25 Year Old Pitcher's Unexpected Injury

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Pinhanker

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Hi all, figured it's about time for me to put it out there.I am 25 years old, a minor league baseball player (pitcher) who has been pretty blessed with good health all my life.About a month ago as we were getting home from a road trip I woke up on the bus and my left arm was dead asleep. I shook it out, woke the arm back up and didn't think anything of it.A bit later as I was walking around the mall I felt my thumb (the spot between the thumb and the palm) twitching pretty consistently, every 1-3 minutes or so. This didn't make me concerned at first as I was used to having twitching body parts here and there every month or so from the grind and workouts of my everyday life. Around the next day my thumb was continuing to twitch so I did probably the dumbest thing I could, i turned to Dr. Google. Alas the dreaded ALS symptoms were the first thing to pop up. From that moment my heart was racing. I went through that night not being able to sleep, startled and scared of every time my thumb would twitch.After seeing the team doctor who told me he understood my concerns but that I really shouldn't be, i continued on my daily life with a sporadicaly twitching thumb. After a few weeks, the thumb twitching became less intense and less constant. My mind began to ease thinking that maybe I had overused my thumb or that it had a bad reaction to me falling asleep on my arm.During this time, my pitching was not up to par, and mechanically I was out of whack ( a timing issue ). The team made a decision to send me to our minor league hub to work on my mechanics and get right. As I was driving from texas to Arizona, and having a lot of time to think, I noticed that my right calf had a slight twitch. Well what else would I do but panic all over again.When I arrived I told the trainer of my twitches and he sent me to our team doctor in arizona, who told me he thought I was dealing with anxiety most likely because of my struggles and the everyday life of a minor league baseball player. I left the office that day hopeful that like my thumb did, my calf would slowly ease twitching.It's been 2 weeks since I have seen the dr. and my calf continues to twitch, of course I have some nights where Im ok and then i have some nights where I panic. I have a family friend who has als and It tears me up inside to see how people suffer with that horrible disease.I have a few questions regarding bfs and whether or not my case sounds like bfs...1. My thumb twitched alot, now it has slowed and there are some days where it almost wont twitch, is this normal? If i had something serious would twitching come and go or would it be pretty consistent?2. I have the calf twitches, they mostly occur later in the day, pretty rarely in the morning and then build through the day... Normal? Weird?3. If i smoothly flex my calf muscle, at about 30-50% of my flex the muscle twitches pretty rapidly, when i reach a firmer flex it stops. Normal? Weird?4. Along with the twitching, i wouldn't say my calf feels weak, more like the feeling if you had a severe cramp and then that somewhat sore/tired feeling. Could that be caused by the twitching? What could make it feel like that?5. I have random one shot twitches at different parts of my body, again mostly at night when i am laying on my bed on my laptop or watching tv... Normal with bfs or something to be concerned about?6. I of course check my body all the time because of my occasional panic and I notice that my left arm is bigger than my right arm (I assume because I am left handed and throw all the time with my left.) what concerns me is the inside of my arm right below my elbow on my right arm, it almost looks like there is a groove before the muscle of my forearm. I don't feel or notice any weakness in my right arm when i workout, this is probably a dumb question, but can a muscle atrophy before it weakens?Thank you in advance for all your help, in my heart of hearts i don't believe I have anything seriously wrong, but as long as I have symptoms of twitching and the feeling in my calf Im not sure I'll ever really completely stop worrying.- Tony
 
Join the club! Sorry, we ran out of shirts. Yes, what you have sounds like BFS! Here is why...1) If you had a nasty- you would not be bad then good. It would be bad, then worse.2) You have random body wide twitches=benign3) your twitches intensified after consulting with Dr. Google (mine did too-why is that the first thing that comes up anyways?)4) your trainers gave you the all clear- I'm pretty sure they are trained on looking for muscle weakness, isn't it their job to keep the players healthy and uninjured?For your questions (I'll do my best, I'm no expert)1) see #1 above2)Normal BFS- some twitch all day like mine, some more in the morning, some more at night3)differs with everyone, not significant 4)oh buddy, my foot arches used to ache like mad-what makes it do that? Your muscles are twitching- it's like a mini workout.5)Normal BFS6)Sounds like you know why one arm is bigger. You use it more. And as for your dent- everyone has odd and end bumps and dents. I would hazard a guess and say that your groove is more from tendon and muscle make up in your arm , mine is like that too. It might not be as noticeable in your other arm because of the muscles in your left being more developed than the right.Follow your heart- you are all good. And it sounds like you get to do something you enjoy! Don't be surprised if the twitching picks up, it might, but it still doesn't mean anything bad. For most of us, it seems like it follows a pattern. Follow these rules:NO MORE GOOGLING NO MORE CHECKING OR COMPARINGPLAY BALL!!!!
 
