Spasm - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Spasms) Involuntary contraction of a muscle, organ or orifice For other uses, see Spasm (disambiguation). "Spasmodic" redirects here. For the British literary movement, see Spasmodic poets. Not to be confused with Cramp or Seizure.

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Medical condition

Muscle spasm
Specialty	Neurology

A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, such as the bladder.

A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle cramp which is accompanied by a sudden burst of pain. A muscle cramp is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. It is typically caused by ion imbalance or muscle overload.

There are other causes of involuntary muscle contractions, and some of these may cause a health problem.

A series of spasms, or permanent spasms, is referred to as a "spasmism".

Description and causes

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Spasms occur when the part of the brain that controls movement malfunctions, causing involuntary muscle activity.

A spasm may be a muscle contraction caused by abnormal nerve stimulation or by abnormal activity of the muscle itself.

Causes

The cause of spasms is often unknown, but it can be due to an inherited genetic problem, a side effect of meds, Parkinson's disease, a stroke, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.

Old age can also cause spasms and cramp.

Spasms can occur in dystonia, and in spasticity.

Effects

A spasm may lead to muscle strains or tears in tendons and ligaments if the force of the spasm exceeds the tensile strength of the underlying connective tissue. This can occur with a particularly strong spasm or with weakened connective tissue.

Types of spasm

A hypertonic muscle spasm is a condition of chronic, excessive muscle tone (i.e., tension in a resting muscle). This is the amount of contraction that remains when a muscle is not working. A true hypertonic spasm is caused by malfunctioning feedback nerves. This is much more serious and is permanent unless treated. In this case, the hypertonic muscle tone is excessive, and the muscles are unable to relax.

A subtype of spasm is colic. This is an episodic pain caused by spasm of smooth muscle in a particular organ (e.g., the bile duct). A characteristic of colic is the sensation of having to move about, and the pain may induce nausea or vomiting.

References

External links

Classification	D ICD-10: R25.2 ICD-9-CM: 728.85 MeSH: D013035

NIH Medical Encyclopedia
How Stuff Works
"Spasm" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

v t e Signs and symptoms relating to movement and gait
Gait	Gait abnormality CNS Scissor gait Cerebellar ataxia Choreic gait Festinating gait/Parkinsonian gait Magnetic gait Marche à petit pas Propulsive gait Stomping gait Spastic gait Truncal ataxia Vestibular gait Muscular Myopathic gait/Waddling gait Trendelenburg gait Pigeon gait Foot drop Steppage gait Toe walking Asymmetric gait Leaping gait Asynchronous gait Gunslinger's gait Hemiparetic gait Limp Antalgic gait Deformity Lotus gait
Coordination	Ataxia Cerebellar ataxia Dysmetria Dysdiadochokinesia Pronator drift Dyssynergia Sensory ataxia Asterixis Abasia Hemimotor neglect
Abnormal movement	Athetosis Chorea Tremor Fasciculation Fibrillation Myokymia Myoclonus Hyperkinesia / Hypokinesia Myotonia / Pseudomyotonia Hypotonia Stereotypy Akathisia Echopraxia Echolalia
Posturing	Abnormal posturing Stooped posture Camptocormia Osteoporosis Opisthotonus Spasm Trismus Cramp Tetany Hypertonia Joint locking Catalepsy Waxy flexibility Grimacing Tonic immobility
Paralysis	Flaccid paralysis Periodic paralysis Spastic paraplegia Spastic diplegia Spastic paraplegia Syndromes Monoplegia Diplegia / Paraplegia Hemiplegia Triplegia Tetraplegia / Quadruplegia General causes Upper motor neuron lesion Lower motor neuron lesion Sleep paralysis
Weakness	Hemiparesis Gowers' sign Locomotive syndrome Ptosis
Range of motion	Contracture Bethlem sign Club foot Joint stiffness Ankylosis Hypermobility Gorlin sign EDS HSD Boutonniere deformity Swan neck deformity Scoliosis Kyphosis
Other	Rachitic rosary Flat feet Overpronation/Flexible flat feet Knock-knee Bow-leggedness Back knee Hyporeflexia Hyperreflexia Clasp-knife response Shivering Hypnic jerk Astasia-abasia Vertigo Motion sickness Conversion disorder Shell shock Stupor Catatonia Dancing mania

v t e Symptoms and conditions relating to muscle
Pain	Myalgia Fibromyalgia Acute Delayed onset
Inflammation	Myositis Pyomyositis Myoedema (Hypothyroid myopathy)
Destruction	Muscle weakness Rhabdomyolysis Muscle atrophy/Amyotrophy
Low ATP reservoir	Muscle fatigue Exercise intolerance Myogenic hyperuricemia Dynamic symptoms (exercise-induced) Inappropriate rapid heart rate response to exercise (tachycardia) Exaggerated cardiorespiratory response to exercise (tachycardia with tachypnea and/or hyperpnea (exercise hyperventilation)) Hitting the wall Second wind (Metabolic myopathies Diabetes Hypothyroid myopathy Hyperthyroid myopathy Hypoparathyroidism Hypokalemia Hypoxic muscle Pseudohypoxia Intermittent claudication Scurvy Fasting / Starvation Alcoholism)
Abnormal movement	Muscle cramp Myokymia Muscle spasm Fasciculations Muscle contracture Fibrosis Adhesion Myotonia Muscle channelopathies Pseudo-myotonia (Brody myopathy) Spasticity Rippling muscle disease Periodic paralysis Hypotonia / Hypertonia
Other	Myositis ossificans Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva Compartment syndrome Anterior Diastasis of muscle Diastasis recti Pseudoathletic appearance (Muscle hyperplasia / Muscle hypertrophy / Pseudohypertrophy)

Category:

Symptoms and signs: Nervous and musculoskeletal systems