Need help with symptoms, please!

[iplayoutside]

approximately 2 1/2 months ago I awoke with extremely painful stiff neck which eventually radiated to my left shoulder, left scapula and lat muscle area. I feel asleep on my left arm for a couple hrs i suppose, My neck was slightly elevated as well during my sleep. I couldn’t not lay down on back to sleep and was in a lot of pain when I I did so. This made me sleep on a recliner for around 4 straight days. Arm would hurt to use steering wheel while driving and even hard to get comfortable in the drivers seat position, but could use move my arm in all directions, just a little tight and felt very heavy.

I visited GP were X-rays were conducted on a shoulder and neck region. Found some slight arthritis in neck and that’s it. Gave me steroids and pain meds and went on my way. I had pain outside of left shoulder, posterior deltoid muscle and tricep. Pain in scapula and neck was bad at times and sometimes not so bad. About week after these symptoms I developed weakness in my left arm and muscle twitching in the affected arm. had trouble applying deodorant and reaching to my back pocket to retrieve my wallet. Arm felt very tired hand grip was weak as well.

Visited a Chiropractor who did a clinical exam on my neck area (moving head around in different positions, no MRI) and told me I probably had a pinched nerve in the c5,6,7 area of the neck which was causing me pain and weakness in my back shoulder and arm. My grip strength at this time was only 63 ponds of pressure. I went through some cervial decompression, medical massage, and physical therapy for around a month. My neck stopped hurting as well as my back region. Grip strength improved to 83 pounds of pressure and the latest to 90 ponds of pressure. However I have significant weakness when I internally rotate my arm towards my body.

I have Started some light Dumbbell work again, and have much difficulty on pull-ups with my left arm which I used to do with no problem at all (I’m very athletic, run and do a lot of overhead exercises). I have been getting stronger in the arm I feel like with the workouts. However, I am concerned about the twitching that has been going on for so long and searches internet and discovered twitching and muscle weakness, and flail limb onset as symptoms of ALS. This has concerned me everyday since I discovered this I thought if I had a pinched nerve and my neck was feeling better I should have regained all of my strength but I have not. All I have now is a tender area outside my posterior deltoid where the shoulder moves which is hurts when palpated.

I have been concerned about my health as I’m a healthy individual and have had some anxiety in past with health issues. I have since starting running outside from the treadmill and have been having muscle twitches all over my body (exspially in my calves, legs, and feet) since then and the fear I have been experiencing since discovering the symptoms to ALS. My fear and concern has caused me to miss work and problems with me and my wife who I have been distant from cause of my fear of this disease.

I can t explain all the twitches I have and it’s worrisome. I have no weakness in my legs or other arm that also twitches sometimes. Im afraid the symptoms are spreading through my body or just anxiety getting the best of me. My Doctor told me if my strength and pain was improving there is no need for an MRI. I would love and appreciate any feedback from the community on my symptoms. With much respect and prayers to each one of you. Thank you, and God bless you all.

 

[KarenNWendyn]

The improvement in strength and also the pain point away from ALS. ALS tends to present with painless inability to do something you could do previously (failure), and it gets worse and spreads. Your symptoms sound like injury. Injuries can take time to heal and not everyone fully recovers.

Twitching is common, nonspecific, and meaningless in the absence of muscle function failure which you have not described. Anxiety can make twitching worse.

So I don’t see ALS in your post. You might benefit from some physical therapy.

 

[iplayoutside]

Thank you for the quick response . Very appreciative. My concern which brought me here was the left arm being weak with internal rotation and the muscle twitching in the arm. Never experienced this before. i went to doing pull ups and exercises with no problem to having difficulty using the left arm during the pull up. However with the noted pain at the initial onset and getting better with the pain, I was expecting to return to normal. Was that example was what you meant by muscle failure, or not being able to do something you could do before being painless? Thank you again.

 

[KarenNWendyn]

Muscle failure in ALS is painless. Something just doesn’t work which catches the person off guard because of no pain, no injury, no rhyme or reason.

 

[lgelb]

You might have frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) or something like that. I would see an orthopedist. S/he can prescribe more PT or tests if/as indicated. I would stay away from the chiro who manipulated you without a definitive dx.

Best,
Laurie