Spasm
involuntary contraction of a muscle, organ or orifice
A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, 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. Most commonly, it is a muscle cramp which is accompanied by a sudden burst of pain. A muscle cramp is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. It is typically caused by ion imbalance or muscle fatigue.
There are other causes of involuntary muscle contractions, and some of these may cause a health problem.
Description and causes
Spasms occur when the part of the brain that controls movement malfunctions, causing involuntary muscle activity.
A spasm may be a muscle contraction caused by abnormal nerve stimulation or by abnormal activity of the muscle itself.
Causes
The cause of spasms is often unknown, but it can be due to an inherited genetic problem, a side effect of medications, Parkinson's disease, a stroke, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.
Old age can also cause spasms and cramp.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Spasm” as involuntary contraction of a muscle, organ or orifice. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as involuntary contraction of a muscle, organ or orifice. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q574360.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Spasm” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.