Spasm

Muscle spasm

ICD-10	R25.2
ICD-9	728.85
MeSH	D013035

In medicine a spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles,^[1] or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It most commonly refers to a muscle cramp which is often accompanied by a sudden burst of pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. There is a variety of other causes of involuntary muscle contractions, which may be more serious, depending on the cause. The word "spasm" may also refer to a temporary burst of energy, activity, emotion, stress, or anxiety unrelated to, or as a consequence of, involuntary muscle activity.

Contents 1 Description 2 Causes 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links

Description

A variety of types of involuntary muscle activity may be referred to as a "spasm". Examples include muscle contractions due to abnormal nerve stimulation, or abnormal activity of the muscle itself. A series of spasms or permanent spasms are called a spasmism. A spasm may lead to muscle strains or tears of tendons and ligaments, if the force of the spasm exceeds the tensile strength of the underlying connective tissues, such as with a particularly forceful spasm, or in the case of weakened connective tissues.

True hypertonic spasm is caused by malfunctioning feedback nerves, 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 spasms is colic. This is an episodic pain due to spasms 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 if severe.

Causes

Amongst causes of spasms are insufficient hydration, muscle overload, and absence of electrolytes. Spasmodic muscle contraction may be due to a large number of medical conditions, including the dystonias. Hypertonic muscle spasms is the state of chronic, excessive muscle tone, or tension in a resting muscle – the amount of contraction that remains when a muscle is not actively working.

See also

Notes

External links

• NIH Medical Encyclopedia
• How Stuff Works

Symptoms and signs: nervous and musculoskeletal systems (R25–R29, 781.0, 781.2–9) Primarily nervous system Primarily CNS Movement disorders Dyskinesia: Athetosis · Tremor · Dyskinesia Gait abnormality Scissor gait · Cerebellar ataxia · Festinating gait · Propulsive gait · Stomping gait · Spastic gait · Magnetic gait Lack of coordination Dyskinesia: Ataxia (Cerebellar ataxia/Dysmetria, Sensory ataxia) Dysdiadochokinesia · Asterixis Other Abnormal posturing: Opisthotonus Perceptual disorder: Hemispatial neglect Facial weakness · Hyperreflexia · Pronator drift Primarily PNS Gait abnormality Steppage gait · Antalgic gait Primarily muscular Movement disorders Spasm (Trismus) · Fasciculation · Fibrillation · Myokymia · Cramp Gait abnormality Myopathic gait · Trendelenburg gait · Pigeon gait Other Tetany · Meningism Primarily skeletal Rachitic rosary · Clubbing Primarily joint Joint locking M: CNS anat(n/s/m/p/4/e/b/d/c/a/f/l/g)/phys/devp noco(m/d/e/h/v/s)/cong/tumr, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug(N1A/2AB/C/3/4/7A/B/C/D) M: PNS anat(h/r/t/c/b/l/s/a)/phys(r)/devp/prot/nttr/nttm/ntrp noco/auto/cong/tumr, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug(N1B) M: MUS, DF+DRCT anat (h/n, u, t/d, a/p, l)/phys/devp/hist noco(m, s, c)/cong(d)/tumr, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug (M1A/3) M: BON/CAR anat(c/f/k/f, u, t/p, l)/phys/devp/cell noco/cong/tumr, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug(M5) M: JNT anat(h/c, u, t, l)/phys noco(arth/defr/back/soft)/cong, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug(M01C, M4)

Myopathy (M60–M63, 728.0–3,8) Pain Myalgia (Fibromyalgia) Inflammation Myositis (Pyomyositis) Lytic Muscle weakness · Rhabdomyolysis · Muscle atrophy/Amyotrophy Other Myositis ossificans (Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva) · Compartment syndrome (Anterior) · Diastasis of muscle (Diastasis recti) · Muscle spasm M: MUS, DF+DRCT anat (h/n, u, t/d, a/p, l)/phys/devp/hist noco(m, s, c)/cong(d)/tumr, sysi/epon, injr proc, drug (M1A/3)