Left leg muscle twitching

[thebailster]

Last June I extended my workout schedule. I was lifting weights 3 days a week and riding the bike for 10 miles a day. When I retired {58 yrs old} I continued my weight lifting and my 10 mile stationary bke riding. However I added 5 miles of walking. After a few months of doing this suddenly from nowhere as I was walking I go a severe pain in my left calf. It actually brought me down to to knee. It was if an electrical shock passed through my leg. I came home and put ice on it but that only made it worse. It was not cramping but it may have been spasming. I went and saw an orthopedic doctor who ordered an ultra sound. Nothng appeared. He then ordered an MRI. Nothng appeared. He then sent me to a vascular lab to have some tests done. Nothing showed. Because these spasms or whatever they are were sporadic I just decided to see if it would improve on its own. There is no warning or pattern to these intense sudden pains I am getting in my left calf only. I though it might be because I was not hyradated enough so I started drinking much more water and G2 which is a Gatorade drink which replenishes electrolytes. That did not seem to help. Over the Memorial Day weekend I got another pretty intense episode. No matter how many times I rubbed my calf, it would subside for a few minutes and then return. Again it was more like an electrical charge in my calf than a cramp. It still could be spasming but because I have never exoerienced a muscle spasming before I am not sure that is what it is. Because it seemed as if most of the episodes always occurred after I would finish my walk, seldom when I was riding the bike, I decided to stop the walking and see what happens. So what I did was to take off Sunday and Monday from any activity. No episodes. So Tuesday I started riding the bke again because as I mentioned I seldom got any episodes from riding the bke, I broke it up into three routines. 6 miles early in the morning. 5 miles later on in the afternoon. And then 5 more miles later in the evening. These are all done on the stationary bike. So I did my workouts on Tues. Wed. Thurs and Fri. and as of now no episodes.However on Friday eveing I noticed that I began developing twitching in my left calf only. I woke up Sat morning and I noticed the twitching has continued. They are short sublte type twitchings in my left calf. Can you give my any explanation as to what may be occurring . Thank you

[jjbberry3]

Over several years now on and off my left leg will become weak and when I go to bed at night as soon as I fall asleep it will go into a cramp and start to spasm and my foot will turn inward and it is very painful. I have to try to calm myself and try to get up for it to finally relax back to normal. This will continue all night. The next morning my leg feels very heavy and weak.This will last about 3 to 7 days straight. Also is now starting to do it sometimes during the day. Then it will all go away for about a month or two and then it comes back again. Have you ever heard of this?

[theasian]

Hi
Low levels of electrolytes could be the cause of the "electrical episodes." Low levels of magnesium or potassium are more likely to cause the muscle twitches (which is known as myoclonus.) It could also be that the electrical episodes are being caused by your misfiring and sending the wrong signals. Have you had an EEG done, if not maybe you should try that and try induce the episodes so that they can see if there are any abnormalities there. It could also be that you have a pinched nerve that is aggrevated by the walking.
Good luck in your quest for answers. Take care

[thebailster]

Thank you for you reply Dr. A Srivastava. Howerer I am a little confused still with your answer.I really have no weakness in the leg. I still exercise daily but what is the intense almost electrical episodes that I get pertaining to. They are very sporadic but when they do come they are intense. Am I low on electrolytes or magnesium or potassium. Can you give me some help with that.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Hi, Thank you for your question. This twitching appears when the muscle contracts on its own (without nerve stimulation).  Most of the times these symptoms occur without any underlying disorder & they are not harmful or may appear after anxiety, viral illness or long term illness. But sometimes this muscle twitching appears as atrophy and weakness of muscle as well. Most likely cause of this twitching with weakness or atrophy of muscle can be when the nerve supplying to hand/eye muscles is not functioning properly due to any neurological disorder. If you suffer continuous weakness and notice reduced strength of muscle bulk in areas, please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away who will evaluate the possibilities here. Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take Care & Regards!!!