muscle spasms and thoracic tightness

[dvandyck]

I have been having thoracic spine probelms since August 2005 from a exercise related injury. I have been to my PCP to try and solve the symptoms. For headaches my doctor tried Prednisone, which worked , and when I was done wth the prescription they came back. Then I went to a chiropractor and got rid of the dull headaches and then cluster headaches appeared. These headaches come on sporadically and are intense for only a couple of minutes on the left side of my head, then they go away. I have muscle spasms around my ribs and in my upper stomach, usually towards the end of the day. Recently, I started having other symptoms including eye twitches. Then two days ago I woke up with nausea, dull headache on the back of the head, ringing or muffled sounds in my ears and throbbing pains in my legs. These symptoms are very confusing. At first I thought maybe I had an inflammed or pinched nerve because of the muscle spasms. But I am not sure who I should go see now. Do I seek a neurologist or an orthopedic? What kind of tests will they do? I am curious to know because of medical costs. I appreciate any insight on what I can do at home or who I need to go see. I use heat or ice now, depending on the pain. I also having being doing relaxing breathing techniques to combat my anxieties about the unresolved problem, which helps a little! The doctor also tried anti-anxiety meds and that helped not at all! I hope you can help me find a next step.

[outsidergurl86]

I knew I twicthed sometimes when I was going to sleep because it use to wake me up as I would just fall asleep. But My husband has been telling me that since we have been married he has notice that I twitch alot in my sleep? Is something wrong with me?

TJ

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW]

I cannot give you a clinical diagnosis over the internet as this fourm is purely educational

A short course of steroids can be a good medication to break an acute or chronic headache, but unless other treatment is initiated at the same time, the headache may just come back and longer term steroids are dangerous because of side effects.

Nausea and tinnitus and quite common with chronic headaches, so may be a feature of chronci tension type or migraine headache. Cluster headache is a specific type of headache usually easily diagnhosed clinically by unilateral severe parosysms of pain lasting seconds to minutes several times a day over 1-2 weeks with intervening periods of no headache for several weeks or months. There are specific treatments that include injectable triptan medication, steroids, and breating oxygen.

Muscle spasms around the thorax and abdomen sometimes can be due to a mild form of stiff person syndrome - an immune reaction against parts of the nervous system. Further evaluation can be done by a neurologists and may involve spinal fluid analysis. There are other common causes of muscle spasms as well though from pulled muscles to electrolyte imbalance to stomach complaints - a neurologist would be the best person to sort this out

Good luck

[vega1318]

I agree with alex45 -- look into the most common causes first.   Hence, MRI of the back.

[alex 45]

i was reading someones post here' i just had to respond' i was tested for stiffman syndrom at the mayo clinic 16 years ago when not 1 single doctor could figure out my problem with lower spasms and leg weakness and back ace and neck and you name it' i always told them it comes from my back from when i injured it only in the last 2 years they finaly did a discogram realising disc at l4 l5 is tore' after years of prednisone clonopin to help the spasms pain always stayed around, only now after disc replacement that was boched up just had a fusion on it i feel that pain is subsided cause it was disc pain all along, and as my neurosurgent said' i dont know nothing about disc's. if i knew that i would of moved on to the orthopedic doctor that does know..  just somehing to keep in mind.. when pain gets out of hand seems doctors get confused on the problem when it can be as simple as the original starting complaint.  just thought i would share this with who ever reads this'' dont trust just 1 doctor by any means''   spasm can be caused from the disc pain as mine did. dont have to be some strange spinal dissorder in all cases'  alex

[vega1318]

Go see a neurologist and have a complete examination performed.  Based on your exam (and they do a very detailed one), they might wind up ordering an MRI of your spine and/or brain, and, possibly, an EMG test.  You should also have a full blood work done, including checking your thyroid, checking for Lyme disease, and, maybe some special antibody testing.  Look into something like Stiffman syndrome -- I am not saying you have it, but your symptoms are somewhat like how it is described.  Regardless, see a neurologist pronto.