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Mike in Maine

Distinguished member
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
244
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
10/2013
Country
US
State
PA, No longer live in ME
City
Pocono's
Do any of you seem to pull/tear muscles more with the PLS then before? Before PLS I would spend a good amount of time in the gym and out running, and would pull an occasional muscle but nothing like now. Don’t know if the spasticity has everything so tight it is about to pop or what. Now turn to quick, lift too much, BOOM, Ben gay and Ice time. That’s with all the pills to relax the damn things hate to feel what it would be like without them. Maybe their part of the problem?

Mike
 
I have pulled groin muscles right now and I don't remember doing anything! I am taking Dantrolene as a muscle relaxer and it isn't doing a darn thing. My Dr. Wanted me to try Threonine (amino acid) as that has helped some with spasticity...not me! I'm getting tired of hurting all the time! I took a half dose of the lowest strength of Baclofen....totally wiped me out. I'm thinking of trying again!
 
Spasticity of muscles is like a wound up rubberband. They sometimes get so tight, that they can stress the tendons also. That seems to be where I injure the most. I could do something simple, like the time I struggled to open a jar and all the tendons in my thumb ripped. Put me in a cast for 4 weeks. Then there was the time I was trying to reach something off the top shelf of the cabinet. I haven't been able to get on my toes for a few years, but I leaned on the counter to take some of the weight and tried just once to get on my tip toe on the right side, POP! Now I have a bone in my foot that moved about a 1/4 inch out of place. Painful. Many more stories, but I think the point is made. I have put this all to be PLS effect. I take baclofen(day and night) and tizanidine( nights only). As well as an occasional valium when I cannot sleep because of the unbearable pain from sore over stressed muscles. That usually only happens when I am traveling.
 
Mike, I'll bet every one of us have felt the "rip and tear" of muscle, tendon, and ligament now and again -- and not due to injury, but day-to-day stuff (that we used to do -- oh -- so easily).

Just so happens that the changes in my gait have likely been responsible for a recent bout of sacroiliitis (WOW - is THAT painful!), for the osteoarthritis that exists in my hips, SI joint, back, neck, and other, and for the "pulling" sensation in my rhomboids, upper back, and neck. Only a few days ago did I notice tightness and pulling in my Achilles tendon - left heel.

But it all makes sense -- muscular involvement in one part of the body tends to add "insult" to injury -- for all the other parts.

Hip hip hooray.
 
P.S. Yesterday, I had to fix the belt on my dryer. Today, my hands and fingers are incredibly sore -- and I really didn't DO anything that most people would view as being unusual.

The simplest, second-nature, take-it-for-granted things are such a bigger deal these days (if I were an appliance repairman, my days would be numbered).
 
Mike, I'll bet every one of us have felt the "rip and tear" of muscle, tendon, and ligament now and again -- and not due to injury, but day-to-day stuff (that we used to do -- oh -- so easily).

Just so happens that the changes in my gait have likely been responsible for a recent bout of sacroiliitis (WOW - is THAT painful!), for the osteoarthritis that exists in my hips, SI joint, back, neck, and other, and for the "pulling" sensation in my rhomboids, upper back, and neck. Only a few days ago did I notice tightness and pulling in my Achilles tendon - left heel.

But it all makes sense -- muscular involvement in one part of the body tends to add "insult" to injury -- for all the other parts.

Hip hip hooray.

Good post....for me issues with spasticity in my legs has left me walking around like a "stomped ant". It has aggravated the arthritis in my hips, knees and back...which makes my gait even worse.
I made the mistake of digging up a tree root that was lifting the concrete on my patio, last Saturday. I couldn't hardly walk for two days, and am still sore. I think the moral to my story is that I can no longer do manual labor! Unfortunately, once I recover from this I am likely to do it again....not a fast learner.
 
Mark,

"Unfortunately, once I recover from this I am likely to do it again....not a fast learner."

Alas....I get it. Like you, I never seem to learn. And so, I also keep repeating the same kind of mistakes -- over and over, vowing (mentally only -- never aloud, mind you!) to never, ever do this or that again.

But I do this stuff over and over again because I like to do yard work and stuff like that. I like to be constructive.

