group therapy, educational lectures, rehabilitation programs (such as the 12 Step Program), intelligent rehabilitation, and professional and peer support. Many people who are recovering from muscle relaxers addiction also choose to continue their treatment through sober life planning and after-sales service. These programs provide the necessary support and responsibility to help newly awakened people prevent or deal with recurrence and gradually adapt to society after rehabilitation.

Treatment for Muscle Relaxers Substance Use Disorders

People with uscle relaxers substance use disorders will begin to feel something wrong if they are not affected by the substance. They may be consumed by the need to regain this original feeling. Substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder are the main causes of preventable diseases and early death. Research shows that about one in nine Americans use illegal drugs (about 11% of the total population). The most common drugs of abuse are cannabis and prescription drugs.

There are several ways to treat drug use disorders. Even in severe cases, treatment can help. In general, you will receive a combination of the following therapies:

Detoxification: you stop taking medicine and let the medicine leave your body. You may need medical supervision to safely detoxify.
Drug assisted therapy: during detoxification, drugs can help control appetite and relieve withdrawal symptoms.
Behavioral therapy: cognitive behavioral therapy or other psychotherapy (talk therapy) can help solve the causes of addiction. Treatment also helps build self-esteem and teaches healthy coping mechanisms.

Factors That Influence How Long Muscle Relaxers Stays in Your System

The dosage that the person takes will also have an impact. The greater the dose, the longer it takes for the body to get rid of all the chemicals that it was introduced to.

Apart from these factors, there are a couple of other factors that should also be considered when trying to determine how long a specific type of muscle relaxant would remain within the system:

Because men’s and women’s liver enzymes process medication differently, sex is a factor.
Another element that affects how long a muscle relaxant would stay in a person’s system is age. Renal and liver function both decline with aging of the body.
Additionally important factors include body weight and the percentage of body fat. The dosage needed for the drug to function properly in a larger person may be higher.
A person’s overall state of well-being is important. If a person already has liver or kidney disease, their ability to metabolize drugs may be compromised.
Another factor that is known to contribute to an extended stay in the system is drinking while taking muscle relaxants.

What is Muscle Relaxers Used to Treat?

Indications depend on the specific drug. Examples include:

Acute, painful musculoskeletal injury
Back pain or low back pain
Neck pain
Pinched nerve
Fibromyalgia
Multiple sclerosis
Cerebral palsy
Spinal cord injury
Stiff person syndrome
Paraplegia

The most typical use of muscle relaxants is to treat acute, excruciating injuries where there are severe muscle spasms. Short-term use of these medications is advised. Additionally, they ought to be used in conjunction with rest, physical therapy, and ice or heat; your healthcare provider can provide medical advice on these other treatments.

Some muscle relaxants are used for their ability to relax muscles; however, they are not typically used for acute muscle injuries. For instance, Lioresal is an antispastic and muscle relaxant. It treats multiple sclerosis-related spasms as well as those occasionally caused by conditions or diseases of the spinal cord. Dantrium also treats spasticity brought on by illnesses like multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, strokes, or cerebral palsy.

How Much Does Muscle Relaxers Cost?

The price of muscle relaxers ranges from $25 to $226, depending on the specific drug, quantity and dose. Since muscle relaxers are available in the normal form, you can expect to pay much less than buying a brand-name relaxer. The insurance plan covers most general muscle relaxers, and the medical insurance prescription plans are different. View your specific plan for details of coverage. At any participating drugstore, you can use the free singlecare card to save money on the prescription of muscle relaxers. Some muscle relaxers can get free single person care coupons for just $4.

*Find More Muscle Relaxation Methods Here!