Hey man, I just recently got into this whole baseball lark being from Europe....I picked the minnesota twins as my team...so I think that minor league is pretty close to like full blown superstar mlb right so thats pretty cool... Anyway, yeah I read your story up until I saw the I am 25 part and then knew that unless you are having very serious difficulties with motor function that you have a benign condition. There have been many neuros who have categorically said that als NEVER presents with widespread fasics (i.E thumb and calf and random pops) so your golden.1. There is no ryhme or reason to twitching.... no type of twitching is more or less likely to be benign/ not benign unless accompanied by weakness etc.2. See above I believe runningbear has a similiar nightime calf twitching pattern.3. See answer 1.4.Anxiety or could be a part of the fatigue associated with non this syndrome.5. If normal for bfs was anything else but this most of us would be in hospital.6. Npormal...See kits post on dents and atrophyAll the best mate.
 
Just comment to your question no 3.: These are contraction fasciculations and it has nothing to do with ALS,its normal. This term is sometimes used in wrong context. If you slightly flex calf (its also visible on thighs but not so well), some of the muscle fascicles are being contracted, some not and its changing, giving the rippling appearance.Generally, your case sounds like pretty mild version of BFS (just thumb and calves?).
 
Thank you all for the replies... I know no one here is a doctor, but it's definitely a comfort knowing that many people say the same things.Yes MOST of my twitching has been in my thumb and calf. Specifically, my left thumb ONLY for 2-3 weeks. Then recently my right calf. The left thumb has drastically subsided and I can't remember it twitching today, maybe only a few yesterday as well. The reason I was/am concerned is that the calf seemed to be twitching pretty consistantly and as I said i felt that it was tight/tired. Not so much weak as I could run, jump, lift, sprint etc. I do get random twitches elsewhere almost on a daily basis, sometimes my right bicep/forearm, both glutes, both quads and occasionaly a hamstring here and there. I think even the outside of my right hand twitched a few times yesterday.Im not a worrier by trade, but when I do decide to worry I take it to the max, which i'm sure doesn't help things.Thank you again for the replies- Cap
 
My friend I've had all that for 20 years! Thumb would twitch non stop for weeks. If you knew for a fact right now you didn't have ALS wouldn't you feel 100 percent better? Catfish Hunter the Hall of fame pitcher discovered he had Als when he went hunting and could not raise his shotgun up to his shoulder! You see the difference? Relax you will be pitching for along time.... Twitches will probably come and go over the years , tell yourself the last time it didn't kill you so it's obviously it's just you are wired different!!
 
Thank you again for the response.It is comforting to a degree knowing that there are so many others going through the annoyance of twitches and not feeling right...Of course knowing I had nothing wrong with me would make me feel 100% better, but I am a person who avoids drs at all costs so I rely on reading and my own brain to settle me down. Sometimes it works for me, others against me. The last few days have been good.The thumb twitch has been very very slight and only a couple per day usually occuring after I get done using the thumb pretty heavily.The calf twitch has not been so bad, but the feeling of my calf being tired comes and goes, usually leaving when I am walking or running, then returning when i lay around. That is so frustrating.I go to sleep at night and it always creeps in my mind that I may wake up and have something change that will set off new panic in my mind, not a good feeling. I wish there was a way to just shut my brain off and go to sleep without thinking. unfortunately theres not, so as I said I just try and deal with it. One of those things I wish i could take a peek in the future and hopefully see myself a month or so down the road finally stop twitching and not even thinking about it. Oh how I wish, until then my time at the field is good for a distraction, it's the down-time that is so troubling. Oh well, it's nice to talk to people who understand, teamates dont, trainers think i'm crazy and it's all anxiety driven *which it very very well may be! As one trainer told me, you may not feel stressed or like you have anxiety, but you have no idea what's truly going on in your brain. Just a frustrating situation huh? Oh well, here's to another day of health for us all.-Cap
 
My perspective, though maybe it is not all that helpful, is that you are getting older and you got BFS.My understanding is the body peaks at 18 and goes downhill slowly from there.As far as your other twitching I would guess that they might have been happening for a while but you either never paid attention or didn't care.Let me provide you an example. I was talking to a chiro one day about my left leg. I am mostly a calf twitcher. Well he was checking me over and told me that my right leg twitches too. So I started to notice my right let and he is right. It twitches too.Frankly I wish he had never told me this (!#). Because after that I noticed my right let twitching.I think this twitching stuff is a lot more common then people think. It is just that most people don't notice or care.Since you are young the possibility of anything else is pretty small. I suggest that you enjoy your youth as much as possible and try not to let this bother you too much.Hope I have helped.-43RichyThe43rd
 
So frustrated tonight...Had a realtively good day without any major twitching episodes...Went to the field, did the throwing program, did the conditioning... Calf felt about the same, maybe a bit better? I can still make it twitch when i start to contract it, so annoying... Someone please remind me this is supposed to be a good thing that I can make it do that yes? I hope...Anywho... I played a pretty decent batch of video games tonight both thumbs were a tad sore by the end of it didnt know what to think of that, noticed a few quad twitches, a back twitch and the usual calf twitch here and there, like i said i figure it hasn't been as bad but still notice it... now after getting ready for bed low and behold my RIGHT THUMB starts to twitch the way my left thumb was. I really don't get it, im trying not to freak but really? Why can't I just be normal again.Sorry, just had to vent, praying for a better day tomorrow...Cap
 
