One leg jerking

Question

When I lay down at night to sleep, my right leg twitches/jerks.  Like I am kicking a soccer goal!  It is just my right leg - the rest of my body is still and not affected.  (I've tried to duplicate it but I can't)  My body just does that. 

Any one else experiece anything similar?

I'm a limbolander. I've been around this site for over a year.

Thanks, Jules

JulieAlexxx · Answer

It’s definitely not restless leg syndrome, although it sounds similar. My leg jerks about uncontrollably, especially when I am tired and trying to sleep. The Doctor called it involuntary limb movement. It’s like a spasm or an electric shock. I had loads of tests but they couldn’t  find anything wrong and prescribed muscle relaxant tablets to use when it was really bad, so that I could get some sleep. I try yoga, massage, stretches and these methods do give some relief and can help me sleep. Also pain killers can help. I had a painful episode of shingles and I was on strong pain killers and my leg did not play up at all during the time period. So I am thinking the pain causes the spasm.

kwarendorf · Answer

Hi Quibble - Welcome to our group.

This thread is pretty old. It was last updated over 2 years ago. Many of the participants no longer visit. I just didn't want you t think you were being ignored :-)

You might Post A Question and introduce yourself. You can tell us a little about what brought you to an MS forum. We're a pretty friendly bunch :-)

Kyle

Quibble · Answer

This is called PLMD or Periodic Leg Movement Disorder.

https://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/periodic-leg-movements-during-sleep-plms/about-periodic-leg-movements-during-sleep/

Sec2 · Answer

I have it not often. When I led down asleep, it will jerk as if I kick a ball or something and it will stop. I want to know the cause or is it a problem.

meg321 · Answer

My limbs move a lot, especially my feet, i didnt find out until i had a sleep study. Its not RLS, that would keep me awake. I do know they move when i am awake.  Now I am told my eyes do the same thing, i didnt know that.

I think my mind does the same..lol

i am exhausted....off to bed for me.

hugs, meg

wadeheather · Answer

I know the feeling.  It can be very hard to decipher and relate sometimes!

JulesL5S1 · Answer

Thanks everyone - Especially wadeheather!

That is the best description of what I experience just about every night.  The information from Wikipedia is a great description.  One that I can understand and relate to. Finally - information I understand.  Yeah.

wadeheather · Answer

I have that too, but it is an entirely different sensation. Restless legs is more of a constant need to shake, move or stretch. These jerks (at least for me) are as simple as they sound, and my shoulder or hip simply move on their own will, not mine. It's weird.

essdipity · Answer

Are you sure this isn't restless leg syndrome, or rather restless limbs? Many of our members have that.

ess

wadeheather · Answer

This looks like what I experience too - it's from Wikipedia:

Myoclonus (pronounced /maɪˈɒklənəs/) is brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles. It describes a medical sign and, generally, is not a diagnosis of a disease. The myoclonic twitches are usually caused by sudden muscle contractions; they also can result from brief lapses of contraction. Contractions are called positive myoclonus; relaxations are called negative myoclonus. The most common time for people to encounter them is while falling asleep (hypnic jerk), but myoclonic jerks are also a sign of a number of neurological disorders. Hiccups are also a kind of myoclonic jerk specifically affecting the diaphragm. Also when a spasm is caused by another person it is known as a "provoked spasm".

Myoclonic jerks may occur alone or in sequence, in a pattern or without pattern. They may occur infrequently or many times each minute. Most often, myoclonus is one of several signs in a wide variety of nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and some forms of epilepsy.

In almost all instances in which myoclonus is caused by Central Nervous System (CNS) disease it is preceded by other symptoms; for instance, in CJD it is generally a late-stage clinical feature that appears after the patient has already started to exhibit gross neurological deficits.

Anatomically, myoclonus may originate from lesions of the cortex, subcortex or spinal cord. The presence of myoclonus above the foramen magnum effectively excludes spinal myoclonus, but further localisation relies on further investigation with electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG).

wadeheather · Answer

I get this too.  It's in my right hip and right shoulder. It is also when I am trying to fall asleep.  I thought maybe I was just imagining it.  LOL. Myoclonus, eh?

jensequitur · Answer

I think you're referring to action myoclonus.

I started experiencing this a year ago.  It's especially bad in the mornings, in bed.  I'll wake up, and decide to start getting out of bed.  When I first start to move my right leg, it'll start jerking back and forth rhythmically.  As soon as I stop trying to move the leg, it'll stop.

OllyOil · Answer

Hi Jules
I've had twitches/jerks since 05. I tried to explain problem to my Thyroid consultant and GP but they just fobbed me off and looked at me as if I'd just landed from Mars! 

When these twitches and jerks happen {in bed or just sat down) I feel like a puppet. Like something else is controlling my limbs and not me. It's really wierd!.
Still trying to find out what causing this problem

I'm a limbolander too. New to this site.  HELP! HELP! does anybody know?
Hope we find the answer. OllyOil x