muscle spasm
7
3.4
- noun
- /ˈmʌsəl ˈspæzəm/
- Specialized
:
espasmo muscular
- The physical therapist recommended stretches to help alleviate my muscle spasms.
- pain and muscle spasm
And in trying to pin down the frogs leg and eat their frogs leg soup, they saw the muscle spasm and twitch and the frog's leg jumped.
- And in trying to pin down the frogs leg and eat their frogs leg soup, they saw the muscle spasm and twitch and the frog's leg jumped.
Examples
-
I thought it might help with your muscle spasms.
-
Do you get muscle spasms for no reason?
-
I had muscle spasms all night.
-
With the inflammatory response, the patient experiences pain and muscle spasms.
Academic text (2003) -
In addition to the pain, the patient also begins to develop ecchymosis, edema, and muscle spasms.
Academic text (2003) -
The knee will usually be held flexed, and passive extension will be quite painful, often limited by muscle spasm.
Academic text (2006) -
Muscle spasms were usually observed in hip flexor muscles when the hip and knee were fully extended.
Academic text (2001) -
Within 24 hours, the patient's torticollis resolved, as did the muscle spasm. CT and MRI scans performed on postoperative day 5 revealed complete resolution of the subluxation.
Academic text (2004) -
After exercising too hard, I experienced a painful muscle spasm in my leg.
-
She suddenly felt a muscle spasm in her back while lifting the heavy box.
Synonyms
431
9.9
A sudden painful tight muscle in the neck or back
77
2.1
A sudden painful tightness in a muscle you cannot control
58
3.9
A sudden tight movement of a muscle that causes pain
46
3.5
A sudden small muscle movement you cannot control, often from stress
16
7.9
A sudden sharp pain in the neck or back that makes it hard to move
12
4.3
A quick, sudden movement of a muscle you cannot control, often in an eyelid
4
6.1
A sudden painful tight feeling in the neck or back
1
9.9
A sudden muscle twitch you cannot control
1
9.9
A small quick muscle twitch you can see under the skin
A sharp pain when a muscle suddenly tightens
A small sudden muscle twitch you cannot control
A sudden painful muscle cramp in the neck or back
Antonyms
How Severe
- Specialized
20
7.3
77
2.1
- Specialized
7
3.4
7
2.2
66
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'muscle' (body tissue that produces movement) with 'spasm' (a sudden, involuntary tightening); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer 'a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle.' This is a straightforward compound-like medical description that follows regular compositional patterns and has clear equivalents across many languages, so it should be immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Muscle spasm comes from the clear image of a muscle suddenly tightening on its own: the spasm is a quick, painful twitch like a rope pulled tight. So, 'muscle spasm' means a sudden tightening of a muscle that happens 'without meaning to' and often causes pain.