Usually after a very long walk or having a cold shower causes your hand or foot muscles to twitch. Although twitching of muscles is a normal thing, but if it’s happening on a regular basis without any reason then there is a 90% chance that you might be suffering from Spasticity. In Spasticity, Muscles seems to twitch on a regular basis without a probable cause.
Fibromyalgia patients are more vulnerable to spasticity as they have a very weak immune system. Muscle network in a fibro patient is already very weak because of the chronic illness itself which makes twitching of muscles more in fibro patients. In the later section, we are gonna discuss spasticity in detail along with its relation with fibromyalgia.
What Is Spasticity?
Spasticity is a wide term mostly used to relate all the muscles Problems. It can cover all the muscles problems like muscles twitching, Muscles stiffing, muscles clenching, etc. Spasticity can also include which is normally called hyperreflexia. Hyperreflexia is a name of muscle problem in which you can’t control power over your body. Either you put too much energy on lifting something or sometimes you put too less. In Simple words, you can’t figure out what exact energy is needed to lift or hold something
The main Problem caused by muscle twitching is that if it happens too often then there is a greater chance that your muscles might be in this contracted state forever. You have seen the people with twitched hands because their muscles are now permanently in this state.
According to the medical community, the Main reason for muscle twitching or spasticity is a malfunction in the nervous system which actually controls muscle movement. Fibro patient has disturbed nervous system and that might be the reason why Fibro patients have more muscle twitching.
How Is It Related To Fibromyalgia?
It is already established that fibromyalgia patient finds their muscles twitching more than a normal person but what exactly is the reason for this. According to researchers, the reason is the root cause of fibromyalgia. Researchers found significant evidence that the main reason for muscle twitching is the malfunction of the nervous system in a fibromyalgia patient.
It is common knowledge that Pain comes from the brain. For instance, If I stub my toe then I will feel pain but if I have paralysis and my foot is paralyzed then I won’t feel any pain because my toe is not communicating with my brain. Similarly, the Pain of fibromyalgia is triggered by the Brain.
So just like Pain, Spasticity is also triggered by the brain and then it moves to our central nervous system. Spasticity is also very common in people with Spinal cord injuries because their central nervous system is not like a normal person.
In Light of the above discussion, We find out that the most likely explanation for Spasticity is the Central Nervous system.
Usually fibromyalgia patient feels Spasticity on trigger points. Trigger points are 18 points in a fibromyalgia patient which causes the most pain. Trigger points are usually Joints and fibromyalgia patients feel a lot of pain when you press on those points.
Just like Spasticity, Trigger points also seems to be related to the central nervous system, that’s why fibromyalgia patient feels more pain in trigger points than the rest of the body.
How Can You Treat It?
The very first solution is to use medication. If you are having random spasticity attacks then you can use muscle relaxants to get rid of spasm. Botox Injections are the most effective ones these days in order to get rid of the twitching of muscles. Also try to keep your body warm, Cold hands or feet also cause muscle twitching.
The very next solution is to get surgery. If your fingers are changing shapes because of twitching or contraction of muscles then you can consult a doctor and go for surgery. In surgery, doctors usually cut the fibers that actually causing the twitching.
If your muscles are contracting around tender points then it is usually because your muscles are stiff around tender points. In order to get rid of such twitching, you can use physical therapy or injections to loosen up your muscles. Once the muscles are lose, you will feel less pain and less spasticity attack.
There are certain things you can do at home to get rid of muscle spasms. Take regular exercise in order to lose stiff muscles. You can also use corrective braces so muscle won’t flex. If you are feeling stiffness then you can always use Heating Pad or hot shower to lose muscles. STAY STRONG WARRIORS!
“Fibromyalgia patients are more vulnerable to spasticity as they have a very weak immune system.”
There are absolutely zero studies that show that fibromyalgia patients have a weak immune system. In fact, some recent studies have shown that fibromyalgia may be an autoimmune disorder. Autoimmunity is the exact opposite of a weak immune system.
Also, the title of your article mentions spasticity but what you are describing are spasms. Spasticity and spasms are not the same. Fibro patients suffer from spasms but spasticity is caused by nerve damage such what occurs in multiple sclerosis.