Aa
tremors or clonus
I am totaly confused about shaking. legs Sometimes it is just sitting, sometimes it is with walking, sometimes while just standing and sometimes my (whole body to the head ) shakes uncontrolably,
It is so exhausting, Physical therapist said it looks like a parkasons tremor (MS physicans assistant told me
it is clonus Can anyone explain? I just want to know what is happening. thank you
Linda
dx'ed on avonex
It is so exhausting, Physical therapist said it looks like a parkasons tremor (MS physicans assistant told me
it is clonus Can anyone explain? I just want to know what is happening. thank you
Linda
dx'ed on avonex
I think I must have experienced every movement disorder in the book! Well, okay, maybe not dystonia, but I've had spasms, spasticity, clonus, myoclonus, and tremor... fortunately not all at the same time.
I think the leg thing is myoclonus, because there's not a cramping or tightening of the muscle - it just jerks back and forth rhythmically. I get a weird thing in my back - it arches and I get a little convulsion, like I'm having a seizure - but it's not a seizure. I think that's spinal myoclonus.
Then there's the leg spasms, which are no fun at all. It started with my toe pointing straight up, and then it moved to my calf muscle tightening uncontrollably.
Then there's the spasticity, which is just a constant tightness and soreness in the muscles.
I haven't gotten a straight answer yet from my neuro about which is which, and he changes his tune every time I see him. So I think it's not an exact science. Or he's not an exact scientist!
I think the leg thing is myoclonus, because there's not a cramping or tightening of the muscle - it just jerks back and forth rhythmically. I get a weird thing in my back - it arches and I get a little convulsion, like I'm having a seizure - but it's not a seizure. I think that's spinal myoclonus.
Then there's the leg spasms, which are no fun at all. It started with my toe pointing straight up, and then it moved to my calf muscle tightening uncontrollably.
Then there's the spasticity, which is just a constant tightness and soreness in the muscles.
I haven't gotten a straight answer yet from my neuro about which is which, and he changes his tune every time I see him. So I think it's not an exact science. Or he's not an exact scientist!
Jen,
I think what you're describing is more like spasm than clonus. I deal with that in an everyday basis myself. Again, more of a spinal cord injury issue.
Just my $0.02
Guitar_grrrl
I think what you're describing is more like spasm than clonus. I deal with that in an everyday basis myself. Again, more of a spinal cord injury issue.
Just my $0.02
Guitar_grrrl
COMMUNITY LEADER
Are you sure its not myclonus, i get fuzzy on the difference between clonus or myclonus but this is what i've got on myclonus.
Overview of Myoclonus
The term myoclonus comes from the Greek words for muscle (myo) and tumult (clonus) and refers to sudden, brief, shock-like movements. These movements may be "positive" or "negative." Positive myoclonus results in contraction of a muscle or multiple muscles. In asterixis, or negative myoclonus, there is a brief loss of muscle tone and then the tightening (contraction) of other muscles; this results in a flapping-type motion. These movements, which cannot by stopped at will (nonsuppressible), often have a characteristic saw-tooth pattern, and they usually disappear during sleep.
I get clonus from my knees to hips, hope i dont jinks my self because its been a few weeks without it happening. If i stand still you can see the muscles moving up and down in a consistent rythmic fashion. I have spasms in my legs too but the difference with a spasm is its an isolated muscle and usually in just one limb, it took me a while to work out there was a difference to the weird things. Still not sure what was happening when i tried to walk, it was like a combo of clonus and postural tremor and spasticity, all very strange to see when i had the drunken sailor and foot drop going too lol.
I dont think i've ever seen someone else walk like i did (did yay!!) there would have to be something very logical to explain it, jerky step or 2 forward, roll to the side, jerky steps, stop to rest, clonus still bouncing about, trip over nothing and i'd start off again, though it wasn't at all predictable. The clonus stayed with me for weeks and weeks, stranger still is not being told why, i have always believed what was happening to me would have a text book explanation. Dont know whats stranger, it not being or me thinking that it would be!
Cheers......JJ
Overview of Myoclonus
The term myoclonus comes from the Greek words for muscle (myo) and tumult (clonus) and refers to sudden, brief, shock-like movements. These movements may be "positive" or "negative." Positive myoclonus results in contraction of a muscle or multiple muscles. In asterixis, or negative myoclonus, there is a brief loss of muscle tone and then the tightening (contraction) of other muscles; this results in a flapping-type motion. These movements, which cannot by stopped at will (nonsuppressible), often have a characteristic saw-tooth pattern, and they usually disappear during sleep.
I get clonus from my knees to hips, hope i dont jinks my self because its been a few weeks without it happening. If i stand still you can see the muscles moving up and down in a consistent rythmic fashion. I have spasms in my legs too but the difference with a spasm is its an isolated muscle and usually in just one limb, it took me a while to work out there was a difference to the weird things. Still not sure what was happening when i tried to walk, it was like a combo of clonus and postural tremor and spasticity, all very strange to see when i had the drunken sailor and foot drop going too lol.
