![]() And if spasm or cramp seems a little too dramatic, muscle “tightness” is an even more imprecise default scapegoat: a partial spasm? It’s all rather squishy.īut unwanted contractions are clearly real, and some are painful indeed. These words are used almost reflexively to explain any kind of pain with no other obvious cause. “Cramp” also gets a lot of sloppy use beyond its main meaning (acute exertional cramps). The word “spasm” is notoriously vague, for instance, and yet is routinely used to “explain” musculoskeletal pain, whether it actually has anything to do with muscle contractions or not. The terminology is a bewildering mess, with many poorly understood and overlapping concepts. There are many types of unwanted contractions, but many do not have a clear cause and are hard to even classify. Although common and often unnerving, odd muscle contractions are rarely medically worrisome. This can be merely weird and annoying, or painful, or even crippling. Sometimes muscles contract when they shouldn’t. But the ”muscle relaxant“ drugs are a bit of a joke sedatives and paralytics are the only true ”muscle relaxants." Botox can be highly effective in specific cases. ![]() There really is an evidence-based hiccup cure. For instance, the article includes an anecdote about successfully treating eyelid twitching. A painful-yet-stealthy spasm like this might explain a lot of common aches and pains, and many people assume they exist, but the topic is almost perfectly unexplored scientifically.Īs a general rule, there are no effective treatments for most kinds of spasm, but it very much depends on the type of spasm. ![]() Some more controversial or vague notions about spasm are also discussed (“trigger points” and “stiffness” and “muscle splinting), and some conditions where the role of spasm is hopelessly unclear (like vaginismus, back pain, and headache).Īlthough some kinds of spasm clearly do cause considerable suffering, it’s unclear that there is any such a thing as a painful spasm that isn’t obviously a spasm: strong enough to hurt, but not strong enough to be otherwise felt or seen (like a typical calf cramp). Several familiar types of unwanted muscle contractions or “spasm” are explored in this article: exertional cramps, night cramps, menstrual cramps, dystonia, spasticity, fasciculations (twitches), tremors, clonus, myoclonus, myokemia, tetany. For instance, there’s probably no such thing as a “back spasm,” no vicious cycle of “pain-spasm-pain,” and the idea of a painfully “protective” spasm or “muscle splinting” is an oversimplification at best. Spasm is an informal and vague term used to describe many pains that often have little or nothing to do with muscle contraction. For instance, exercise-induced cramps are not caused by dehydration, “stiffness” is rarely caused by literally tight muscles, and muscles don’t actually go limp in anaesthesia. Many popular ideas about spasm are wrong or no more than half-right.
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