I’m having odd muscle issues. It’s happened a few times before, but always in my sleep so I didn’t really think anything more of it than an odd muscle cramp or migrating charlie horse. But apparently, when I actually got to look at it, I realized how fucking creepy it was.
Sorry, there’s not another way to put it.
So Christmas, right? I worked a lot. I woke up and my right leg was super tense. My right heel hurt like a bitch – it hurt to walk, hurt to put pressure on, but I fought through it.
Later in the evening, the leg muscle tension has moved into my right foot. We are watching X-Files and waiting on nummy pizza when all of the sudden, the three middle toes on my right foot froze. Maybe even my pink too but it’s so small I wasn’t really paying attention to it.
They didn’t just freeze like in place either. They fucking curled down towards my foot. It was like all the muscles in my whole leg down into my toes froze up. It was like that for, oh, a minute at the absolute most but probably 30-45 seconds realistically.
It was the scariest fucking thing I’ve seen in a while.
The muscles are tense today, but not as bad. I don’t know how or why this happened. I googled it, obviously, to find that it could be lack of potassium, magnesium, from my RA, or from Parkinson’s or MS.
My great grandma essentially died from complications caused by her MS. I watched her, as a very tiny girl, lose her mobility. I have very few memories of her before her Amigo go-cart. Things just got worse and worse for her. She eventually had a stroke, and ended up in a nursing home with a broken voice box because of the dip shit doctors.
And I have always been afraid that is going to happen to me too.
Yay for borrowing trouble and googling stupid shit my body does.
PS if you’ve had this, want to share what’s up? Please?
My lower left leg, between the knee and ankle, has been in a state of constant tension for more than a year now. I usually get one mild cramp/charley horse a day, and one really bad one a week. Every now and then, I get one so bad that it'll completely pull my foot out of shape. A lot of what you wrote sounds similar to what I go through regularly. (Once, this even happened when I was in PT, and it really freaked my physical therapist out!)
The only thing that has provided some relief is heat. In fact, on most nights I wrap up this part of my leg with an electric heating pad.
As as per the toes freezing, I've had that and it's a very unpleasant experience, but I've been told it's from the pulling of the muscles and tendons due to inflammation, sometimes starting up as high as the knee or hip.
Hope this helped, just a little.
Thank you so much. It does help. I go to Google quicker than I go to you guys, and I really shouldn't. I have had a lot of people pipe up now about it, in the few short minutes since I posted, and it's amazing.
I will definitely take a look at your heat idea. I am wondering if Nikki's favorite, Biofreeze, might help ease the tension maybe as well. Hopefully it won't happen again, but if/when it does, I'll be prepared 🙂
Hi, My feet do this spasm thing where my three middle toes look like they are twisting around like Linda Blair's head in the Exorcist. I have also had pain in my foot like you described. Once it was because I had plantar facititus. I think it was just a confusing term for, lay down and put your feet up. The fat pads on the bottom of my feet are very thin. It's like walking on straight bones. I cannot walk barefoot. I have to wear flip flops in the shower and swim with TEVA sandals. When I stopped going barefoot, the pain stopped. I agree with RA guy, heat helps me the most as well. If someone else is in the room when my feet spasm, massage does help me as well. My podiatrist prescribed special insoles for me as well. As our bodies warp from the change, regular shoe soles don't give us the proper support. They prescribed custom orthotics and pain in my legs and heels have stopped. It took some getting used to, but constantly wearing thick flip flops or slippers rather than go barefoot has helped probably more than I know. Short story long, check with a podiatrist and see about custom orthotics. they fit in all of my shoes. I just rip out the original soles and buy shoes that are one half size bigger. Forgive me if i was all over the place. I had so much pain in my foot, I didn't realize my feet had lost their cushion. The changes for me seem to happen overnight, but I would never notice them until they hurt. I hope this was helpful.
Best to you. I hope the spasms slow down or stop all together.
Hi, I have it from time to time. The first time it happened it really scared me, it has happened in both my hands/fingers and it happens in my toes all the time. My fingers/toes just randomly jump out of place, it takes about 20-40 seconds for me to get them to go back, sometimes even when I get them back to where they are supposed to be they go out of place straight away again.
I have no idea what it is, i asked my doctor and rheumatologist and neither gave me an answer as to what it could be.
I have RA and autoimmune hepatitis. I presumed the medication was causing it, but I have no idea.
Holy cow Karen, that's no fun! But I definitely felt my foot channeling Linda Blair. I'm sorry you have to wear shoes all the time but I will definitely look into orthopedics. I have a habit of wearing thin flip flops and non-supportive shoes. Both my boyfriend and my doctor yelled at me for it. 🙂
Lisa, thanks. I am going to ask my rheumy about it at my next appointment, unless it happens sooner. Maybe I can find out an answer as to why it seems so much more prevalent among people with autoimmune conditions.