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Help - Muscle Spasms, Pain in halves weakness injoints arms

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samaug73
samaug73

Hello,

 I am 43 and i not sure how to discribe what i have .  I have been working out at the gym for 10 years straight now 2 to 4 days a week and quit smoking 10 years ago as well. The passed i would say 5 years i am becoming stiff in all my joints, i get muscle spasm anywhere in my body when i am working out or stretching. Example spasm  i got them in my legs, calvies, back, arms, under my chin, under my chest (scrary one), my neck( another scary one) and my foot ( more common) all of my joints ache time to time i feel weakness in my ankles and knees.  My calf muscles are very sore all the time.  feel like they can spasms at any time but they dont. My joint get really bad in my wrists elbow, shoulders knees are weak. Any my arms get weak fast from holding them up to long or care someting like grocery bags , they just feel really weak like i can not do it for long. holding a baby something. I have tore a muscle in my shoulder, and my calf as i beleive it has somethign to do to what ever is wrong with me.  I feel that anything can go wrong with any part of my body at any time.  I dont want to stop working out as i enjoy going to the gym and workign out my body. I use to run alot but had to stop doing that due  to much pain in my legs. Pain in gone but still achy that is normal for me now.   All my blood test say everything is good. i have had to complete testing done twice.   I do have a bad back .  I have pulled out my lower back many times since i was 18. I try to be carefull doing everything.  Even walking down stairs at 43 i am caution. I have litte faith in our doctors as they look at me like i have 3 heads and tell me they will only deal with one thing at a time but it is all linked to each other. I just want to no if there is nothing that can be done they i will live with it no problem or is there any kind of medicine that can help my muscle. I would reall appreciate alll the feed back possible please if this is my lift i will live with it as there are other ppl in much worst shap but i am scared as i am only 43 what is goingto happen in the next 10 years , Thanks 

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • andrewwakelin
    andrewwakelin samaug73

    Posted

    A lot of what you describe fits with McArdle Disease. Do you know whether your blood work included Creatine Kinase (CK or CPK)? That is raised in almost 100% of people with McArdle's. However, you do not mention any symptoms going back further than 10 years. People who turn out to have McArdle's are usually aware of many of these problems in a more mild way from before the age of about 10, although a few maintain aerobic fitness and only realise their problems maybe in their 20s. On the AGSD-UK web site under the GSD Type V (McArdle's) section we have a page called "Could my problems be due to McArdle's?". You might like to try reading that. It won't describe for all your symtoms but you might recognise yourself in it.

    https://www.agsd.org.uk/

    • samaug73
      samaug73 andrewwakelin

      Posted

      My leg were always tight as a kid  i can never sit cross legged on the ground like all other kids in gym. notices this in grade 7. my knees are were way up i just thought that was normal for me,   got legs crams when i was young to but not alot but bad one start at the top of my quad right to me feet  when i did do track and field running mostly my legs would be really sore the next days.  so i lived with that all my life and startedworking out regularly 10 years ago at the age of 32 and thing seem to have gotten worse from there.
  • crystal63405
    crystal63405 samaug73

    Posted

    Hello, Samaug 73. Well, it sounds like you took steps toward great health years ago and that you have maintained this for many years and that your Doctors are not overly concerned and what they have done has not lead to any diagnosis. I have been there before. So, if they believe this is not serious, there is one question I have for you based on the information you have given me. Are you a person who goes to the gym and works out in the same way most visits to the gym? (meaning do you like to get on the same machines, use the same equipment and work only the muscles you can see in the mirror). Many people are guilty of this and what I can tell you is that over time this can lead to a host of painful, bizarre symptoms and injuries due to overly strengthening some muscles and undertraining others. This can cause painful muscle imbalances as the body attempts to compensate for others not doing their job. I am an RN who has a lot of personal experience with this, and it is not fun. And....before I ever had a diagnosis I was sure there was something terribly wrong with me that every Doctor I saw was missing. These imbalances are collectively called upper cross and lower cross syndrome. These spasms can pull the spine out of alignment, pull the pelvis out of neutral, and create shoulder dysfunction (scapular dyskinesis) This creates neck pain shoulder pain, lower back pain, difficulty using arms overhead, and any weight put into the arm (shoulder bags lifting heavy things) will create more spasms as the body compensates for the extra load) It can create chest pain and difficulty breathing because pec minor/major can become so shortened that it prevents the ribs/diaphraghm from fully expanding. Over time with these compensations you can wear out the hip, tear the meniscus of the knee, torn rotator cuffs, scoliosis of the back, and the list goes on.  If this is what you have, you will have to get help from a physical therapist who is very experienced with the muscle imbalance arena. It takes a trained person to know which muscles need work and which ones need to be lengthened. Also, the help of someone who knows myofascial release may prove helpful, and you would need to cease training the overly shortened muscles....physical therapist with imbalance expertise know which exercises you would need and which ones would keep the overly shortened muscles from firing too much during a specific exercise. This problem can create a lot of inflammation in the body and create repetitive strains on different muscles of the body, screws up propriception(brain knowing where body is in space) and sensorimotor control. It is hard to get rid of but with diligence and patience and proper help, it can be done. Best wishes!
    • samaug73
      samaug73 crystal63405

