Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Very Bad Charlie Horses

Hi,
I was wondering does anyone else get extremely painful charlie horses? I have had them in shoulders down into my arms, back, and even by buttocks. The pain is so bad when it is going on and once it subsides I am very sore for the next few days where the spasm occurred. I had one yesterday that lasted for about an hour and a half in my shoulder that was so bad I could not move my arm or open my hand. Now today I am intensely sore and neither ice, heat, or numbing rubs or patches seem to help.


- Does this happen to anyone else?

- Is it normal for AS?

- Any suggestions to help alleviate the soreness and pain?

- What can I do to minimize having more of these horrid charlie horses?

Thank you,
Cubsgirlfan

I still only have a fibro diagnosis, though being investigated for AS too. Really bad muscle spasms were the first things I really complained about. My lower back and buttocks would just totally lock up. They were looking at neuro problems initially with me so I went onto muscle relaxants first. That helped a bit, but only at fairly high doses. It wasn't until I started to see the possible AS connection and started taking NSAIDs that I realised that NSAIDs were calming things down enough that I wasn't getting anywhere near as much muscle spasm. Are you getting any treatment right now? If there is any suggestion of an inflammatory arthritis (fibro isn't inflammatory) then I would have thought they would have wanted you to at least try NSAIDs at full therapeutic dose to see what the response is. You could also ask about trying out muscle relaxants as well. If you can't get any joy from docs until you have had more investigations then ice or heat or alternating may ease up those muscles as well.

My advise is simple: Eat a banana for potassium. Any time your body craves this mineral, cramping happens. I have had such cramps in my legs that I continued to visibly limp around for two days after the actual cramp.

Seltzer Water is supposed to help with leg cramps, perhaps it would help you with these spasms. It is supposed to be the quinine in it that helps. If it continues, I would see my doctor.

Well I do in alot of places lega, sides and I take potassium pills so I have to do muscles relaxers..not sure if it is AS related I also have several other things going on.

Hope you get it figured out!

i get those "quick" "charlie horses" in my calves, feet, etc when they haven't moved for awhile, like while asleep at night or sitting in the recliner and i go to stretch and the foot or calf cramps up. then i just make my muscle shorter (contract it) and it settles quickly. but if it was a bad one, then the muscle is sore for a few days, but that's less of a big deal since i started magnesium every day, 200 mg i think..

but the back spasms, yes, those in my lower to mid back, usually lat, sometimes the muscles that support the spine, in response to my SI joint. the lat is the worst. i'm assuming because its a nice big strong muscle that that is why it spasms the most intensely. yes, those spasms make me scream in pain.

so long as the SI is greatly inflamed and especially if its not aligned properly. what do i mean by that? i'm not 100% sure; its what the PTs, physiatrists, and chiros tell me. i guess its like it gets stuck or something in one position when it should swing a little when we're moving. all i know is i can feel it when its not right. so first, it has to be made right. i can't while its in a flare, but within a day or two, i finally can do "isometrics" (weird positions if its higher up, squeezing knees together, pushing foot into someone's hands, etc) and can here it "click" back into place eventually. then and only then will the spasms settle. its hell til they do.

while the spasms are at their most intense, i do not move. every time i try to use the muscle, it seizes up, so i either lay as still as possible in bed or sit as still as possible in the recliner depending on where its a problem, and when i have to get up to use the bathroom, my husband helps me, and while up, that's when i'll eat, drink, take drugs, if laying down.

while sitting or laying there, i use ice. ice is the only thing that gives me any real relief. i take my zanaflex (muscle relaxer) but at the level i take it (just a little drops my BP so more would drop it too much) it only helps the daily fairly constant lower level muscle spasms that i have in my upper left back and neck. at the higher level of spasm, i'm not sure it does much, but i take it anyway, every 6 hours. normally for the low level stuff i just take it daily. i used to also take tylenol for the pain, but since it doesn't do much and my liver is funky, i don't take that any more. and can't take any narcotics or tramadol cause i'm on LDN. so ice it is. ice is a good pain reliever, a good antiinflammatory, and for me, a good muscle relaxant.

then, once the episode is over, anywhere from a day to a few days, the muscles are extremely fatigued (like running a marathon for all that time). then i need to rest those muscles quite a bit and use a lot of ice. used to take about a month to recover from a bad episode. ultrasound with the PT helped speed it along. now the chiro does some light manual work and when it happened for an entire week in march, it only took 2 weeks to recover with the chiro's help.

oh how i hate those muscle spasms. so sorry you have this.

for starters, maybe find a good manual PT and/or a good physiatrist to help you out.

most of what i learned, i've learned from these good people.

i did have a PT who told me that for some people ice will make muscles spasm more, then you'd need heat. but for me, heat just makes the inflammation worse and so longer to recover. so try ice, see what you think.

i do have issues with my upper back and neck, but thankfully not those type of "screaming in pain" muscle spasms like i get in response to the SI joint.

Make sure you are getting enough potassium and enough water. Muscles go into spasm when you are dehydrated or lacking potassium. Then fi you are doing all those, it's probably just part of AS. I get spasms in my neck, thoracic region, lower back and calves... and they are really painful and sometimes relentless. ICE and heat can help alleviate them, you alternate back and forth between teh two until it relaxes and this should help reduce the residual pain post spasm. Do you get massages? You might also try that for some relief.

Thank you for all the suggestions and information. I have been eating bananas and drinking a ton of water. I also have been alternating between heat and ice and I am still really sore. So, I am chalking it up to the AS. I see the doc on Tuesday morning so I am going to make sure to talk to her about it. It is just very painful and won't let up. It is annoying, painful, and is wearing me out. Sigh...I guess that is the way the cookie crumbles.

I have been looking into getting massages and found someone very reasonable that comes to the house, but I want to run past the doc first just to make sure I don't exhasurbate anything.

Thanks again everyone!!!

I go for gentle relaxation massages, it's all my body can handle right now.. but it does help and just therapeutic touch when your body hates you so much feels wonderful.

LOTS of water, stretch, stretch and than stretch again. Whatever, whenever and as much as you can handle (have to listen to your body)!! May not stop them but it help the severity and duration of mine