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The myth of skeletal muscle spasm

PainSci » bibliography » Johnson 1989
updated
Tags: biology, debunkery, muscle

Five articles on PainSci cite Johnson 1989: 1. The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome2. The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain3. The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks4. Does Hip Strengthening Work for IT Band Syndrome?5. Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches

PainSci notes on Johnson 1989:

In this editorial from 1989, Dr. Ernst W. Johnson decries the “preposterous” widespread attribution of unexplained musculoskeletal pain to “spasm,” describing “overwhelming evidence that skeletal muscle spasm is nonexistent.” He believes that it’s a simplistic non-diagnosis with strong emotional appeal to both doctors and patients, and therefore cynically exploited by pharmaceutical companies to sell a treatment (muscle relaxants).

Although I agree that most unexplained musculoskeletal pain has nothing to do with “spasms,” I wish I knew what “overwhelming evidence” debunks the myth: he only mentions one 1950 study that I can’t find, and a replication of it that he was involved in that I also cannot find. He describes a study of 50 people with neck and/or shoulder discomfort, none of whom “had EMG evidence of muscle activity in the area of pain or in the proximal paraspinal muscle.”

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Specifically regarding Johnson 1989:

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