A bladder spasm is a contraction of the bladder which generates an urge to urinate, sometimes accompanied by extreme pain. Incontinence may occur if the bladder spasm continues, as the contraction will force urine out. Any resulting stream of urine may be impossible to stop, as the patient does not have control over his or her bladder.
A number of conditions can lead to bladder spasm; all should be addressed by a doctor.
When a bladder spasm occurs, the bladder randomly contracts, as though the patient is about to urinate. The patient feels like he or she needs to urinate, and some leakage may occur. One of the most common causes of incontinence in the elderly is bladder spasms, which can also occur in young children and pregnant women as well as animals. The spasms may be violent, with patients comparing them to cramps.
In spite of ordinarily-adequate post-operative analgesia, such as an epidural or an opioid infusion, bladder spasms remain a problem for some surgical patients. When bladder spasms occur in children, they can be traumatic for the child and a cause of frustration for hospital staff and anxious parents who find it difficult to deal with the fact that a child is in excruciating pain in spite of being on strong analgesia.
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—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)