Question about Spasticity

[goofysmom1]

Hi everyone,
I am undiagnosed at this time (I feel like a broken record)....and I wonder if any of you have any input on what I think might be spasticity in my left hip.

One of the many symptoms I have is pain & stiffness in my left hip (almost all of my symptoms are on my left side).  It is not joint pain, but muscle or ligament or tendon pain (don't know which, just know it isn't in the joint).  It comes and goes like most of my symptoms, but has worsened over the last 2 years.   I went to an orthopeadic doctor 2 years ago when the hip pain began and they did an MRI & bone scan which revealed nothing.  He suggested physical therapy, which only seemed to aggravate it.  I had acupuncture at the same time which did help.  I eventually quit the PT after 3 months because I wasn't getting any better.  A friend referred me to a low-force chiropractor (no cracking) and I found some relief.  The pain & stiffness has come & gone over the last 18 months or so, but not as bad as when it first began.  

This last July it came screaming back.  The chiropractor has retired & so I am just living with it for now.  Honestly, until all of my other symptoms started a little over a year ago, I didn't think the hip problem was related to whatever is wrong with me (MS or whatever else it could be).  Now I do.

I had a situation this last Saturday that scared me a little bit.  I was laying on my back and when I tried to lift my left leg, it felt "stuck" and I was telling myself to move it, but it wouldn't move. And it hurt like crazy when I did finally get it to move.  I haven't experienced the "stuck" feeling before.  I have had some pretty bad pain & stiffness, but never this.

Would that be a symptom of spasticity?

Thanks for any help!
Chrisy

[goofysmom1]

Thanks for sharing what you have dealt with with your hip pain.  I also spend a lot of time wondering what is neurological and what isn't....and it makes me crazy too!   :)

I'm all for sticking together!  :)

Chrisy

[Fluffysmom]

Chrisy, I didn't mean to imply that you hadn't noticed the Health Pages; I simply hoped that part about spasticity would help answer your question; it clarified some things that I was curious about, like the time I had to walk by throwing my leg out to the side and forward from the hip.  Turns out that was structural, not spasticity.

I didn't take the time to mention that I've had some pretty bad hip pain at various times over the last few years, and have always been told that it is bursitis.  Imaging showed nothing, and PT was aggravating, except for ultrasound.

My multiple issues make me crazy feeling, too, as I never know what's structural and what's neurological.  

doni's right; we can stick together and all go crazy together.  Hey, isn't there a Jimmy Buffet song with lyrics about "we can just all go insane" or something like that?

Kathy

[doni54]

Chrisy,

Yes, I totally understand about how the forum helps.  I too don't like to talk to family and friends about what's going on with me, I just come here for all my support and answers.

It is amazing how many weird things that happen make you feel like you just might have gone off the deep in, and then someone here will post about that very thing!!  i.e. the post on seeing a mouse, have you read that?

Just stick with us, if we do go crazy at least we can do it together....hahaha

doni

[goofysmom1]

Hello fellow limbolander!  :)  So your problems began with hip problems?  So I guess spasticity can be one of the first signs of MS?  I am trying to piece this all together & I have wondered if my hip problems were the first signs of what I think might be MS.


Like you, MS didn't occur to me when my hip pain started, but it has been on my mind since I started having neurological type symptoms.  It was then that I started looking back at some of the other problems I have had in the last couple of years and started to think about MS.

I love this forum - it has been such an emotional help to me, knowing that I am not alone.  I don't know what it is like for others here, but I find it difficult to get specific with friends & family about what I am going through which makes me feel somewhat alone.

Also, when something new crops up, I can look here to see if I am losing my mind or if what I am experiencing is real...

Thanks for your reply,
Chrisy

[goofysmom1]

Thanks for pointing me to the health pages!  They do help with clarification.

[doni54]

Hi, Chrisy, I'm a charter member of limboland...heeheehee  And I too feel like a broken record sometimes.

I know what you are talking about with the hip situation, but I don't know for sure if it is spasticity or not.  I have a hard time with knowing what is spasticity and what is spasms.

I too started with the hip problems years ago.  Mine would go from really bad pain that would last a week or two, then would just give out on me when I was walking, that would last a couple of weeks and then go away.  Happened a couple of times that year.

That was my right hip, same thing happened with my left hip....same exact progression then of course went away.

I wasn't even thinking of MS way back then, but do wonder about it now, as my hips along with my legs are very weak and walking is difficult most days.

I can't give you an answer, but I can tell you that you are not alone.  

doni

[Fluffysmom]

Hello, fellow limbolander!  

I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but there is a great explanation of spasticity in the Health Pages that might make how it behaves a lot clearer to you.

I'm sorry for all that you're going through.  I hope you find answers soon.

Kathy