Evolution of Spacticity?

[sadie405]

Hi to all of you out there who are currently experiencing or who have experienced spacticity--

How did it start?  Did it come on all at once for some of you, or were there bits and pieces here or there that eventually accumulated?

I ask as I've only had one possible incident with it thus far-- a couple of weeks ago I was lying in bed at night(which is when all of my muscles seem to go into overdrive with the constant twitching and fascilations).  Suddenly my left leg went rigid at the knee, involuntarily straightening. At the time, my instant association was it felt like a rubber band was being pulled taut behind my knee. It lasted less than a minute and I just laid there, surprised, until it relaxed again.

I see the neuro on Wednesday and am preparing my *list* of stuff. He hates being "bombarded" with symptoms so I'm trying to list by signficance.

Thanks!
Sadie

[sadie405]

Thanks, Red.  :)

[RedFlame]

As far as when it started I'm not sure because I didn't know it was spasticity.  I do have clonus or involuntary movement and I have muscles that are contracted.  

Anyway, I would bring it up and explain it just as your did here.  Let him/her decide what it is.

Red

[jensequitur]

Thanks, sweetie!

[sadie405]

Thanks so much!  That is very helpful.

BTW, I saw pictures of the masks you make on your profile and I really liked them.

Sadie

[jensequitur]

That doesn't sound like spasticity.  It sounds more like... hmm... clonus?  Myoclonus?  May be myoclonus.

At any rate, it's an involuntary movement of your leg caused by the quads, not the muscles behind the knee.  Any spasm of the muscle behind the knee would cause it to bend up.  

Most important thing is not to try to define your symptom before you visit the neuro.  Tell him/her exactly what happened, and let them decide what it is.

Spasticity is essentially a resistance of the muscles against stretching out.  For me, it manifested as unusually tight and sore muscles, in places where a sore muscle was odd.  First it was a long muscle in my forearm.  Then it was my thumbs.  Then it was my calf muscle, and right now it's my calf, my torso, and the muscles right above my hips.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Muscle-Tone-And-Spasticity/show/159?cid=36

This is a great article that will help you understand spasticity and how it works.