The trouble is that my body doesn't seem to share the same values.
 
Thanks for posting this . . . there has to be, in my opinion, some type of direct link to muscle injury and PLS. Of course I still have the problem of my brain say I can still do all of the things I did 25 years ago as well as pre-PLS, but over the weekend I was playing catch with a football with my son and at maybe the 10th throw, at maybe 15 yards, I tore all of the tendons in my elbow. The ER doc said my injury is something he would expect from an athlete over extending or from wear and tear, but prior to this I have never had an elbow injury or suffered any pain in my elbow. I'd like to think it was circumstantial, but I'm not ready to say it is. Good luck to you with you issues.
 
Well it sounds like this is part of the new life, one more thing to consider as we move during our day. Spent Thursday in the ER trashed all my neck muscles and I have no idea how. Not in a good mood today, had a shallow test late yesterday afternoon. Didn’t go well, but that is for another post.
 
I know everyone’s symptoms are different. Just wondering if anyone experiences this… if I have to really exert my legs, arms and torso (lifting 10 to 15 pounds, lifting something hefty over my head) I don’t have pain (right after or later) it just seems to take a considerable amount of time for my muscles to relax (let go) after any exertion. Then whatever muscles feel weaker than usual for a while after. I take 60mgs (20-20-20) of Baclofen daily. I do have pain in my knees and wrists. I get cramps and etc but I don’t consider that muscle pain. If it involves my torso I have to ‘push’ to breath for a while. Just wondering.
 
Al,
I get muscle exhaustion when carrying something of weight (and not much weight), it is like what I would get when doing a good set of reps in the gym. No real pain while doing the work, a lot time I will cramp real bad. It is later that I really pay, usually 12 to 24 hours, then that part of my body becomes totally unless, be it walking any distance or screwing in light bulb it takes real effort. I have pain associated with the weariness, just deep muscle pain. If I do something that requires me to work my whole body, heavy yard work or like Big Mark did digging up the tree. I’m down hard for a day or two, no energy, hurt all over. Don’t want to move, sleeping or watching an old war movie marathon are about my only options.

Mike
 
Mike, I've said before that I occasionally become short of breath from simple stuff -- like drying off with a towel -- because my arms are being overworked and must be starving for oxygen. As you say, it is much like the fatigue you get when you've done a few (serious) sets of biceps curls. I literally have to stop (like the rest between each set of curls) and rest, giving the muscle time to recuperate. Really weird, because I've always been in pretty good shape (THAT'S what makes it all so weird).

My wife often reminds me that I'd been in much worse shape had I not exercised into my late 40's -- she's probably right (even though I'm still a big mess)! :)
 
Mike, you wrote, "Don’t want to move, sleeping or watching an old war movie marathon are about my only options."

I'm an old war movie (and some current) buff myself. I've accumulated a fairly good collection. (My opinion) the worst war movie ever made was Apocalypse Now. Great actors but the movie was complete nonsense as far as the Viet Nam War goes. They're kinda milk toast but my favorites are PT109 and Run Silent Run Deep... and I was Army. :)
As for the somewhat current ones... Uncommon Valor and The Green Berets. Platoon and Hamburger Hill are pretty good too.

Anywhooo... back to the order of business.
 
AL,
Enjoy must of the older war movies, almost anything with John Wayne. The Longest Day, They Were Expendable and The Fighting Seabees being my favorites of his. Others are The Battle of Bulge, A Bridge to Far and Kelly’s Hero’s. As an old Sailor I’ll never pass up a chance to watch Cain Munity, Mister Roberts, Midway or Tora, Tora, Tora. As you can see just about any will do. Really don’t watch any of the new ones, seems they are more into the blood and the guts then telling a story and they seem to lack that realism that only folks that have been there and done that can bring to a film. A bunch of the older actors saw action in WWII and Korea that just adds something to the movie. Anyway my son is an Active Duty Corpsman was with the Marines (shore duty now) (He’s been over to the sandpit) and they can hit a little close to home.

Mike
 
>Tora, Tora, Tora

drove Sandy & the kids nuts w/ this one :) -- read Winds of War, War & Remembrance ...
 
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