Demyelinated not Destroyed

Muscle spasms and muscle cramps are something most everyone will experience in their life at one time or another. Most muscle spasms and muscle cramps are fairly innocent and easy to avoid. People with neuropathy and demyelination from autoimmune disorders can experience them quite often, however.

What is it?

Muscle spasms and muscle cramps are caused by an involuntary muscle contraction. They can happen in any muscle. Most people living with demyelinating diseases experience them in their arms, hands, feet, and legs. Muscle spasms tend to come in groups, each contraction lasting for a second or so before releasing and then contracting again. Muscle cramps are a constant contraction of the muscle. Unless a muscle spasm is particularly strong, they tend to be more annoying than anything. Muscle cramps can vary in intensity from mild to strong. The stronger the muscle cramp, the more pain it causes.

What causes it?

Under normal circumstances, muscle movement is caused by the brain. The brain will send a message that a muscle needs to move. The message is sent along nerves from the brain, to the spinal column, and then finally to the muscle where it either expands or contracts based upon the message received. When a nerve is damaged through demyelination, messages are misinterpreted if they are received at all. The damage to the nerves can cause muscles to fire on their own, without any message from the brain, as well. Damaged muscles can also cause a muscle to spasm or cramp on its own. Other causes of muscle spasms and muscle cramps are:

• Exercise - Muscles need energy in order to relax. If you exercise for too long and ignore your body’s messages that it’s time to stop (fatigue, pain, etc…) you will become overly tired. When you become overly tired, you don’t have any energy for your body to devote to relaxing the muscles you were just using. That lack of energy can cause muscle spasms and muscle cramps.
• Dehydration and salt depletion - Not drinking enough water, particularly on hot days or when exercising, or being ill with vomiting and diarrhea can cause you to become dehydrated. When you don’t have enough water or salt in your system, it can disrupt how your muscles function, resulting in muscle spasms and muscle cramps. It is important to make sure you get the proper amounts of water, salt, potassium, magnesium, and calcium in your diet to prevent this from happening.
• Stress - Being under large amounts of stress can cause muscle spasms, in particular.
• Metabolic disorders - Inherited diseases that affect how much energy is in the muscle can cause muscle spasms and muscle cramps. These metabolic disorders cause particular muscle enzymes to be deficient, resulting in the last of energy available to the muscle. One of these metabolic disorders are McArdle’s disease. Some of the muscle enzymes that can cause muscle spasms and muscle cramps if they are deficient are myophosphorylase, phosphorylase b kinase, phosphofructokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase.
• Myotonia - While myotonia typically only causes stiffness due to a delayed relaxation of the muscles, many people with myotonia do experience muscle spasms and muscle cramps from exercising too much.
• Fatigue - Being overly tired can cause muscle spasms and muscle cramps
• Medication - Certain medications can interfere with the body’s ability to send and receive message along the nerves, causing muscle spasms and muscle cramps as messages are misinterpreted or not received.

How is it diagnosed?

The first step in diagnosing muscle spasms and muscle cramps is to clarify what both terms mean to the doctor and the patient. It can be easy to confuse the two terms for some people. Muscle spasms are quick muscle contractions that tend to happen in rapid succession. Muscle cramps are prolonged muscle contractions that can last for anywhere from a minute to days. It is also possible for a muscle cramp to become permanent in people with demyelinating diseases.

Once a consensus is reached on what both terms mean, the doctor will take a complete medical history of the patient. Questions asked will usually include how often the patient has muscle spasms and muscle cramps, how long they last, where they typically have them, if there is any correlation to activity the patient was doing when the muscle spasms or muscle cramps came on, and if any relatives have metabolic disorders.

After the medical history is taken, the doctor will perform a variety of tests. A complete neurological exam to test reflexes and the like can be done. Blood work can be done to rule out metabolic and dietary causes. An EMG or electromyography can be done to test muscle function at rest and when contracted. An EMG can determine whether or not a muscle is functioning properly and if there is damage to any of the muscles.

How is it treated?

Careful stretching before and after working out can help relieve muscle spasms and muscle cramps brought about my exercise. Drinking plenty of water will keep muscle spasms and muscle cramps brought about by dehydration at bay. If the muscle spasms and muscle cramps are being caused by metabolic disorders, neuropathy, or demyelination, medication can be prescribed to prevent them.

Alternative treatments for muscle spasms involves taking herbs and vitamins. Ginko, Japanese quince, magnesium, vitamin E, niacin, and calcium have all been shown to help ease muscle spasms and muscle cramps. Eating a banana has also proved beneficial for some due to the large amount of potassium bananas contain. Whenever undergoing herb and vitamin therapy, it’s important to discuss all supplements taken with your doctor and to be aware of what the dosing limits are. Overdosing on vitamins, particularly potassium, can be fatal. Massage can be used to help particularly stubborn muscle cramps.

My experience

Muscle spasms was the second symptom I developed. Much like my experience with tingling, for the first few years, the muscle spasms would come and go. For the past year or so, I have been experiencing muscle spasms on a daily basis. I get them pretty much everywhere I have a muscle. Let me tell you, muscle spasms on your tongue can be an interesting experience! The muscle spasms will typically last for a minute or so in one location the stop. I have had occasions where they have lasted for several hours in one spot, though. The next group will hit at random, often in a different location.

With the increase in muscle spasms, I’ve started to have muscle cramps. The areas most often affected by muscle cramps are my biceps, hands, and bottom of my feet. When I get a bothersome muscle cramp, my husband can usually be coaxed into massaging it for me. Most of the time it works, although just recently I had a muscle cramp in my hand that simply refused to go away in spite of the massage.

For the most part, I find muscle spasms and muscle cramps to simply be annoying. The muscle spasms and muscle cramps I experience don’t tend to be overly strong, however. The times they have been strong, it can be difficult to not reach for a muscle relaxer for relief.

For more detailed information, please visit here. As a warning, the site is a bit heavy with medical terminology.

For those who stop by to read this blog, if you find the format and information of this post helpful, could you please leave a comment to let me know? If there’s anything I should change, please let me know that, too. I’d appreciate it. Thank you!

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