From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspasmspas‧m /ˈspæzəm/ noun 1 HBPAIN[countable, uncountable] an occasion when your muscles suddenly become tight, causing you pain Maggie felt a muscle spasm in her back. Tom’s jaw muscles had gone into spasm.back/shoulder/throat etc spasm2 → spasm of grief/laughter/coughing etc
Examples from the Corpus
spasm• A spasm of pain twisted Cheviot's face.• Grant missed Monday night's game due to back spasms.• Deep, cramping spasms ran up and down her legs and twitched in her back.• But as it was ... As it was, Dyson had experienced a genuine spasm.• Hemifacial spasm is not psychogenic as was commonly thought in the past, although it may be aggravated by emotional stress.• Her fingers were jumping rhythmically, as if in spasm.• His left leg was going into muscle spasms of some sort and he clutched at his knee with frustration.• The muscle spasms started in his lower left leg and spread upwards.• He lay on the ground, breathless and frightened, waiting for the next spasm.• Froebe's eyes opened weakly, and he coughed in a huge racking spasm.• Recurring spasms of gloom and euphoria tend to be self-fulfilling.• Just as suddenly as it had begun, the spasm seemed to fade.back/shoulder/throat etc spasm• Right guard Kevin Gogan had a hip pointer and back spasms.• Ricardo Greer was unable to start for the first time this season because he developed back spasms just before the game.• Dalman experienced back spasms and was held out.• A note on her office door explains that shifting heavy loads without the help of porters brought on muscular back spasms.• However, she was not equipped to deal with Miss Danziger's throat spasms.• He suffered back spasms in Game 2 at the Alamodome.• When this was faced and dealt with under regression therapy, the whole situation, including the shoulder spasm, was resolved.• They won without point guard Cameron Murray, who played only two minutes before departing with back spasms.Origin spasm (1300-1400) Old French spasme, from Latin, from Greek spasmos, from span “to pull” 