Do your toes move by themselves causing spasms??

[Tammy826]

I know thats a weird question but this happens daily with me & its getting worse. I can be laying down watching tv or whatever & usually its 1 or 2 toes will move down(not the rest of them ) & then I have awful spasms in my foot & up my calf muscle. At 1st my Big Toe would move out sideways from the rest of my toes & then the spasm would hit but now it can be any of my toes. The Dr. just looked at me like I was crazy but can you move just one toe (especially one of your middle ones & not the rest?). Right before the spasm hits I get a feeling in whichever toe(like a pulse or shock) then the toe move & the spasm hits. I woke up this morning with pains shooting in my feet so thats a new one but the spasm thing has happened over a year & getting worse. It used to be only when I was trying to relax now I can be sitting up or even standing. Its tooooooo strange. You can also see other muscles moving under my skin at times (looks like a wave under my skin). When the moron e/r Dr. basically said it was all in my head my family told him it must be in their heads too because they watch this happening. I have twitches & the zaps & zings also but does anyone else have this happening too?? Does anyone else wake up with their hand drawn into fists to the point it leaves indentations in your hands?? Please tell me I'm not crazy as I plan to print my replies to this post & take them to my Dr. Thanks !!!

[jergen99]

I used to get the same thing, but once I started taking B12 supplements (one in the morning, one at night, both under the tongue) it stopped. If I miss my B12 for a week, it starts again. Hope that helps!

[jergen99]

I used to get the same thing, but once I started taking B12 supplements (one in the morning, one at night, both under the tongue) it stopped. If I miss my B12 for a week, it starts again. Hope that helps!

[Smalley413]

Apparently this is a bit more common than I originally thought. I too have the very same issues with my toes. I have taken photos and videos just to show a multitude of physicians who all seem to be mystified.  

Here is what helps me.  I now own about 6 heating pads.  I read on a MS thread a few years back about this, and it actually helps TREMENDOUSLY!!!  

I sleep with a heating back on my calfs and feet (usually on high heat), all night long.  Without this, I would get ZERO sleep. ZERO (regardless of what sleeping pills I would be on).  This, unfortunately,  is an issue every night of my life now.  It started in my 20s and I can confidently say, the heating pad thing works.  You do have to find a heating pad that gives the option to keep it on all night long, otherwise as soon as you hit the 2 hour marker where it shuts off, your cramps turn back on (or at least for me they did).  

I travel, therefore I keep a heating pad with me at all times. I have a heating pad in every room of our house and on two ends of our couch. That should tell you how much this helps. I got to a point where I couldn't even watch TV without it.

Hopefully that will help some of you.

Happy new year and good luck!

[JaneK1975]

The foot/toe spasms happens to me, too. Thankfully, it's calmed down a lot since my last relapse. It feels like a very severe cramp and it hurts like hell. But unlike 'normal' cramps, if I try to move my foot to work the cramp out, it gets worse. The best way I've found to ride them out is to be very still and just wait...

[ajukadur]

I too have this problem for long. And boy, it hurts.I have quit smoking in the last 2 years and the frequency has gone down by a great deal (thank god) but it still occurs occasionally. The other thing I have noticed is that it happens when I am under mental stress over something.

I know my dad has this too. What amazes me is that this been so common (just look at the history of this thread itself) but doctors fail to recognize it. Surprisingly there does not seem to be a medical name for this at the least. Did medical world disown this problem?

[JeanneFountain]

I get exactly the same symptoms, but I have found something very simple that relieves my pain altogether--wearing a copper bracelet with magnets. If I take the bracelet off for a length of time, the foot contortions return. So now I wear it 24/7 and no pain, no twisting!!!

[Lenajohnson]

I have been suffering with this same exact thing for over 5 years now and is getting worse and worse , I can not wear closed in shoes or sneakers , I am on tons of medication just for muscle pain and can not walk without them , I often have panic attacks fearing to get an attack and have to call an ambulance because I get stuck In one place and can't move , I'm really wondering if you have ever found the cause because I have been to tons of doctors and they are all stumped , please let me know ty

[MarkSalts]

I was diagnosed with MS a few years ago. My right big toe flares out to the left while lying flat or sitting in a recliner with feet up. Pain is about 7 on a scale of 1-10 for no more than 5 minutes and than the toe returns to the normal position. This happens at least a few times a week.

