involuntary movements
Body moves unbidden
Involuntary movements are body motions that occur without conscious control or intention.
The term covers a range of phenomena: muscle twitches, tremors, tics, spasms, and reflexes.
Some are benign—an eyelid twitch from fatigue, a knee-jerk reflex.
Others indicate neurological conditions: The medication caused involuntary movements in her hands.
Distinguished from voluntary movements, which are deliberate and purposeful.
- tremorInvoluntary rhythmic shaking
- hand tremorInvoluntary shaking of fingers
- dystoniaMovement disorder causing postures
- choreaInvoluntary jerking muscle disorder
- ticsInvoluntary repetitive movements
nervous tic · facial tic · myoclonus · sleep starts · startle reflex · spasm · dyskinesia · eye twitch · blinking · hemiballismus · movement disorder · twitching · spasticity · automatism · seizures · muscle spasms · restless legs · sneezing
- neurological symptomsnumbness, tremor, paralysis, aphasia, ataxia
- movement disorderstremor, dystonia, chorea, tremors, bradykinesia
- nerve symptomsweakness, muscle weakness, numbness, tingling, paralysis
- prion diseasesprions, prion, prion disease, mad cow disease, kuru