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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 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, including the dystonias.
By extension, a spasm is a temporary burst of energy, activity, emotion, stress, or anxiety.
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.
Hysterical strength is argued to be a type of spasm induced by the brain under extreme circumstances.
Spasms can be caused by insufficient hydration, muscle overload or absence of some minerals (such as magnesium).
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body.[1] Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptical seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure. However, not all epileptic seizures lead to convulsions, and not all convulsions are caused by epileptic seizures. Convulsions are also consistent with an electric shock. For non-epileptic convulsions, see non-epileptic seizures.
Convulsions may also be referred to as fits in some instances. [2]
Related Information:
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Batten disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Multiple system atrophy Parkinson's disease Stroke disease Multiple sclerosis Brain Injuries Multiple sclerosis Spinal cord disorders Huntington's disease Diabetes mellitus Schizophrenia disease Major depressive disorder Spasm and convulsions Thyrotoxic Myopathy Polymyositis disease HMSN disease Toxic encephalopathy Autism disease Mental retardation Pachygyria disease Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage Idiopathic intracranial hypertension Muscular dystrophy Mitochondrial myopathies Mitochondrial diseases hepatolenticular degeneration Leukodystrophy disease Choreia disease
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