[Savannah697]

this happens to me to

i'm only 21 and my middle toes will turns sideways and pull away from the other toes and it HURTS

it doesn't happen often but when it does, moving it even slightly will cause it to happen again

[astrophynstein]

Yes been there done that! Exactly as you put it too, any fondling or attempt to massage the fingers in question after its subsided triggers it again....and yea it hurts. Might be an underlining spinal problem, if you guys also have some form of spinal or back bone issue in general, as I do, then that might be a common theme. Also, I've noticed this happens almost as soon as I raise my leg up more than a particular height for a few seconds, or twist it weirdly, got me thinking maybe the heart isn't pumping blood at adequate pressure down there or maybe a clogged main artery or vein. Do you guys ever feel feet/arm numbness after a few crosses of the leg or sitting tightly? I'm guessing a nervous system (esp spinal) culprit and possibly cardiovascular too.

[HVAC]

TeeDee,
  A doctor could give you a muscle relaxer. You do not necessarily have to know why it happens if you do not want to. They can still treat it. You might ask the doctor to do a neurological exam. That is reflexes and such. If that is abnormal they may send you to a neurologist.  Mine happen if I stand in place too much in a day.

Alex

[TeeDee1968]

Sorry I don'tt have the answer for this question but I have that problem too. However it usally one of the middle toes and happen throughout the day mosly when relaxing with my legs crossed. The toe only raise upward not to the side. It feel like it about to be a cramp or like you said a spasum. Sometimes it happens even when i'm walking. I usually jump up out the bed before it locks in and push it down and hold it down until it go back to normal within about 10 seconds. It feels very painful as it trying to happen but I never allowed it to catch all the way before pressing it down. If the spasms comes all the way in it could be devastating pain. I have never been to a doctor for it but I have had this problem for about 2 years now and it continues to get worse. It happens a lot when laying in bed on my stomach and toes are pointed down toward to the bed. Now that I know there are more of you out there with this same problem, I will go and get it checked out. Because it consistently happens I looked on the internet to see if anyone else was having this problem and found you guys. Thank you for posting. Singed TeeDee

[Sammie1248]

Your entire message was as if I had wrote it. I too jump out of bed when I feel it coming on and it is painful. I tell myself to think of it as jumping into a pool. Just do it quick and get it over with. I was wondering  if I was just really letting myself go and falling apart or eating to much salt. Glad to know others are experiencing the same issues. Hopefully someone reading these comments will have an answer. Thanks everyone

[ritawae]

I have the exact same thing happen to me. Sometimes I wake up screaming because of the pain in my calf and when I stand up, it goes away after a few seconds.

[JAM_36]

I'd LOVE to video tape it and show it to my neurologist...but I'm in so much pain when the spasms happen, I doubt I could hold a camera!  My latest foot spasms start with the toes, then my foot bends in half.  One of these times I expect the bones in my arch will break!  All the neurologist says is that I have nerve degeneration, a narrowing of the spinal column, a bulging disc...none of which tells me what to do.   Used to be I'd get these for 2-3 weeks at a time, then go months without anything.  Now the incidences last longer, without much of a break in between.  Too bad doctors aren't more curious, like they used to be.  They used to LIKE a challenge.  Now they just want to pigeon-hole everyone, to avoid extra work.

[Lynnlinpaint]

as far as I know I do not have MS. I have been to a foot Dr who referred me to a neurosurgeon who referred me to a Neurologist who said L5 was bad in my lower spine and referred me Back to a neurosurgeon. My regular MD doesn't know.  I have had four knee surgeries, four ankle surgeries, and two back surgeries. I was wondering if all these surgeries as well as many breaks may have damaged the nerves causing the toe "erections" and spasms. I have EDS. ( ehlos Danlos Syndrome. Sp? ) it's a collagen disorder. Wonder if there is a connection. I am 69 yrs old and have had EDS all my life ( it's heredity) but the Spasms are only a year or so. Am very tired of it all.

[smarty20000000000]

I also feel same spasm in my right feet toes 4th and 5th .... They move towards extreme right and slightly upwards  automatically ...
After pain starts.

I have gone through all your posts ... Searched ... And experienced also...

May be this could be useful for someone...

My experience.
1. When my feets are up in air/ sleeping ... i.e.  when having less blood supply at my feet .... I start feeling some pain .... That become alarm for me ..... I stand up immediately .... So the pain subsides and do not increase.

   I mean to say study your bodies posture/position which invites spasm .... And avoid that posture/ spasm ...(for me if I will sleep on my stomach and fold my knee to keep my feet up in air .... Within 5 mins a will have toe spasm)
    Try may be useful

2. One thing is clear that we all do have neuropathic problem ... Our neurons are misbehaving .... But where doctors even unable to answer
  

3.I know that potassium and sodium are essencial component of neurons ...

     As suggested by many members here banana will be very helpful because banana contains potassium
    
    Sodium is our daily eating salt which is very abundant in our daily diet.

