Muscle twitching

[GrahamS]

I have suffered with twitching spasms in my lower legs for the past 30 years (this was originally diagnosed as muscles returning to ordinary level after years of football training), the twitches are constant and occur all day and all night.  I am able in most instances to ignore them but now and again they irritate.  I am now getting very sore shins when I have been in bed for about 1 - 2 hours and this is causing me to wake up.  Sometimes my only relief is to get up and walk around the house for 10 - 15 minutesm until it all settles down and then try again.
Is this related to the twitching?  Is there anything I can do?

[Suri123]

Hi Graham, thanks for your reply. Well although you are not into active sports presently, you need to keep doing few muscle toning exercise regularly. As earlier said visit an orthopedician and get evaluated. Electromyography study is helpful to know about muscle twitchings and a bone scan/MRI leg also is very useful. Continue warm massages to both legs, rub pain killer gel and take rest as much as possible. Keep posting your thoughts.

[GrahamS]

Thanks for you advice.  I am not active at all, sporting wise, but I work part time in a school and I also walk a fair bit - but not excessively.  Most of my friends seem to suffer from bad sleeping habits but none have the same symptoms as I.  
When I have mentioned this to my doctor he prescribed... warm milk! He says this will take me back to my infancy and will encourage sleep!!
If you think that the sore shins are definitely related to my twitching I will go back to the doctor and ask him to check into it and see if they can find out why they twitch constantly.
Thanks again for your help.
Graham

[Suri123]

Hi Graham, thanks for your reply and hope you feel better. I agree with your views. How actively you are sporting now a days. It is important specially like you sports persons to do regular exercises to maintain the tone of muscles. Have you anytime consulted a orthopedic doctor for bone pain/ shin soreness. Stress fracture is also a probability sometimes. So it is worth having orthopedic consultaion and necessary investigations. Continue warm bath, gentle massage with volini gel, gentle exercise and over the counter pain killers/ muscle relaxers. Keep posting on your thoughts and any doctor visit or investigation reports. Take care.  

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I agree with RobinHC. You should consider a few tests. One of them is the Electromyography (EMG), which can tell you if you have any problems with muscles. And the other is an optional MRI of the lower spine. Since you have played for quite some time, the lumbar spine may have some bulging discs. Disc bulging may sometimes press on certain nerves and produce neuropathy symptoms.

Have you visited any doctor recently ?

Regards

[RobinHC]

I would see a doctor at a sleep clinic. Sounds like the twitches themselves are not a big problem, except the fact that they are making it hard to get sound sleep. Ask about medications that calm twitching and jerking. If the sleeplessness is caused by the soreness, and the soreness is caused by the twitching, I would ask about treating the twitching.

[GrahamS]

Sorry have been away for a few days and have just read your communication.  My 'twitches' have been referred to a physician and it was he who told me that my legs were returning to normal after years of training and playing football.  I drink a lot of water at the moment but not before bed time as this would make me get up in the night anyway - sort of defeats the object..
There does not seem to be any answer for the soreness in my shins which only appears to occur at night!   It is unusual to find out that nobody else suffers from this particular malady!
I have tried all the warm bath, gentle massage, gentle exercise and medication methods before and they all work for a limited time, probably because I am doing something different and it is giving me something else to concentrate on.. but eventually it all boils down to the soreness again!
Thanks again for your help

[Suri123]

Hi, How are you feeling now, hope might have got better. Keep posting about the progress. Bye.

[Suri123]

Hi, You may be having cramps commonly seen in sports persons, seek attention of a physician to be investigated better. Try with OTC pain killers and antioxidants. Drink lot of water at night and do gentle warm massage at home or see a physical therapist or massage therapist for a couple of sittings. Hot shower and alprax can be of some help before going to bed. Bye.

[GrahamS]

Thanks for your reply, yes my legs are restless during sleep, but not always, I would say I wake up 2 or 3 times a week with that particular problem. But what usually wakes me is the soreness in my shins that only appears at night when I am sleeping!  As I said my 'twitching' is constant and does not bother me but I have now developed this tendency to sleep for about 90 minutes and then wake.  The only thing that helps is to take a couple of 'headache' pills, have a little walk round the room and then go back to sleep.  Incidentally like a lot of other people I sleep much better in the early hours of the morning just as the sun is rising - perhaps I should get a job as a night shelf stacker!!

Graham

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Would you say your legs are restless while you try to sleep ? Is there an urge to constantly move the legs when you are trying to sleep ? I am just trying to suggest Restless legs syndrome.

The twitching and spasms can be related. There could be circulation problems. Since you played football, the blood vessels were very well developed. Now with a less demand, but more muscle, there are changes.

I was wondering if you have any weakness in the calf muscles.

Regards