Left Shoulder/Arm Twitching Symptoms

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SnapeSnapeSnape

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Hi Guys,I'm new to this site, so I have not had time to read many posts. What I need is some confirmation if possible about symptoms I'm having. About three years ago I noticed twitching in a muscle in the triceps on my left side. This continues to the present day with no loss of strength or muscle loss. However I started to get a cycle of burning pain in my left shoulder and arm then it went, then it came back etc. Started to get worried and went to my GP (as I did a google search about the symptoms and we all know where that leads!!!!).Stated to get really axious about things and was sent for an MRI on my spine. Then got an appointment with a nuero who did a clinicall on me which was fine. The MRI showed that there was slight bulging at C5-C6 and C6-C7 discs. The neuro's diagnosis was pinched nerve root. This was April, since then I have developed twitches all over my body, particularly calves and back. I have also noticed muscle loss in my left shoulder, and have developed a slight tremor in my left hand. Also when I extend my arms they begin to slightly shake after about twenty seconds. this has combined with burning in my shoulders after picking anything up.I have not lost any strength as I can still lift weights and rugby train regularly, can anybody enllighten me as if this is typical behaviour with a pinched nerve root? I would be really grateful for any insights as things have been playing on my mind. I am currently waiting for an EMG.Thanks in advance guysRyan
 
I don't know what a pinched nerve root can do, but I can tell you that lots of things can cause the symptoms you describe. My father was in the hospital this summer for minor in-home accident. When I went to visit him I saw his shoulder twitching (he said it was no big deal, happened all the time) and noticed in his other arm there was atrophy. He said he could not use the atrophied arm because it hurt too much and was weak. Scary to me! He was seen by a neuro while in the hospital and for follow-up. Turned out the shoulder was something like arthritis or a bone spur. Don't know exactly, but the point is, it was nothing deadly. BFS comes with a healthy dose of anxiety. Most of us jump to the worst conclusion, when it really is the least likely scenerio.
 
I am an otherwise healthy 38 year-old female that developed sudden onset bodywide twitching about 15 months ago. I have had a slew of tests including 3 EMGs, a muscle biopsy, 3 nerve conduction velocity tests, and MRIs of the entire spine (lumbar and cervical). Obviously, my opinion is no substitute for what your doctors will tell you but I will offer my thoughts based on my experience. I was told that my bodywide twitching (upper and lower body) would almost certainly not be explained by what might be seen on an MRI of my spine. I think they did them just to be thorough and for the possibility that I could have more than one problem going on. This more than one problem thing does happen and can confuse matters. So I'm wondering if your tricep/shoulder thing could be a pinched nerve and the rest something else. This is possible (more possible than for most people since you play rugby) but I think it is more likely that the calve twitching and arm issues are related to a more systemic issue. There are lots of us here with bodywide twitching and other symptoms including shakiness/tremors etc with no real answers about cause. If your twitching continues to be bodywide and regularly felt, I would pursue an EMG/NCV test, blood work to test for immune problems (antibody tests, etc), and maybe a spinal tap. I still have no real answers as to what is causing my problems and I have had some test showing objective signs of a problem. These signs did not show up on all the tests (for example my 3 EMGS were negative for everything/totally normal but the muscle biopsy on the same day showed denervation) and the blood work showed immune problems and then later blood work showed the problems to have gone away or become undetectable. So I am a bit on the fence with the value of all the tests. They can be very conclusive but they can also just lead to more confusion and boy are they a pain to go through. I would also recommend that you find the best neuro you can. I think the best would be one that is a neuromuscular specialist and one that has knowledge of immune-mediated neuropathies. Ask if the neuro has treated people with your symptoms successfully. Ask for a list of problems that can cause your symptoms(peripheral neuropathy, chronic immune demyelinating neuropathy (CIPD), genetic neuropathies, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, parathyroid problems, lyme disease, etc.) and then ask if the neuro has treated many patients with them. Many neuros are not experienced in this area and if you get one of those you will likely not get the best evaluation. I hope you continue to be weakness free (this is the biggest issue) like I am even after 15 months. If the symptoms bother you there are meds that help (for me it is Klonopin), even if you never find an answer. Twitching with no answers is called bfs by many doctors. If you have some other signs but do not clearly fit in a specific box for a clear diagnosis, you may be given an educated guess but no firm answer. This is where I am. My neuro thinks my problems are related to an immune response attacking my nerves but it is only a guess. I have taken the approach and it has been supported that if I have no weakness I will not do anything else except take Klonopin to help with the symptoms.I just saw you mentioned sensory issues. I get bodywide tingling too and the last of my three NCV tests showed sensory nerve conduction slowing in 8 sensory nerves when the first two such tests were normal.Krackersones
 
Thank you very much for your insights and thoughtful replies. I immediately thought the worse after the symptoms seem to multiply since I saw the nuero. I am so glad I have found this site because it gets scary when there is nobody to talk to about the symptoms. My partner thinks I have become obsessed with it, by measuring my arms, legs etc all the time looking for atrophy but it’s reassuring to know that people have experienced the same issues.Regards Ryan
 
