Involuntary healing movement with chiari malformation?

[mariefruit]

Hi, again!

I've had very strange upper body involuntary movement and I want to know if there is anyone who have theses symptom.

My movement started 4 years ago when I had severe back of head pain, eye/ear pains.

It's really hard to describe these movements, but let me try.
Movements are different every time, but mostly slow, like smooth dancing or yoga exercise.

- Spinning of head/neck and shoulder, sometimes very fast, or sometime very slow for more than 15 mins to 1 hour or until I feel tired

- Twisting neck, arm and jaw and keeping twisted position more than 5 mins to 15 mins or until I feel tiered

My involuntary movements are always started by 'pain'.
The body spots where I have pain are the original source of the movement.
Strangely, this movement heals my pain. These movements give me similar feeling as getting gentle massage.
Good thing is, I can control the movement to stop, - not sudden stop, but gently slowly stop.

For the first time when I had the moment, I thought I had some movement disorder. But, as time passing, I found the movements aren't harmful at all, and rather give me some healing sensation. In fact, after having the movements, my pain got alleviated.

I am very sure that this is not movement disorder.

However, I am just wondering this is related to Chiari.
Now, by my MRI, I found my cerebellum hangs below of my skull, which plays important role in motor control. Then is there any possibility that these my involuntary movement could be somehow related with the tonsil herniation?

Does anyone know or have experiment with involuntary movement and chiari?

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

May I ask, were you DX'd with Chiari? Outside of anxiety and panic attacks,,,,what other medical conditions did you have that this practice helped?

[jmbowman67]

Over the  course of this past year I have moved into the practice of meditation and yoga.    I currently live with chronic muscle tension and floating pain. Much of the muscle tension is in my lower extremities.

I used to suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks.  Over the course of the year with the practice of meditation, I have discovered a path to peace of mind and a quiet mind.  A month or two ago, I began to experience this involuntary movement.

It began with very free-flowing movement gentle  and soothing. In the past 24 hours, as I've been practicing very slow breathing focusing just on my breath,  I began to experience rather jerky and intense movements in my arms and legs and hands. This came following severe  Global muscle tension.

I kept my focus on the breathing and this movement continued for 25 to 30 minutes.  When it stopped, the muscle tension was significantly diminished. I have come to understand this as my body's way of releasing the tension.

I am writing  this evening to see what I could learn about others who have had this experience. I no longer talk with my doctors about these things, because I don't believe they  Will understand. I find that holistic practitioners are very much in tune with these type of things. Does not really fit into the thinking  of Western medicine.

In fact all of this has been part of a healing journey for me. Alongside of the anxiety and depression, I also had severe seizure like activity for 15 years.  I had been diagnosed with a partial complex seizure disorder and over 20 years took over 22  anti-seizure, anti-depression, and anti-anxiety medications. I am no longer on any of these medications.

In the course of the year, I also radically changed my diet, with the gradual release of many of the physical symptoms are used to exhibit, I have been able to return to a very active physical life.  I've lost 25 pounds and have never felt better in all my life.

I am coming to understand these involuntary movements to be my body's way of helping me heal. And as I left go of focusing on the pain and analyzing "what is wrong", my mind and body have become free year and for year and as I left go of focusing on the pain and analyzing "what is wrong", my mind and body have become freer and freer.

[selmaS]

  No  worries....it can feel like we r adrift with no oars and no one around to help us.....

I hope u can locate a Dr that listens and hears ur concerns.

keep us posted on how u r doing.

[mariefruit]

Thank you so much your thoughtful comment, Selma!
I wish my doctor listen to me like you... :-)
Also, again, I appreciate this community!!!

[selmaS]

  Well when I began reading I had no idea what u referring to, then it hit me...like a ton of bricks....I have had this pain that I have been getting post op, and feel it is due to my tethered cord or EDS DX's....not sure which one, but they are related to Chiari so not the issue here, but when I have this pain , I found myself walking around and I felt better while I was walking around in circles....then when I could not get up with this pain found I was kicking my legs as if I were walking....strange how we move trying to alleviate pain pretty much instinctively....however, I required pain meds as it did not take my pain away, only took my attention away from the pain as I feel I was concentrating on the movement..almost a meditative type of thing....the brain works in ways I can't explain, and that is how I felt was going on with me....not sure if u agree with ur situation since u feel ur pain got better just with the movement.