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1710955 tn?1309446473

back/shoulder/neck pain

Over the last week I've been experiencing horrible pain in my back, shoulders, and neck.  My husband has been rubbing my shoulders every day and the knots are so deep and so big that it hurts his hands to rub them for any great length of time.

Besides my shoulders my lower back and neck hurt as well.  I have not done anything to hurt myself, so I'm wondering if this is ms related.  

I hate contributing any kind of pain or problem to ms, so I'm curious if anyone else has had this problem?  Ibprophen (sp) doesn't help and some nights it hurts so bad that I can't sleep.  

I am newly diagnosed and have just started my 3rd week of copaxone.  I haven't had my follow up with my neuro yet. It was suppose to be today but I had to reschedule it for 26th.  

Anyway I would appreciate any thoughts or advice.

Thanks,
Laura

13 Responses
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1475492 tn?1332884167
Yes, I do!! It sounds like you need some massage therapy and at least a sleep aid. Make a phone call to your doctor and get yourself some help. That one hour a week will be amazing for you and getting some sleep will give you more energy. I was sleeping again by day 3 after my first massage, I did not need sleep aids. The massage therapist did give me stretching techniques as well and I used them. :)
Helpful - 0
1710955 tn?1309446473
Thank you for all of the comments.  I guess I'm getting kind of down because of the lack of sleep.  I don't have much energy to do anything.

I feel bad because I have 2 young kids and my youngest is 16 mos.  He is so full of energy and is into everything.  In the mornings I have to keep him in his playpen just so that I can try and get some stuff done around the house, and so I don't have to chase him.  I feel like I'm a bad mom.

Then there's my husband.  He just got back from Afghanistan 2 mos ago and is having his own issues with readjusting.  I feel like he expects me to be superwoman btwn taking care of the house, our 2 small kids, and our oldest daughter who's in middle school playing soccer almost every night.  By the time my day is over and the kids are in bed I'm exhausted and don't have the energy to spend any time with my husband.

I guess I'm just down in the dumps feeling like a crappy mom and wife.  Does anyone know of a superwoman pill out there because I could really use it?  :)
Helpful - 0
1475492 tn?1332884167
sense should be = since (I can spell this is a cognitive issue for me lately.)
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1475492 tn?1332884167
I had this with my "flare" last year. It is EXACTLY how I felt. It was so bad that I had a hard time sitting on my couch and sleeping. Oddest thing. Initially, I thought it was a neck injury that flared my shoulder, necks and upper back from 5 year previous but I thought "how odd" I haven't really every noticed this before.

My husband rubbed and rubbed, eventually I was prescribed 6 weeks of therapeutic massage - 1 1/2 hours the first week, 1 hour a week following. He gave me a lot of instruction in dealing. It strangely slowly went away with the other symptoms during that time.

I haven't had ANY issues sense so it wasn't stress induced. I did end up with a similar issue in my right shoulder in June (another flare) and ended up with a cortisone shot that time, it helped and again no more issues.

I'm pretty sure this is related to my flares. I haven't had any issues prior to this or after.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I am newly diagnosed but have probably had it for awhile. I have decided at this time not to do the meds that are out there to toxic. Instead trying acupunture for back shoulder neck pain. I have started doing Yoga and am trying to work out everyday also. I have a little added bonus, I have a heart defect and had to have open heart surgery last year, that is why Im guarded in taking any of the meds. I have something called the Ms hug does anyone else out there have this sympton?
Helpful - 0
338416 tn?1420045702
Stretching!  Quix recommends it for spasticity - as much as fifteen minutes on one muscle.  Of course, with some muscles, it's impossible to stretch.
Helpful - 0
1045086 tn?1332126422
Many people are surprised by how strong and painful muscle spasms can be.  Spasticity causes the muscle to be "too ready" to jump into action.  It can cause you to feel stiff.  It can also decrease the amount of movement you get from a joint.

Spasms are more like cramps.  They sometimes occur spontaneously but also are commonly produced by high velocity or sudden movements.  It's like once that muscle that was "too ready" gets a signal to move, it can't hold back.

Professional massage may or may not help this.  I doubt one visit will do much though.  Those knots can take some time to work out.  The deep massage that seems helpful can sometimes trigger more spasms.

Ice might help also.  This was new to me.  I was used to using heat on a sore back.  Once I tried cold packs I found they worked well.  Just don't overdue them.  Ten to twenty minutes at a time for any given area.

You might also want to ask your neuro for a physical therapy consult.  They can teach you some slow stretching exercises to stretch out those muscles that tend to be too tight.  The trick is to keep them stretched with a few minutes of maintenance exercises every day.  That can lessen spasticity, prevent spasms and make a muscle more responsive to stretching as a remedy.

One of the antispasmodic or muscle relaxant drugs might well be needed to break this cycle.  Even though they only last about 6 hours many people are able to take them only at night.  They can make you sleepy at first but your body usually adjusts pretty quickly.  If one thing doesn't work you shouldn’t hesitate to ask your doc to try something different.  We are very individual about how different drugs work in our bodies and in combination with other stuff we must take.

