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A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, [1] 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 .
In medicine, the adjective spastic refers to an alteration in muscle tone affected by the medical condition spasticity, which is a well-known symptomatic phenomenon seen in patients with a wide range of central neurological disorders, including spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy (for example, spastic diplegia), stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS), [1] as ...
Spasticity (from Greek spasmos- 'drawing, pulling') is a feature of altered skeletal muscle performance with a combination of paralysis, increased tendon reflex activity, and hypertonia.
Spasmodic dysphonia, also known as laryngeal dystonia, is a disorder in which the muscles that generate a person's voice go into periods of spasm. [1] [2] This results in breaks or interruptions in the voice, often every few sentences, which can make a person difficult to understand. [1]
Laryngospasm is characterized by involuntary spasms of the laryngeal muscles. It is associated with difficulty or inability to breathe or speak, retractions, a feeling of suffocation, which may be followed by hypoxia-induced loss of consciousness. [2] It may be followed by paroxysmal coughing and in partial laryngospasms, a stridor may be heard ...
Cadaveric spasm can be distinguished from rigor mortis as the former is a stronger stiffening of the muscles that cannot be easily undone, while rigor mortis can. [ 2 ] The cause is unknown but is usually associated with violent deaths under extreme physical circumstances with intense emotion , such as the circumstances associated with death ...
Vasospasm refers to a condition in which an arterial spasm leads to vasoconstriction. This can lead to tissue ischemia (insufficient blood flow) and tissue death . Along with physical resistance, vasospasm is a main cause of ischemia. Like physical resistance, vasospasms can occur due to atherosclerosis.
Cramp definition is narrower than the definition of muscle spasm: spasms include any involuntary abnormal muscle contractions, while cramps are sustained and painful. [1] [7] True cramps can be distinguished from other cramp-like conditions.