muscle spasm

/ˌmʌsəl ˌspæzəm/

/ˈmʌsəl ˈspæzəm/

Other forms: muscle spasms

Definitions of muscle spasm

1. noun

   a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
   synonyms: cramp, spasm

   types:

   charley horse, charley-horse

   a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise

   graphospasm, writer's cramp

   muscular spasms of thumb and forefinger while writing with a pen or pencil

   blepharospasm

   spasm of the eyelid muscle resulting in closure of the eye

   crick, kink, rick, wrick

   a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (`rick' and `wrick' are British)

   myoclonus

   a clonic spasm of a muscle or muscle group

   opisthotonos

   severe spasm in which the back arches and the head bends back and heels flex toward the back

   twitch, twitching, vellication

   a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition

   tenesmus

   painful spasm of the anal sphincter along with an urgent desire to defecate without the significant production of feces; associated with irritable bowel syndrome

   trismus

   prolonged spasm of the jaw muscles

   tic

   a local and habitual twitching especially in the face

   blepharism

   condition in which a person blinks continuously

   fibrillation

   muscular twitching involving individual muscle fibers acting without coordination

   fasciculation

   muscular twitching of contiguous groups of muscle fibers

   type of:

   symptom

   (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease