Lhermitte's sign

[jojled]

Can anyone tell me if Lhermitte's sign can be caused by anxiety or exercise?

I have a lot of anxiety and chalk up most symptoms to that, but had never heard of this until it happened, so I didn't red about it, then "give" it to myself. But wondering if anxiety could create it on its own.

OR

I exercise vigorously via stair running, hill running, weight lifting, etc. Coukd that cause this? Or is it almost definitely

[kwarendorf]

Hi jojled -

The only thing certain about MS is that nothing is 100% :-) While it is not the norm to have symptoms without some evidence on an MRI, it is possible.

Take things one step at a time and you will do fine.

Kyle

[jojled]

Thanks for your help!  It has been diagnosed as of yesterday. The doc (a chiro on staff with my primary) said he thinks its anxiety and not worried, but wants an MRI anyway. Primary agreed. X-rays didn't show a possible cause.

I assume if the MRI is clear while I'm having the symptom, then there's no way it can be MS.

Is that correct?

[supermum_ms]

Hi,  If a newbie (new to the MS forum) mentions a history of mental health issues, i find that their posting history can sometimes help with understanding what they deal with.

You seem to have had concerns about MS and other serious medical conditions for many years, always acknowledged anxiety as a significant issue you deal with. You "chalk up most symptoms to that" through out your prior posts but honestly you would know better than anyone, if you do tend to focus on health issues when your anxiety is not as controlled. But to answer if anxiety can cause it then i'd say yes, because anxiety is probably the greatest mimic so i can't see why it couldn't, so that is a possibility.

"“If I experience L’Hermitte's, does that mean I have MS?”

No.  Although this symptom is very common in patients with MS, it is not exclusive to MS.  L'Hermitte's can be associated with arthritis, disc compression, cervical spondylosis (degeneration of the disc spaces between the vertebrae), spinal cord tumors, pernicious anemia, inflammation from lupus or Behçet’s disease, and even vitamin B12 deficiency, electrolyte imbalance, or nitrous oxide exposure, among others."  
http://www.*************.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/128364/signs/

I'm thinking that weight lifting could cause disc issues eg compression, trapped nerve etc so that too could be a possibility. Totally speculative but you could of injured your self and your anxiety has opened the door to make you become more focused on it, and its possible that your anxiety is making it into more than what it is.  

Have you been medically dx with Lhermitte's or is this what you've come up with trying to work out what your feeling? If you haven't seen a dr i'd recommend you do.

Cheers...........JJ