I dont think i've ever seen someone else walk like i did (did yay!!) there would have to be something very logical to explain it, jerky step or 2 forward, roll to the side, jerky steps, stop to rest, clonus still bouncing about, trip over nothing and i'd start off again, though it wasn't at all predictable. The clonus stayed with me for weeks and weeks, stranger still is not being told why, i have always believed what was happening to me would have a text book explanation. Dont know whats stranger, it not being or me thinking that it would be!
Cheers......JJ
Yup, sometimes my leg will jerk rhythmically back and forth when I try to stretch it out.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I found this that might help......
Clonus is repetitive, rhythmic contractions of a muscle when attempting to hold it in a stretched state. It is a strong, deep tendon reflex that occurs when the central nervous system fails to inhibit it. Clonus is not the same thing as myoclonus, which is irregular and uncontrollable jerks of a muscle or group of muscles.
Clonus in initiated in the spinal cord and is usually a sign of damage to the nerve tracts above the place where it is initiated. It is a common sign of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, spastic paraparesis and other diseases. It is considered normal in new-born babies. In MS, clonus is often associated with spasticity and hypotonia and will often occur unilaterally (on one side of the body only).
Neurologists often test for clonus in the ankle, the wrist and the kneecap (patella). A movie that demonstrates ankle clonus rather well can be found here (it's rather large and takes a long time to load):
http://www.harkema.ucla.edu/clonusVid.html
Intention Tremor, also known as Kinetic, Action and Cerebellar Tremor, is a condition where goal-directed movements produce shaking in the moving body parts - most noticeably in the hands.
When you move your finger to perform a fine task, for example putting a key in a lock, you tell your arm muscles to move by sending nerve transmissions down the motor nerve pathways. The brain gets feedback about the movement from sensors in the joints and muscles which it uses to control the movement and gently guide the key into the lock.
People with intention tremor get the feedback more slowly, send corrective transmissions to the muscles more slowly, process the whole thing more slowly in the cerebellum (the part of the brain responsible for coordination) or any combination of the three. This makes the hand constantly overshoot the target resulting in tremor. Intention Tremor is more obvious when performing delicate fine movements than broad sweeping ones.
Cheers.....JJ
Clonus is repetitive, rhythmic contractions of a muscle when attempting to hold it in a stretched state. It is a strong, deep tendon reflex that occurs when the central nervous system fails to inhibit it. Clonus is not the same thing as myoclonus, which is irregular and uncontrollable jerks of a muscle or group of muscles.
Clonus in initiated in the spinal cord and is usually a sign of damage to the nerve tracts above the place where it is initiated. It is a common sign of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, spastic paraparesis and other diseases. It is considered normal in new-born babies. In MS, clonus is often associated with spasticity and hypotonia and will often occur unilaterally (on one side of the body only).
Neurologists often test for clonus in the ankle, the wrist and the kneecap (patella). A movie that demonstrates ankle clonus rather well can be found here (it's rather large and takes a long time to load):
http://www.harkema.ucla.edu/clonusVid.html
Intention Tremor, also known as Kinetic, Action and Cerebellar Tremor, is a condition where goal-directed movements produce shaking in the moving body parts - most noticeably in the hands.
When you move your finger to perform a fine task, for example putting a key in a lock, you tell your arm muscles to move by sending nerve transmissions down the motor nerve pathways. The brain gets feedback about the movement from sensors in the joints and muscles which it uses to control the movement and gently guide the key into the lock.
People with intention tremor get the feedback more slowly, send corrective transmissions to the muscles more slowly, process the whole thing more slowly in the cerebellum (the part of the brain responsible for coordination) or any combination of the three. This makes the hand constantly overshoot the target resulting in tremor. Intention Tremor is more obvious when performing delicate fine movements than broad sweeping ones.
Cheers.....JJ
Hmm.... good question!
I classify tremor as those times when I hold my hand out, and it shakes rhythmically. Sometimes my head bobs up and down.
Clonus feels different. In the mornings, I have to be very careful when I extend my legs, because my leg will straighten and the muscles will tense up. I have to really think about it to relax the leg. I have the same problem when I get up from the couch - my whole body feels like it tenses up and freezes, and it takes a few seconds for my brain to tell my muscles to stop.
I classify tremor as those times when I hold my hand out, and it shakes rhythmically. Sometimes my head bobs up and down.
Clonus feels different. In the mornings, I have to be very careful when I extend my legs, because my leg will straighten and the muscles will tense up. I have to really think about it to relax the leg. I have the same problem when I get up from the couch - my whole body feels like it tenses up and freezes, and it takes a few seconds for my brain to tell my muscles to stop.
I am not so sure about the clonus statement by the assistant. As I understand it clonus is extra movement not shaking.
I have clonus in my right leg. When the doctor tests reflexes my leg kicks out and then I have extra movement in my ankle that kicks my foot back out.
Maybe do a google search on clonus and you should be able to find better information. I will do the same because I could be wrong about the shaking.
LA dx'd MS feb 2008
I have clonus in my right leg. When the doctor tests reflexes my leg kicks out and then I have extra movement in my ankle that kicks my foot back out.
Maybe do a google search on clonus and you should be able to find better information. I will do the same because I could be wrong about the shaking.
LA dx'd MS feb 2008
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