What do you reckon is the difference between spasm and cramp?
Susi
What do you reckon is the difference between spasm and cramp?
Susi
Hi Susi,
I call mine cramps, because nothing visibly moves - i.e. I donāt have an arm or leg fly out involuntarily. But Iām quite sure the muscle is in spasm, because thatās pretty much what a cramp is.
So maybe itās a distinction without a difference? Is there any practical reason it matters?
Thinking about it, itās not even strictly true that I never get visible movement, because I can get foot cramps where my toes rigidly divide and wonāt go back together (for any Trekkies out there, itās 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. Itās the same phenomenon Iāve always called cramp since childhood - way before MS was in the picture.
Since diagnosis, I do know thereās a pathological reason why theyāve got more frequent and severe, but Iāve never seen any reason to change what I call them. I just consider I get ācrampā more than I used to, and more than most people. Iāve never started calling it spasms.
Tina
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.
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 itās 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 wonāt separate as well ( definite description of spasm) but weirdly not as distressing as the above, which by use of the common term ācrampā makes them seem less intrusive and distressing.
Susi x
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