Any relation between ALS and Head Trauma?

[Kris-Concrete]

I was just curious if there was an assumed relation? if it's taken into consideration?
Because isn't there a relation between other neurological diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's? Why not ALS then too?

I'm 26 and have been an amateur boxer since I was 20. I've taken many a hard blow to the head. Been knocked out a few times.
About a year ago I started noticing weakness in my shoulders, they felt heavier, weaker, and the muscles often burned. Not long after this muscle spasms started in the one arm, now both. I've noticed problems in speech too. Maybe a slight slur?
anyway, the twitches also occur in the legs too. They occur the most when a certain muscle is used a certain way (i.e.- I cross my two feet together, the right heel will start to twitch - If i stretch my leg, a twitch). I know this is normal, I guess. But the spasms in my arms are NOT. They've progressed, and so has the weakness.

Now the only reason I can see this happening is from these blows to the head. I mean, I'm a small guy, and I've SLUGGED it out many times. Plus fights outside the ring where bare knuckles have rattled my brain (I'm saying half a dozen times since I turned 20 alone).

?
I'm freakin' out and would love to know... it'd explain a lot!

 

[Kris-Concrete]

also my one elbow twitches a lot. onthe right arm. there's a huge dip in my elbow compared to the left. really noticeable!

 

[Kris-Concrete]

and how does it work as far as muscle wasting?

because I definitely notice that the dip in the one elbow that twitches is SO SO much deeper than the left it's scary!

but how does it work in terms of a pattern? is one arm affected, then the other? or does it go from one arm then the leg on the same side to the other/arm leg on the other side?

curious. thanks so much.

 

[CRF8]

head blows

My wife has ALS, never had a punch hit her head, she did fall & have a car wreck as a child with head trauma. Some of the ALS surveys she has taken asked that question, so we assume the medical community has looked into that.

 

[Kris-Concrete]

My wife has ALS, never had a punch hit her head, she did fall & have a car wreck as a child with head trauma. Some of the ALS surveys she has taken asked that question, so we assume the medical community has looked into that.

so I'm right to assume. great.
(and god bless your wife, that must be hard!)

 

[wright]

No, there is absolutely no correlation between head trauma and ALS. Do you have any idea how many people would have ALS if there was indeed a correlation?

Why on earth would you pick ALS as the cause of your symptoms? Rotator cuff injury, thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical disc herniation, pinched nerve, etc., etc., etc: are those not exciting enough for you? Stop self-diagnosing yourself (you're not qualified) and just go to a physician and let them determine what is wrong with you . . . and stop convincing yourself that you have ALS.

Sorry this sounds a bit harsh but we get at least a half dozen people like yourself a month who try to figure out what they have without having an ounce of medical background . . . thinking that because they have the ability to read all of the crap on the internet (and believe me, most of it is crap) . . . they can self-diagnose. Unfortunately, no matter what they're told, they simply won't listen to reason and will not believe their symptoms are not at all indicative of ALS and then they become completely irrational. Stop your obsession now because what you have indicated thus far wouldn't point to ALS at all because there are a gazillion other things that could explain your symptoms.

 

[Kris-Concrete]

It's not harsh, trust me. You're being helpful. I understand how irrational it seems - but the thing that's haunting me is the fact that my right arm feels so much weaker, cramped, etc. There's a significant dip in that elbow compared to the left - if it's not muscle wasting, I don't know what it is (especially considering that that's where the twitches occur most)... that arm burns and feels weak when I hold it up for too long - the reflexes are slower (it's my good arm too - I'm right handed - it was always the other way around)... and my fingers feel so tight, cramped, and slow moving (this is not in my head, this is real as real can be). I can help but look in the mirror and see that significant dip in my elbow, see it twitching like crazy and not freak out.

but here's a few questions:

do the twitches usually come first, or does weakness/atrophy? and when would a dip in my elbow likely occur? after A LOT of twitching first - or what? and would my whole arm feel as weak as it does? and does bone cracking come along with it, because this arm will crack like crazy compared to the other... and though I can see muscle wasting in this arm, my legs twith just as much as this elbow now, but no muscle weakness there - but my right leg seems to twitch more, and is more weak - does ALS occur on one side of the body like this?

thanks, Wright.

 

[CRF8]

nuerologist

kris

my comment below was in no way saying that trauma could cause ALS.
Please get a referral to a Dr. that has seen ALS patients.

 

[Kris-Concrete]

That's okay, CFR8.

I'm just really curious about the muscle wasting/weakness in my right arm along with twitches - it seems like it could be ALS?

the dip in my right arm compared to my left is astounding - there's a lot less muscle - and the arm is a lot weaker!

:-(

 

[Kris-Concrete]

Oops - CRF8, that is...

 

[brendapals]

Here we go again. I just can't believe I'm even typing tonight,

Kris-Get off of the computer, quit WANTING to have ALS, and call your family dr tomorrow morning and go have a physical. The shear reading of your posts is enough to make a person cross=eyed! And I promise I'm not being harsh.

Why makes you think wright is not steering you in the right direction? A pinched nerve, a back problem, a neck problem, and the list goes on and on and on.

Please, turn off your computer, get a good night's sleep, and go to your doctor this week. I'm sure you'll be fine.
=b

 

[Kris-Concrete]

brendapals i understand completely. i just don't see how any of the stuff that Wright mentioned as a possibility could cause muscle wasting? that's all. I thought muscle wasting (which I absolutely do have) + weakness = some sorty of MND

Kris AKA "Concrete" (a nickname given to me because my head must be made of concrete for the amount of times I've been hit hehe - just a little trivia).

 

[BethU]

Kris ... I assume you are basing your theory that head trauma causes ALS on the fact that 100% of amateur and professional boxers up to this time have all died of ALS.

I'm not a boxing fan, so could you let us know some of the better-known boxers who have died of ALS? I'd like to read their bios.

 

[Kris-Concrete]

Kris ... I assume you are basing your theory that head trauma causes ALS on the fact that 100% of amateur and professional boxers up to this time have all died of ALS.

I'm not a boxing fan, so could you let us know some of the better-known boxers who have died of ALS? I'd like to read their bios.

tahaha. fair enough.

but hey, do my worries seem legit? I mean, my right arm has muscle wasting at the elbow (a large dip that extends up the arm that is really noticeable when compared to the other arm - especially when I hold both arms out and turn them to reveal my elbows - it's scary!) - and the right arm is weak, feels burning and tired and even when I use it to hold up head etc. I have to stop because i just can't do it any longer - the left arm is fine, I can hold my head up for probably an hour straight without even noticing...
I'm scared.

 

[Kris-Concrete]

also my right hand/fingers is/are very stiff. straightening my fingers is a way different feeling - of stiffness, crampy feeling... the fingers feel heavier - more difficult to straighten - the fingers look more bent... it's so not normal... my left hand is fine, as natural as it always was... but my right is stiff, weak... the fingers to unfold are stiff, weak... when I straighten them they are spaced out more than the left, with the index finger being way spaced out from the rest... the knuckles are more pronounced too...

this is not from boxing, either... my left hand takes more injury, trust me... this is something that's getting worse, as I notced it a while back

question: with this subjective atrophy/stiffness etc. - wouldn't I have had fascic's in my hand by now? or is the twitching in my elbow and bicep a sign that the weakness has onset in my arm/hands?

my hand is so stiff and weak.

please help. any suggestions.