The effects of muscle relaxant drugs are powerful

Muscle relaxant drugs produce a beneficial effect in patients who are suffering from muscle spasm and pain because they produce an alteration of the skeletal muscle function and diminish muscle tone. Muscle relaxant drug medications can be separated in two groups, the first are called neuromuscular blockers and act by interfering with the transmission neurons and are usually used by doctors to induce a state of temporary paralysis during surgical procedures, the second group of muscle relaxants are called spasmolytics and act upon a wide range of neurological conditions to reduce spasms. Spasmolitics are used to treat a neurological condition which causes muscles to tighten and contract repeatedly because of the irregular and damaged firing of nerves in these muscles creating stiffness of such muscles and producing negative consequences on the person such as speech impairments as well as a reduction of the movement capacity.

It was not until the middle of the twentieth century that muscular relaxants were officially used in hospitals for anesthesia during surgery due to their neuromuscular blocking functions. Muscle relaxants are very powerful drugs which could produce negative effects such as heart failure and paralysis so they must always be administered under the close surveillance of a doctor. People who have been addicted to drugs or to alcohol in the past are not good candidates for taking this medication since it could produce addiction.