Hi Ryan,Try a chiropractor. I did and it really helped. She found no issues but improved the general health of my nervous system. I would say that my twitches halved after about 6 sets of adjustments. Pain in my shoulder stopped, numbness in my feet went away and tingling in one calf stopped. Expensive but well worth it. Jan
 
Ryan- As someone who has been through the bodywide twitch thing and is very active, I've also had the shoulder problems (burning, feeling like I've lost muscles and yet still can lift the same amount of weights). I wouldn't go asking for this test or that test, or start researching medical books on what you might have. I'd do one simple thing...go back to the neuro or find another neuro and explain your current symptoms and how you're wondering if this is tied to the pinched nerve issue or not. Let them evaluate you based on your symptoms. It sounds a lot like BFS by the way. And when they give you their analysis/diagnosis, listen to it, write it down and accept it. Don't go down the road so many go with this, questioning neuros, worrying about tests not done. If he tells you its benign and/or nothing to worry about, accept it. That's not to say you shouldn't look for answers to dealing with the symptoms. Just trying to steer you away from the anxiety that seems to accompany this for many of us and the overanalysis that goes with it too. This is a great place for reassurance and understanding living with BFS. But its no substitute for the fact that if you're worried or bothered by new symptoms, you should find a neuro you trust and get it evaluated. Good luck.
 
TJ, my thoughts exactly. Thank you for your reply that was exactly what I was going to do. 43RichyThe43rd, as long as its BFS then I got no problems with it. Its just simply aggravating and I intend to just get on with things.Thanks for the advice guys,Regards Ryan
 
Hi Neville,Just wondering what sensory issues you have with your leg? I too have weird sensory stuff going on with my leg, i would be interested to know if we have similar symptoms.Zoe
 
Ryan,I have lots of sensory issues - the GP said there may be a pinched radial nerve causing peripheral neuropathy. My hands go numb often, less often my feet, and I have body wide tingling, twitching, upper back pain and sometimes burning pain shooting down the limbs. (Folks dx'd with bfs also report similar symptoms on this board, but backpain points more towards PN.) X-ray showed mild degeneration at C5-6 which is normal in my age (45) - have not had an MRI yet. In my opinion your MRI finding should be very reassuring - no tumour pressing on the nerve and no lesions to speak of. Since you're an athlete, you could easily have a soft tissue injury that prevents the muscle in question developing the same rate as the other one. Also, when you have a pinched nerve, the nerve is not able to supply the muscle adequately, so some muscle loss could occur - this is quite common. You have not lost any strength since you started having symptoms three years ago, so there should be nothing to worry about. In my opinion the twitches per se are meaningless without other findings, such as clinical weakness (and this means profound weakness, something that simply cannot be missed). Although I freaked out about the onset of twitching two months ago, now my focus is on more ordinary issues, such as "what is pinching the nerve" and "how could I get it unpinched". This helped me fight self damaging frantic thoughts. The physio gave me a set of stretches for the neck and cervical spine and I've had some relief of symptoms with these. Take care, Kat.
 
Thanks Kat for your post, the more I think about things the worse they seem to get, is this the same with you? Today I have been getting slight cramps in forearms and in fingers. Not painful but there and really annoying!!!!!regards Ryan.
 
Definitely, yes, the more you focus on your symptoms, they worse they will appear to you! This is called sensory amplification, a natural and very common phenomenon. You don't even need to be anxious or be the anxious type for this to happen, although having anxiety will certainly increase sensory symptoms, that is a given, proven by many posts on this board. At that point, there will be a lot of confusion about symptoms, as anxiety is known to create its own symptoms, as well as "copycat" manifestations of the very thing that we fear. What can I say, :oops: a few weeks ago I was in a grip of fear, literally sobbing most of the day, thinking how my loved ones will be able to deal with the loss of me. I woke up in the middle of the night, not being able to take a breath and sometimes to choking on my own saliva. I believed I may not live through the night and will just simply choke to death in my sleep. A visit to the ER one night and an encounter with a kind yet straighforward ER doc has helped to put my sensations in a different perspective. For there was absolutely no evidence of weakened breathing muscles (was pulling 100 % oxygen in even in the height of my "death throes" :) ), blood pressure annoyingly normal, heart working great, etc. The ER doc explained that my symptoms could be either from GERD, esophaegal spams or simply from tight chest/neck muscles. This brought me to the physio and ever since I'm working on loosening up my muscles - never had the chest pain/choking symptoms, plus, I got temporarily relief from the numbness and tingling. The twitching for me momentarily is a non issue and I still feel them when I go to bed, but instead of "listening to them", my attention is on a sleeping position in order to try and relieve that *beep* pinched nerve I believe I have. :) I am scheduled to start counselling this week - while there is an issue with my nerves and this needs to be dealt with, my meltdown over the symptoms indicate something that could do far more damage for my well being on the longterm than whatever medical issue I may have. I simply don't want to go through the rest of life reacting to s...t the way I have reacted recently. It is unpleasant, undignified, it is painful. *big sigh* - this is all a process and it should give us a lot of comfort that so many who logged on to this site were managed to navigate through the process and came out on top at the end. Cheers, Kat
 

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