      Posted

      I'm not sure what you mean about  different mucle.  As i thought to be working out ever muscle in my body.  I do some stretches and to much stretch will cause issue with me.  Was running for years but had to stop doing that as i had a massive inside pain in my right leg hard to explain the pain but i couldnt sleep and ended up stopping running and that pain went away.  i do work out my chest, back and arms good .  And i do leg training as well.  i work out 3 times a week so i am not going to the gym like 6 days a week or anything like that so i can not see that i am over working my body. 1.5 hours each time and i go in the hot tub after ever time to relax my body. even just working around the house building thing witch i do work out doors alot it seem tha things are getting tighter and getting hard to do the simply things like bending down or even going on my knees and then back up.  no really hard but i notice something is going on.  And my breathing yes i notice that is seem harder at time to breath.  When i quick smoking the first year hold my breath under water got better now it is worse then when i was smoking.  Seems like it is really hard to hold my breath for 30 seconds.  I dont no things you talk about make sense i guess.  I have been going to chio practor for 2 years now he nows everything but really not helping anything out .  Keeps my back aligned i notice that so my back doenst pull out much.  i didn go to physico last year for a while .  the only think i got out of that was how to do stretches .  He new ever to didnt mention anything to me about it being some kind of issue anywhere/ Even my chio say that was the hand you got dealt.  I hate to give up and except that  as it feels like it coudl be something simple to fix . I am very confused and try many things on my own nothing seem to be working. i dont wan to give up weight traing as i have some alright muscle tone. Something else is going on to i keep gaining weight .  i am always busy always moving around and still manage to work out 3 days a week . I am really confused and things are hard to explain.  Dont get me wrong i am alot healther then alot of ppl out there so i thank god for that.  Just i gues a little scared if i tighten up this must in 5 years what is my next 5.  Is it the weight lifting that is my problem should i stop completely .

    • samaug73
      samaug73 crystal63405

      Posted

      one other interesting fact.  My 15 year son started getting leg cramps this passed year . I started talking to him about them about 2 years ago then one night bam full blown leg spasm. Get this once a month just like was i was young. He is a foot ball player been playing since he was 7. 
    • crystal63405
      crystal63405 samaug73

      Posted

      When the chiropractor says this is the hand you got dealt...what does that mean? What hand? Meaning you got a problem no one can figure out? Another thing...what is the chiropractor putting back into alignment? why are you out of alignment? when the chiropractor puts you back in to alignment what is going to hold them adjustments if you don't strengthen the muscles that keep pulling you out of alignment. And...all physical therapist are not equal. If you were to have a muscle imbalance going on, you would need to find a therapist who is well versed in muscle imbalances. And..I promise you...if all your previous therapist was showing you were stretches, that just simply will not do it and will likely make it worse. You need someone to assess you particularly OA joint for forward head posture, mid back musculature for weakness/compensation patterns, and pelvic tilts. Listen, there is a reason your body is in spasm. You didn't just wake up one day and your body decided to start tightening up on you. I can't say for sure this is what you have but my feeling is if your Doctors can't tell you what is wrong with you and you are in pain, you definitely should look into this for that reason alone. I also believe anyone who has done imaging and has been told that their problem is musculoskeletal in nature should look into this as well.  Imaging will never show a problem with this and many physicians know zero about muscle imbalances. The ones who are well versed in this are going to be physical therapists with this training, sports medicine clinics, chiropractors, and pain specialists. However, the later can not all be trusted. The reason is because if they fix you, they lose you as a patient. This means you are no longer making their wallets fatter. They are not all like this but every profession has a few among them who are greedy. I hate to say that but take everything said to you with a great dose of skepticism.  Many people spend a lot of time at the gym working mirror muscles like the pecs, biceps, deltoids, upper traps etc., They neglect rhomboids, lower traps, mid traps, serratus anterior, transverse abdominus, posterior rotator cuff etc., This will lead to rounded back, forward head, pelvic tilt. Basically the end result is pain and ugly posture. To fix it, you have to achieve balance. This starts with an assessment by a trained professional who can help  get you on your way and you doing lots of research and commitment. You say it seems like something that would be so simple to fix if they could just find the problem. If this is what you have...I promise it is not simple to fix but I felt the same way with my symptoms. If you notice doing things changes your pain location or intensity look into this. For example, you might notice sitting at a chair on a computer is more difficult than standing and moving. You might notice looking down aggravates the symptoms more than looking straight ahead. If you lay on too many pillows more painful than laying flat. Feeling a little off balance when first standing up, feeling crazy when describing your symptoms to someone else. Putting arms up on table when sitting is worse than having arms down at side. Feeling like lower back is super arched. Heat always makes the discomfort a little better.  This is just a few of the symptoms

  • andrewwakelin
    andrewwakelin samaug73

    Posted

    Your description does sound very much lke McArle's. I would suggest that you get DNA alalysis. But first check your CK ;evel chevkd.

  • JessieJackson
    JessieJackson samaug73

    Posted

    Yes. As we start to get older it seems as our bodies can't handle the same type of pain and pressure we used to be able to handle. Now speaking about experience only, I have learned a lot working out in the gym. And while I can't give you advice medically, I can talk to you about working out at 35years of age. I am proud of you for working out at the gym since by age and have been doing it for about ten years. That is no easy thing especially twice a week. I would have to agree that it does kinda sound like McArdie Disease, but I'm not a doctor. First, choose a muscle or area you are most concerned about. I always try to be the most concerned with the spine especially if you are doing dead lifts. Go to the doctor and only talk about that one area. This may help focus on the problem for that area of your body. Second, for the smaller areas that are mainly muscle like your legs and biceps, I would look for a sore muscle relief product that you like. I personally like Absorbine Jr, but thats up to you. Always have something on standby. This will help with the small aches and pains that you are talking about. Make sure you are always hydrated. You won't believe how many muscle aches are related with not drinking enough water. I hope my suggestions and my experience has helped. Good luck. 

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