     Coconut water also contains potassium

      Daily dose of potassium per day is 40 milieuuivalent max
  
       Try out some potassium chloride supplement(it may cause hyperkalamia also ) so don't take for long period

      
4. For more details about this condition .... Search for neuron working/damage/cure .... Your view will get cleared

5. This is the best page where I can read the experience of ppls facing exactly same situation like me ...

Thanks for all information you all given

Am not alone

[smarty20000000000]

Thank you all for sharing your experience

[Jdraw]

I have the same problem but thought it was a cramp in the arch of my foot that spread my toes apart. I found relief with a simple free solution.

Muscles are more likely to cramp when they are cold. Try wearing warm socks to keep your feet warm. Does it work for you? It works most the time for me unless my feet are still cold in my socks.

[suspiciouscombo]

Indeed yes..... Isn't it the strangest phenomenon? When my middle toes tighten up and move on their own I can't help but to watch and almost laugh at their own will to move beyond my control  :-)

When the tightening happens ...it actually hurts but I've learned to let them have their temper tantrums and move on :)

Oh boy oh boy!!!!

[Tinkerbelltoo]

I have expressed similar movements to my Dr. but it happens in my fingers. It's like they have a world of thier own. They move in multiple directions at the same time. It dosen't hurt, it just occures at will. I believe my Dr. thing I'm a little out there because he says it nothing he's heard of before. I've had ms for 30 years.

[suspiciouscombo]

Well now....... At least I know I'm not alone in this fun house of toe spasms :-)

I never mentioned it previously but I have the same issue. Very annoying when it occurs and no remedy but to let the action have its way until it decides to cease.

Informed my neurologist about this and she viewed me as if I had two heads or that it was not relevant to my symptoms.  

It truly is an odd and sometimes painful experience to see your toes react in this way. In my experience it seems to do better if I apply pressure but not always.

It's been happening more often in the last three months. Thx for sharing your experience as it provides me a sense of non craziness about the toe spasm issue I endure.

Ox
SC

[Jeribaby]

I have something similar going on as well. My 3 last toes on my right foot will become very tight and pull off to the right. It is painful when it happens. I wanted to upload a picture to show exactly what happens but can't. It has been happening on and off for the last year or so. It will happen for a few days and go away, sometimes for months. It's back now and has been quite frequent in the past 2 weeks. It's like the whole right side if the foot gets tight while those toes veer outward. I have referred to it as frozen toes. Eventually it will let up on its own.

[shel67]

Another similar weird symptom was when doing the Atkins like ketogenic diet I had been on for a few years, I tried this ridiculous "carb note" diet where you deplete all your carb stores for 10 days and then on the evening of the 10th day you had a carb note where you would binge on simple carbs and high sugar candy/ junk to get a insulin spike and then you go back to keto the next day. Well the blood sugar spike would give me the worse spasms in my shins and my feet would cramp in a upward position. It didn't last but it happened ever time I was carb depleted and the ate sugar. That was right before I had that flare last year and it happened right before the one this year that began this nightmare. It also was happening on a much lesser degree in the early days if this flare that has just evolved and is not ending.

So me thinks the high blood sugar spike was a trigger to a phsudo flare... Or maybe even it trigger the actual flares. I think cutting out sugar is a good idea as far as MS goes.

[shel67]

Hmmm... Just another missing piece to this MS puzzle that now fits. I had this happen, not often but I can remember it happening once or twice in my childhood. Thought it was charlie horse.

Recently its happened  a few times over the last 3 years or so. I thought it was arthritis from me working standing on my feet for years and years not wearing  the right shoes.

My toes, and I can't recall if it was just my left or my right too but I know it was the left toes, they would cramp in a locked position and it would be painful but if I put my foot flat on the floor and put weight on it, it would stop. I thought it was a Charlie horse. It happened a couple of years ago when I was cutting hair, left hand middle finger just locked, very painful but a after a minute it let up. It happened twice during that time. I thought it was how I was putting too much pressure on it by the way i was holding the comb. I thought it was just wear and tear from doing the job for over 20 years.

Now I know its the MS. The last 2 weeks I can feel that middle finger feeling like it might lock. That feeling has let up a bit in the last few days but its still feeling like it.

[Lornaelizabeth]

I too have this and it is in both feet where my fourth toe takes on a downward pulling position and also spreads outwards.  I also get this in my hands where my small finger gets pulled down to the palm, almost like the tendon or ligament has been pulled very tightly...I found your question whilst looking for answers myself.  I can be sitting relaxed or exercising when this happens.  I also get leg calf cramps.  I do have neck and back problems, so was wondering if anyone else has neck/back pain and could it be connected to the spine...Lornaelizabeth x