I get sore joints all the time, and it is very BFS normal. I was using a water hose spraying off my kids the other day, and my thumb was getting sore half the way thru, but I kept spraying them for over an hour. By the time I got done, I could not use my thumb. I went to use a clicky pen and could not even push it down, this put me in a panic. But after a couple of hours it came back and all was well again. I'm not sure what causes the joint pain, but I know alot of us get it. Take a deep breath when a new symptom hits, don't fall into the black hole of anxiety like I did....God Bless
 
Junktime- this will be a long post so maybe you should read this on a long bus ride! Sorry to hear that this is causing you so much anxiety. I can relate 100% and thought I'd share my story since we both started to experience our twitches around the same time. I first noticed twitches in my calf in early May of this year. It was very different than a normal twitch. These were like lightning firing in multiple spots in my calf like rapid fire. I thought it was strange but didn't worry about it that day. About two weeks later it was happening in both calves. I had forgotten about my right calf so I don't even know if it had been twitching for the two weeks but I bet it had. By mid June the twitching started to happen everywhere. It was occurring non stop in my right calf, frequently in my left calf, and randomly everywhere else (back, butt, shoulders, triceps, tongue, feet, etc). Today it is nonstop and everywhere. As I type this it's happening in my palm, shoulders, an calves. I passed a clinical neuro test in June although the dr noted brisk reflexes. I had a cervical spine MRI and emg/ ncs a couple weeks ago and although I won't get the official results til Tuesday, the neuro told me it did not look like ALS and that it was likely benign. So hang in there. Your twitches may worsen like mine did but if they do they are likely benign. The vast majority of people with ALS notice weakness first so you would be a rare case of a rare disease. In addition you are well under the age of 40 which would make it even more rare. So if you think that ALS occurs in 2 out of 100,000 people and then factor in your age and atypical presentation, I'd say your chances of having ALS are 0. Hope this helps. -Matt
 
Ok it's been 2 months since my thumb started twitching so I figured it's time to update. Sorry if there are misspellings etc in here I am writing from my iPad on a bus.No new major progress... My calf twtiching has slowed, the thumb twitch disappears for a few days to return for a quick hit or two every few days...My newest developments are that I feel my right shoulder gets fatigued earlier than I remember (thank god i am left handed or we might have a meltdown) and for the past 2 days or so I have a feeling in my throat like when you swallow a pill and it doesn't quite get all the way down. No trouble swallowing and my diet has been poor lately so I'm hoping a case of heartburn.As far as my anxiety goes I've done a decent job staying off sites that could prompt fears and even this one to be honest but I do check once in a while. Tonight my right shoulder had a pretty good twitch rolling for bit so I got a bit nervous about that since I said my shouler has felt fatigued a few times.Teammates still laugh when they see me staring at my hands or calves but they couldn't understand until theyve dealt with a long term twitch. Anyway just figured I'd update real quick hoping for more progress and less nonsens as I go...Prayers for all of u.Cap
 
Another Update:Our season is winding down, but my twitches don't seem to be.My right calf has continued to twitch, some days it twitches a lot, some days it twitches just a bit. Still very annoyed by this.The left calf occasionaly twitches as well still, maybe a tad more frequent than before.My newest twitches that I have experienced are my right lat, scap, and sometimes upper shoulder, my left bicep has gone a few times, and my left side of my abs.What has become frustrating for me is that this all started with my left thumb, well the left thumb doesn't really twitch ever anymore, maybe every 3 or 4 days I'll catch a small twitch on the thumb, but nothing near what it used to so I keep waiting for my right calf to turn off like my thumb did. Nothing yet.I am very unflexible naturally but I feel that my calves are more tight than usual and have had some pain/minor cramps occur recently.Have a dr. appt scheduled when i get back home just to see if the Doc feels it's something worth pursuing more with a neruo or another specialist. My hope is that when I board my plane home I will realize that this long and very interesting season is over and my brain will shut off my twitches and I get back to normal.I'm sure I'm like most people on here who have become so in tune with their body they notice every dent and difference. For me, it's my right forearm being noticeably smaller than my left (as I've said before I'm guessing because I throw 50-200 times a day with the left) my left calf appears to my eye to have some sort of dent on the outside which is also where it twitches when it does. (possibly because I use that leg to push off the mound?) Bottom line, I am still annoyed but have calm down so much from when I first started having fasciculations. I feel stupid now that this has gone on for 3 complete months and I have no other symptoms than some fasciculations, some heartburn/acid reflux, and some minor cramps. I feel like if i Had anything serious I would know by now. Anywho, I'll stop rambling hope all is well with everyone here, praying for you always.- Cap
 

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