Muscle aches

[pattycake60]

Starting last fall, I began experiencing back spasms and a feeling of weakness in my legs.  This occurred day after my first-ever yoga class.  My primary physician said I probably overdid the stretches and triggered a muscle rebound (contracting) problem.  An MRI of my back was taken, showing osteoarthritis (which I've known about for years).  In fact I've suffered from sciatica before but that was years ago and I've been mostly pain-free since then.  Was sent for physical theraphy, which seemed to resolve the issue after 4-6 weeks of treatment.

The problem returned 2 months later, with more pronounced symptoms that included pain in right thigh muscles.  This happened day after doing jumping jacks, which caused me to suspect a pinched nerve in lower back.  That resolved after a few weeks with anti-inflammatories, so I assumed the flare-up was caused by back problems associated with osteoarthritis.

A few months later, this all returned with a vengance after taking a long car trip (12 hr drive) and again symptoms worsened.  My neurologist did an EMG of lower extremities and that came back normal.  An MRI of my brain showed no signs of MS, thankfully.  My rheumatologist said no signs of RA or inflammatory disease.  But now this has advanced to include flu-like aches/pains almost constantly.  Some days my legs almost shake with the weak feeling and I feel totally unstable.  Obviously something is happening, but what?  I do not suffer from fever or fatigue but it's hard to believe this is all caused by pinched nerves.  

I never know from day-to-day what I'll have to deal with an am growing frightened of the gradually declining state I'm in.  Don't know what to do at this point.  Am looking for suggestions from others who had similar experiences.  Help!


This discussion is related to Muscle Twitching , pinched nerve and weakness/wasting of tricep?.

[pattycake60]

Thanks for the suggestions.  The blood work done by the rheumatologist supposedly ruled out inflammatory disease, which should be same as auto-immune disorders.  We did not talk about fibromyalgia, but that would obviously be the next step.  I've also made an appt with an osteopath well known in our community, who will hopefully have some thoughts.  I'm also going to pursue the Lyme disease route with my primary physician when I go for the annual physical next month.  Hopefully I can get to the heart of this soon!  Appreciate your encouragement!

[PlateletGal]

Oops --- sorry. I just read that you already saw a rheumatologist. Perhaps next a pain specialist and a physician who knows how to diagnose both lyme disease and fibromyalgia patients ?

I wish you the best.

[PlateletGal]

If your neurologist is unable to give you any answers, you may want to schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist who can rule out an autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia. I would also recommend getting tested for lyme disease.

Best,

PlateletGal