synkinesis

9.9

An unwanted movement of one body part when another part moves

noun
/sɪŋˈkaɪnɪsɪs/

Specialized

: sinquinesis

He noticed synkinesis in his facial movements, as raising his eyebrow resulted in an involuntary smile.

Examples

This phenomenon is a synkinesis of the cochlear nerve and is analogous to the situation of synkinesis of the facial nerve.

Academic text (1995)
The essentially normal laryngeal EMG ruled out paralysis and synkinesis.

Academic text (2006)
There was 65% synkinesis (Figure 3: A and B).

Academic text (1996)
This phenomenon is a synkinesis of the cochlear nerve and is analogous to the situation of synkinesis of the facial nerve.

Academic text (1995)
One year following surgery, good facial function had returned with 90% overall, the eyebrow 50%, the eye 100%, the nose 88%, the mouth 90%, and 40% synkinesis (Figure 7: A, B, C, and D).

Academic text (1996)
One year following surgery, overall recovery was 93% with 20% synkinesis, 85% eyebrow movement, 97% eye movement, 90% movement of the nose, and 95% of the mouth (Figure 1: A, B, C, and D).

Academic text (1996)
After the nerve injury, she experienced synkinesis, where moving her eye caused her mouth to twitch.
During rehabilitation, the doctor explained that synkinesis can happen when one muscle moves involuntarily due to another muscle's action.

Synonyms

twitching

vssynkinesis

4 4.3

A quick, sudden movement of a muscle you cannot control, often in an eyelid

is triggered by voluntary movement of a different body part

dyskinesia

vssynkinesis

Specialized

2 9.9

Movements of the body that happen without a person controlling them, often fast or jerky

is caused by another part's voluntary action rather than faulty movement control

hyperkinesis

vssynkinesis

Specialized

1 9.9

A condition that makes a person move too much and have trouble staying still

is caused by another part's voluntary action rather than overall excess movement

fasciculation

vssynkinesis

Specialized

1 9.9

A small quick muscle twitch you can see under the skin

is caused by voluntary movement elsewhere rather than being spontaneous

myokymia

vssynkinesis

Specialized

1 9.9

Small muscle twitches that happen without you meaning to, often in the eyelid or face

is triggered by intentional movement of another body part, not local quiver

Surface Forms

synkinesis singular

synkineses plural

Morphology

synkinesis = kinesis (semi-transparent) = syn + kinesis

Formed by 'syn-' (together) + 'kinesis' (movement); the components indicate linked movement but the precise clinical meaning is specialized and not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Synkinesis comes from Greek parts syn- meaning 'together' and kinesis meaning 'movement', the same root you see in kinetic. So synkinesis describes when one body part moves 'together' with another without meaning to, which is why an eye or hand may twitch when a nearby muscle moves after nerve injury.