Painful General Muscle Stiffness and Spasms or Jaw Stiffness
Stiffness or muscle hardening in people with tetanus infections happens progressively. Beginning with the muscles of the jaw in the early stages of the infection, this muscular stiffness spreads to the neck and then to all the other muscles in the body.
People call tetanus lockjaw because of how symptoms of this disease first appear. The muscles of the jaw are the first to be affected by tetanus infection. These muscles become very stiff and difficult to move. Sometimes people may experience involuntary muscle contractions or spasms known as trismus [5].