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What Causes Muscle Twitching All Over The Body?
Question: For the past week and a half, I have had twitches all over my body. I've seen/felt them in my calves, upper/lower arms, thighs, and a couple of times on my obliques. I've also noticed slight jerks when falling asleep and waking up from a night of sleep. These jerks are usually in my hands and feet but sometimes occur in my legs and arms. I don't really notice twitches or jerks when walking or moving. Also, I have a dull electrical sensation that runs down my left leg and into my foot when bending forward. My grandfather died of ALS, so I'm afraid that these may be signs and have been extremely nervous/anxious.
Brief Answer:
Not ALS
Detailed Answer:
Hello again. I am sorry you haven't felt well since our last exchange.
Regarding your worry on ALS though I think that is definitely not the case.
First of all ALS is not a disease of someone your age, usually manifests after the age of 45, personally I don't seem to recall having a patient younger than 40, certainly not under 30. Literature describes cases under 30 but they are really exceptional cases. As for your grandfather over 90% of cases with ALS are not familial.
The development of your symptoms is not typical at all as well. The development of ALS symptoms is very insidious, typically with weakness and atrophy on one limb and evolving over many months to other areas. Twitches (fasciculations) are present on these atrophied muscles. This "explosion" of twitches all over the body certainly doesn't look like ALS.
So those twitches are most likely related to anxiety. However I think some routine blood tests are advised (if not already done) to exclude other conditions which might favour them, tests like complete blood count, esr, crp, liver and kidney function tests, electrolytes, thyroid function, vitamin B12 levels.
I hope to have somewhat eased your worry.
Not ALS
Detailed Answer:
Hello again. I am sorry you haven't felt well since our last exchange.
Regarding your worry on ALS though I think that is definitely not the case.
First of all ALS is not a disease of someone your age, usually manifests after the age of 45, personally I don't seem to recall having a patient younger than 40, certainly not under 30. Literature describes cases under 30 but they are really exceptional cases. As for your grandfather over 90% of cases with ALS are not familial.
The development of your symptoms is not typical at all as well. The development of ALS symptoms is very insidious, typically with weakness and atrophy on one limb and evolving over many months to other areas. Twitches (fasciculations) are present on these atrophied muscles. This "explosion" of twitches all over the body certainly doesn't look like ALS.
So those twitches are most likely related to anxiety. However I think some routine blood tests are advised (if not already done) to exclude other conditions which might favour them, tests like complete blood count, esr, crp, liver and kidney function tests, electrolytes, thyroid function, vitamin B12 levels.
I hope to have somewhat eased your worry.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you so much, Dr. Taka. I picked you specifically because I trust your judgement, and your responses are clear and concise. To clarify, twitches associated with ALS typically occur after a muscle has noticeably atrophied and lost mass?
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your appreciation.
Fasciculation (twitches) in ALS happen when the muscle fibers because they haven't been receiving any impulse from the nerve for some time start to contract on their own. So, yes twitches do follow some weakness, not necessarily when the weakness and atrophy are far advanced, but they are not the first sign to appear. And generally in the early stages the patient often is not aware of them until the physician has called his attention on that possible symptom. As I said an insidious evolution, not the widespread marked presentation you described.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your appreciation.
Fasciculation (twitches) in ALS happen when the muscle fibers because they haven't been receiving any impulse from the nerve for some time start to contract on their own. So, yes twitches do follow some weakness, not necessarily when the weakness and atrophy are far advanced, but they are not the first sign to appear. And generally in the early stages the patient often is not aware of them until the physician has called his attention on that possible symptom. As I said an insidious evolution, not the widespread marked presentation you described.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you again. It's just a very scary thought. Would you be concerned about ALS if you were in my position?
Brief Answer:
No.
Detailed Answer:
No I wouldn't. I really am confident that you don't have ALS.
I might have had a seed of doubt in our last query about MS (still think it unlikely though), which is why I conceded at the end that an MRI could be scheduled, but regarding ALS I'm really as confident as I could be.
No.
Detailed Answer:
No I wouldn't. I really am confident that you don't have ALS.
I might have had a seed of doubt in our last query about MS (still think it unlikely though), which is why I conceded at the end that an MRI could be scheduled, but regarding ALS I'm really as confident as I could be.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Okay, and thank you again. My final question is in regard to an experience I had just last night. When sleeping, I awoke two or three times due to what seemed to be sleep apnea. When I woke up to start the day, my muscles felt stiff and weak. This is the first time I've ever felt this, and my muscles felt fine once I started to move and walk. Would this have any bearing on your conclusion/diagnosis?
Brief Answer:
No
Detailed Answer:
You mean my conclusion on the ALS diagnosis? No it doesn't change it a bit.
As for the episode, I can't say what it was, if you are an obese person who snores a lot at night one might consider sleep apnea but it's not a diagnosis made by a single night, also should feel tired and sleepy during the day, not improve as you start activity.
No
Detailed Answer:
You mean my conclusion on the ALS diagnosis? No it doesn't change it a bit.
As for the episode, I can't say what it was, if you are an obese person who snores a lot at night one might consider sleep apnea but it's not a diagnosis made by a single night, also should feel tired and sleepy during the day, not improve as you start activity.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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