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Everyday living
1

What do you reckon is the difference between spasm and cramp?

Susi

2

Hi Susi,

I call mine cramps, because nothing visibly moves - i.e. I donā€™t have an arm or leg fly out involuntarily. But Iā€™m quite sure the muscle is in spasm, because thatā€™s pretty much what a cramp is.

So maybe itā€™s a distinction without a difference? Is there any practical reason it matters?

Thinking about it, itā€™s not even strictly true that I never get visible movement, because I can get foot cramps where my toes rigidly divide and wonā€™t go back together (for any Trekkies out there, itā€™s like the Vulcan greeting, but with my toes).

So assuming I was barefoot, it would be very obvious to anyone it was happening, but I still call it cramp. It feels like cramp. Itā€™s the same phenomenon Iā€™ve always called cramp since childhood - way before MS was in the picture.

Since diagnosis, I do know thereā€™s a pathological reason why theyā€™ve got more frequent and severe, but Iā€™ve never seen any reason to change what I call them. I just consider I get ā€œcrampā€ more than I used to, and more than most people. Iā€™ve never started calling it spasms.

Tina

3

l hope this helps - The difference between muscle spasm and cramp is the force of the contractions. lf a muscle quickly contracts and releases without pain, it is a spasm. A prolonged and painful contraction is cramp.

Magnesium supplement helps with this problem.

Spasticity - must come in here somewhere. As this causes very stiff joints that will not bend.

1 Like
4

Thanks for your reply Tina. Sorry no reply before, I miss the email alerts we used to get before MSS ā€™ upgradedā€™ the IT on this. I call it spasm. I know the medical difference but I reckon itā€™s wrong. My toes are the main culprits at night and,ast for ages and us so severe it keeps waking me. I take quinine and clonazapam plus magnesium. Maybe it is more akin to spasticity.

My hands go into claws when I wake in the morning and my hands go into all sorts of weird and painful shales.

there are abductor spasms in my legs at times when they wonā€™t separate as well ( definite description of spasm) but weirdly not as distressing as the above, which by use of the common term ā€˜crampā€™ makes them seem less intrusive and distressing.

Susi x

5

Thanks for your reply,see my reply to Tina for my thoughts.

MSS should sack their IT guys - the contract was a total waste of money!!

susi