I hope you get restful sleep soon.  That in itself will be helpful.  Lack of sleep makes any problem worse IMO.  You might want to consider giving up on the idea that you have a high pain tolerance.  It isn't really a factor in helping you or the doc evaluate a very subjective symptom.  That is why that pesky 1 to 10 pain scale is used so often.  It seems simplistic but is designed to evaluate levels of YOUR pain and the relief you are get from various treatments.

As you live with MS you may be introduced to new types and patterns of pain.  I hope not but if you experience more muscle and nerve pain you will see that MS can produce sensations that are very different than what you are familiar with.  For me it is difficult to compare the intensity or one to the other.  It's an apples and oranges thing.

I don't know what kind of pain tolerance I have.  I used to think it was high.  Now I've learned to live and work with a baseline level and take all the precautions I can to prevent anything that can be avoided.  Hope you find something in here that can help you cause when it's MS we always have to figure a new symptom might stick with us for the whole ride.

Mary
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had the same thing happen to me. I am not dx'd with ms, still in limbo on whether ms or lyme, however... the pain was worse when lying down. It was a problem in my cervical spine. I had an MRI done and it showed two bulging discs on my C5/ C6 area, a tear in my tendon, along with impingement on the nerve. The pain radiated down my left side of my neck, into the shoulder and down the left arm to my fingers. It was the most excruciating pain ever! I thought I was having a heart attack because it was all on my left side and the pain was absolutely unbearable. During the day, it was so bad, except for lifting my arm. i couldn't... Too much pain.
I have had since that time the spasticity that Jen was talking about where it would tense up and spasm so bad in my neck, and shoulder blade that I would be frozen in one spot for hours (that I believe was the spasticity) I take zanaflex for that.
I hope this helps alittle, I am no expert, just went through the same thing! Oh, yeah, and it came outta nowhere, I did not injure it so who knows why I had these bulging discs.

Good luck :)
Pam
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338416 tn?1420045702
Well, I'm sorry you're having that problem - it can be a real pain!  ;-)  Hope you have luck with your neuro.
Helpful - 0
1710955 tn?1309446473
Well the way you have described it sounds an awful lot like what I'm going through. Thank you very much for responding to my post!
Helpful - 0
338416 tn?1420045702
Oh, yeah - my hubby can run his hand over my back and feel where the knots are.  He tries to rub them out, but it only helps a little.  When they're that bad, I have to resort to muscle relaxers - nothing else will help.

This all started with simple pains - nothing that I could pin down.  There was three months of pain in my feet.  Turns out it was the muscles on the bottoms of my feet, spasming.  Then my sternum/esophagus spasms started up again.  I complained to the neuro about it, but all he would do was prescribe Flexaril for me.  Flexaril wasn't cutting it - I could only take four a day of those, and I had a drug hangover after three.

Finally after some argument I got him to prescribe me Baclofen, which has worked out very well.

Sometimes my pains are in a location that shouldn't be sore.  Like the other night - my lower back was in a lot of pain, and it radiated down into my hip flexors.  It was the muscle that runs over the top of the hip bone, and just a little inside, so to rub the muscle I had to press into my hip and get behind that bone.  

Then there was the three months when I couldn't lift my right leg, because the little muscle that runs from the inside of my knee to my hip was so sore.  I had to get a shower seat so I could get in the tub!

Lately it's been my left forearm that's a problem.  There's a little muscle at the elbow that gets really sore, and it makes my wrist hurt.  I also have a problem with the thumb on that hand - it gets so tight that I have to pull it back and pop it.
Helpful - 0
1710955 tn?1309446473
Thank you for your comment.  I have read about spasticity and I'm not sure that's what I'm experiencing.  I have a very high threshold for pain but when it starts affecting my sleep that's where I have to draw the line!  :)

Do you have knots in your muscles because of it?  My husband is so funny because he tries his best to rub them out and eventually gives up and says, your back is jacked up!  Lol
Helpful - 0
338416 tn?1420045702
I began having spasms in my shoulders, sternum, arms, hands and feet almost immediately after being diagnosed.  My honey would rub on them for me, but it only helped a little, and sometimes it made the spasm worse.

I would talk to your neuro about your pain.  My guess is you're experiencing spasticity, which is 'unwanted muscle tone.'  Essentially your muscles are either tense all the time for no reason, or they're spasming, right?  

I currently take 6 baclofen a day, which helps my spasticity and spasms.  When I'm having a really bad one that breaks through the baclofen, I take a Flexaril or Xanaflex.  Last night I had to take a Flexaril, a Xanaflex, and my Baclofen!  Fortunately I survived...

Take a look at this health page, which will tell you a lot about spasticity.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Muscle-Tone-And-Spasticity/show/159?cid=36
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