Leg spasticity?

[Corriel]

Hi everyone! I am trying to determine if my latest issue is MS/spasticity related.

My left thigh muscles feel weak and wobbly for lack of a better description. The muscles on the inside and outside (above the knee) feel sore and the muscles seem to tremble when I go down flights of stairs and sometimes even when on a flat surface. Started noticing issues today too after being seated at my desk for a couple of hours straight.

I have been told my legs have hyper reflexes but I also have osteoarthritis and bone spurs in my hips so I do not want to jump the gun and increase my Baclofen.

I only take 5 mg of Baclofen at night for my arm spasticity and it seems to do the trick for now, even though my neuro is ok for me to up it incrementally to 20 mg if needed.

I have not noticed an issue with my legs before this despite my arms and the reflex issues with my legs.

Can anyone else describe how their leg spasticity seems to present?

Thank you!

Corrie

[jensequitur]

I've been on all sorts of muscle relaxers, and Baclofen is wonderful. I used to take 5 a day for my spasticity, but recently titrated down to zero so that I could get pregnant safely. What I noticed - and the only thing I noticed - is that I had a lot more pain and stiffness in my forearms and around my hips. My leg weakness didn't seem to get any worse when I reduced the medication amount.

So I wouldn't worry too much about your dosage of Baclofen. If you're still having muscle spasms and stiffness, you can go up by one pill and see if that helps.

Another thing you can do is to start stretching every day. Since I've been pregnant, the hip pain has been the worst . I have to do a side stretch for my right side and hold it for quite a while to get some relief. But it's amazing how much range of motion that gives you when you've stretched. A stretch for me can be the difference between limping and walking normally.

[Corriel]

Thanks Karry!  I am sorry to hear that you are having a relapse.  I hope it resolves quickly.

I am leaving my Baclofen dose as it is now.  My arms are doing well and that was why I finally caved and started it.  Hopefully it isn't making the hips worse though.  I really need to be able to write, eat, bathe...  :)

Got started again on my old physio exercises and I will see about getting a more recent hip xray from my family doc so that I can get an idea of if there has been any change before I go back to see my physio.  He likes to see the reports to determine the best way to treat me.

Corrie

[karryon55]

Hi Corrie,

I had the dilemma of needing Baclofen for some spasticity but after a long chat with my PT she warned me against this. I have a lot weakness going on in certain muscles & regardless of having some spasticity causing me pain / discomfort the use of Baclofen would only compound my weakness. It's a matter of someone spending the time with you & weighing up what are your best options here.

I have arthritis everywhere so it's always difficult for myself, doctors & PT to work out exactly what's causing the problems for me. The bone spurs you have in your hips are something I have had for 12 years that I know of anyway & the problem with them is they can break off causing problems / pain with the joint.

I can relate to a lot of what you've said to be honest but I have put mine down to weakness in my legs. I have the heavy leg feeling as well but am having trouble moving my right leg of the ground. My AFO is lifting my toes but not my leg & I'm having trouble with the steps into my home now so I can't go out without someone helping me. I have been going through a MS relapse & I wonder if after 7 or so weeks I could have just lost any strength I had in that leg. Anything like this is going to impact on my RA so I will be going back to my PT in about 10 days for a weekly session because I know she will know best with me.

I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you but I do hear you & understand what you are feeling. I would only recommend holding off increasing any Baclofen until you know exactly what's going on.

Take Care,

Karry.

[Corriel]

Thanks guys! :-)

The outside of the thigh now hurts if I touch it and the outside of the foot on the same side feels like I broke something when I put my full weight it. Definitely my arthritis.

Ess, thanks for mentioning the Baclofen weak muscle connection! I forgot my Tecfidera nurse mentioned that both drug cause weakness.

Kyle, I normally only have sporadic pain and a few years ago I went to physio where he mentioned my knee pain was referred from my back and hips. Time to start those exercises again. I don't need the other side broken whike. I compensate for this.

Zero, spasticity in your ankles sounds awful! The cement feeling you described is definitely not happening with me but thanks to you and ess' link I will know what to look out for if it ever happens.

Thanks again guys, it feels good somehow to know this is not more MS baggage.

Corrie

[zerodegrees]

Hi,
My spasticity is in my ankles. I only recently learned that this problem I have had for 1.5 years is called this and a direct result of the MS.

I cannot tell you if that is what you are experiencing or not, but mine feels like:

-stiffness and pain
-concrete was poured into my legs and they do not want to move right

In the morning, and if I sit for more than a few minutes they are tight and I have a hard time walking. Also, if I do a lot of activity and get tired. I also have trouble getting DOWN the stairs.

I currently do not take any meds for this. I just try to stay active and stretch a lot.

[kwarendorf]

I'm not sure what the current state of your arthritis is. When mine is bad I alter my stride to try ans ease the pain. The altered stride, often unconsicious, leads to "referred pain" in other areas.

By the time I had my left hip replaced I thought my righ knee was gone for good tgoo. As soon as my hip stopped baothering me my knee went back to normal :-)

Kyle

[supermum_ms]

Hi there,

What you are describing sounds to me, to be more like 'muscle weakness' than what typically happen's with spasticity and it might be worth considering if the Baclofen RX to relax spastic and painful problematic spasming muscles in one part of your body, is (as it's known to do) also effecting your healthy good muscles, so in effect producing muscle weakness in other parts that you don't want or need.......  

"What are spasticity and spasms?

Spasticity can be described as involuntary muscle stiffness and spasms as involuntary muscle contractions. Any muscle can be affected but spasticity and spasms tend to predominantly affect a person's limbs or trunk.

People with spasticity describe their muscles as feeling stiff, heavy and difficult to move. When very severe it can be very difficult to bend a limb at all. If a limb becomes fixed in one position it is known as a contracture."

http://www.mstrust.org.uk/information/publications/factsheets/spasticity.jsp

Cheers........JJ