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Information about Spasm

Name of Symptom/Sign:
Muscle spasm
Classifications and external resources
ICD-10R25.2
ICD-9728.85
A spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. Spasmodic muscle contraction may also be due to a large number of medical conditions, however, including the dystonias.

By extension, a spasm is also a sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.

Enlarge picture
Muscle spasms in a patient suffering from tetanus (1809)


A subtype of spasms is colic, 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. Series of spasms or permanent spasms are called a spasmism.

In very severe cases, the spasm can induce muscular contractions that are more forceful than the sufferer could generate under normal circumstances. This can lead to torn tendons and ligaments.

Some argue that hysterical strength is a type of spasm induced by the brain under extreme circumstances.

See also

External links

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Symptoms and signs (R00-R69, )
Circulatory and
respiratory systems		Tachycardia - Bradycardia - Palpitation - Heart murmur - Nosebleed - Hemoptysis - Cough - abnormalities of breathing (Dyspnea, Orthopnoea, Stridor, Wheeze, Cheyne-Stokes respiration, Hyperventilation, Mouth breathing, Hiccup, Bradypnea, Hypoventilation) - Chest pain - Asphyxia - Pleurisy - Respiratory arrest - Sputum - Bruit
Digestive system and abdomenAbdominal pain - Acute abdomen - Nausea - Vomiting - Heartburn - Dysphagia - Flatulence - Burping - Fecal incontinence - Encopresis - Hepatomegaly - Splenomegaly - Hepatosplenomegaly - Jaundice - Ascites - Fecal occult blood - Halitosis
Skin and subcutaneous tissuedisturbances of skin sensation (Hypoesthesia, Paresthesia, Hyperesthesia) - Rash - Cyanosis - Pallor - Flushing - Petechia - Desquamation - Induration
Nervous and
musculoskeletal systems		abnormal involuntary movements (Tremor, Spasm, Fasciculation, Athetosis) - Gait abnormality - lack of coordination (Ataxia, Dysmetria, Dysdiadochokinesia, Hypotonia) - Tetany - Meningism - Hyperreflexia
Urinary systemDysuria - Vesical tenesmus - Urinary incontinence - Urinary retention - Oliguria - Polyuria - Nocturia
Cognition, perception,
emotional state and behaviour		Anxiety - Somnolence - Coma - Amnesia (Anterograde amnesia, Retrograde amnesia) - Dizziness/Vertigo - smell and taste (Anosmia, Ageusia, Parosmia, Parageusia)
Speech and voicespeech disturbances (Dysphasia, Aphasia, Dysarthria) - symbolic dysfunctions (Dyslexia, Alexia, Agnosia, Apraxia, Acalculia, Agraphia) - voice disturbances (Dysphonia, Aphonia)
General symptoms and signsFever (Hyperpyrexia) - Headache - Chronic pain - Malaise - Fatigue - Fainting (Vasovagal syncope) - Febrile seizure - Shock (Cardiogenic shock) - Lymphadenopathy - Edema (Peripheral edema, Anasarca) - Hyperhidrosis (Sleep hyperhidrosis) - Delayed milestone - Failure to thrive - food and fluid intake (Anorexia, Polydipsia, Polyphagia) - Cachexia - Xerostomia - Clubbing
The term symptom (from the Greek σύμπτωμα meaning 'chance', 'mishap' or 'casualty', itself derived from συμπιπτω
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Simply, a sign is an indication of some fact or quality; and, in everyday English, a medical sign is an "objective" indication of some medical fact or quality that is detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient—such as elevated
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For other uses of "ICD", see ICD (disambiguation).


The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD
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List of ICD-10 codes. The version for 2007 is available online at [1]

Chapter Blocks Title
I Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
II Neoplasms
III Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism
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For other uses of "ICD", see ICD (disambiguation).


The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD
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The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. These codes are in the public domain.

See also


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MUSCLE (multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation) is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.
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organ (Latin: organum, "instrument, tool") is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues. The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ.
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Contraction may refer to:
  • Contraction (childbirth), a contraction during childbirth
  • Contraction (grammar), a new word formed from two or more individual words, see also abbreviation and acronym

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A body orifice is an opening in the body of an animal. In a typical mammalian body such as the human body, the body orifices are:
  • The nostrils, for breathing and the associated sense of smell.
  • The eyes, for the sense of sight and crying.

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Pain is a sensation transmitted from sensory nerves through the spinal cord and to the sensory area of the cerebrum, where the sensation is perceived. It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional
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Dystonia
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 G 24.9
ICD-9 333

DiseasesDB 17912

MeSH D004421 Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or
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The use of the word "Energy" in psychological studies is comparatively new, although it was in use, in a casual sense, before the modern scientific concept of energy was fully developed.
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Activity may mean:
  • action, in general
  • Activity, an alternative name for the game charades
  • Activity, a task.
  • Activity, the ability of a piece to influence the game in chess
  • Activity

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emotion is a "complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which the individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter of event.
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Colic may refer to:
  • Baby colic, a condition, usually in infants, characterized by incessant crying
  • Renal colic, a pain in the flank, characteristic of kidney stones

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Smooth muscle is a type of non-striated muscle, found within the "walls" of hollow organs and elsewhere like the bladder and abdominal cavity, the uterus, male and female reproductive tracts, the gastrointestinal tract, the respiratory tract, the vasculature, the skin and the
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A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile.

Bile, required for the digestion of food, is excreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct, which joins with the cystic duct (carrying bile to and from the
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Nausea
Classifications and external resources

ICD-10 R 11.
ICD-9 787.0

Nausea (Latin: Nausea, Greek: Ναυτεία
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Emesis redirects here. For the genus of metalmark butterflies, see Emesis (butterfly). Heaving redirects here. For the up-and-down motion, see heave.

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Hysterical strength is human strength exhibited superior to expectations, commonly in a hysterical state. It can be seen when muscles violently contract when a person is electrocuted. The most common anecdotal example is of mothers lifting cars to rescue their children.
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Cramps are unpleasant, often painful, sensations caused by contraction or over shortening of muscles. Cramps can be caused by cold or overexertion. Illness or poisoning can also cause cramps, particularly in the stomach, which is referred to as colic if it fits particular
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The Latin word angina refers to a painful constriction or tightness somewhere in the body, and may refer to:
  • Angina pectoris, chest pain due to ischemia (a lack of blood and hence oxygen supply) of the heart muscle

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Cadaveric spasm, also known as instantaneous rigor, cataleptic rigidity, or instantaneous rigidity, is a rare form of muscular stiffening that occurs at the moment of death, persists into the period of rigor mortis[1]
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MeSH D009207 Myoclonus (IPA: /ˌmɑɪ̯ˈɑk.lə.nəs/) is brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles.
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A hypnic or hypnagogic jerk is an involuntary muscle twitch (commonly known as a myoclonic twitch) which occurs during the transition into hypnagogia. It is often described as an electric shock or falling sensation, and can cause movement of the body in bed.
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MeSH D001764 A blepharospasm ('eye twitching') is any abnormal tic or twitch of the eyelid (from blepharo, eyelid, and spasm, an uncontrolled muscle contraction) .
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A muscle contraction (also known as a muscle twitch or simply twitch) occurs when a muscle fiber generates tension through the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten or remain the same.
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The term symptom (from the Greek σύμπτωμα meaning 'chance', 'mishap' or 'casualty', itself derived from συμπιπτω
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Simply, a sign is an indication of some fact or quality; and, in everyday English, a medical sign is an "objective" indication of some medical fact or quality that is detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient—such as elevated
..... Click the link for more information.


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