drspark61
New member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
- Messages
- 5
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- CO
- City
- Fort Collins
Hi. First-time poster here, but I've been lurking for a couple of weeks. I'll have to second what others have said about the participants in this forum being remarkably empathetic. I marvel at the amount of information and support bestowed upon people who are obviously experiencing great fear for themselves and their families.
I have a question concerning muscle stiffness/tightness and pain. When a muscle is stiff/tight and causes pain, does the pain (and stiffness) occur globally in the affected limb, or is it pretty local? Does the pain ever present as a mild, dull ache that throbs? For almost a month now, I've had a tight and sore area in my left calf (on the outer edge). There is an area about the size of a deck of cards that I can press on and feel soreness. Sometimes this same area will throb with a mild ache. At first I chalked this up to a running injury, but the persistence of the discomfort has caused me some concern.
Last week, I began to have have an intermittent dull throbbing ache in the lower inside part of my thigh on that same leg. In the days following that, I could feel a sore area, again about the size of a deck of cards. In the past few days, the hamstring on my RIGHT leg has been tight when I get up in the morning and remained tight all day. The trouble spots on my left leg remain.
In all fairness, I should say that in trying to figure out the cause (and cure) for my persistent tightness and soreness I ran across descriptions of ALS symptoms a couple of weeks ago, and that sent my anxiety level through the roof. So now I have to wonder how much stress and anxiety are contributing to my symptoms or my perception of them. (Could stress be causing muscle tension that in turn results in pain, or could it be exacerbating existing benign problems?) I've even become aware of muscle twitches that in all likelihood existed prior this. Sometimes the Internet is as much a curse as it is a blessing. I am a 46-year-old male who has been pretty physically active most of his life and been taking statins for the past 4 years, so I'm kind of in the demographic bullseye for ALS.
I do have an appointment with my PCP set up for later this week, so I'm not leaving this entirely up to the Internet and my (probably overactive) imagination.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
Richard
I have a question concerning muscle stiffness/tightness and pain. When a muscle is stiff/tight and causes pain, does the pain (and stiffness) occur globally in the affected limb, or is it pretty local? Does the pain ever present as a mild, dull ache that throbs? For almost a month now, I've had a tight and sore area in my left calf (on the outer edge). There is an area about the size of a deck of cards that I can press on and feel soreness. Sometimes this same area will throb with a mild ache. At first I chalked this up to a running injury, but the persistence of the discomfort has caused me some concern.
Last week, I began to have have an intermittent dull throbbing ache in the lower inside part of my thigh on that same leg. In the days following that, I could feel a sore area, again about the size of a deck of cards. In the past few days, the hamstring on my RIGHT leg has been tight when I get up in the morning and remained tight all day. The trouble spots on my left leg remain.
In all fairness, I should say that in trying to figure out the cause (and cure) for my persistent tightness and soreness I ran across descriptions of ALS symptoms a couple of weeks ago, and that sent my anxiety level through the roof. So now I have to wonder how much stress and anxiety are contributing to my symptoms or my perception of them. (Could stress be causing muscle tension that in turn results in pain, or could it be exacerbating existing benign problems?) I've even become aware of muscle twitches that in all likelihood existed prior this. Sometimes the Internet is as much a curse as it is a blessing. I am a 46-year-old male who has been pretty physically active most of his life and been taking statins for the past 4 years, so I'm kind of in the demographic bullseye for ALS.
I do have an appointment with my PCP set up for later this week, so I'm not leaving this entirely up to the Internet and my (probably overactive) imagination.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
Richard