[Concussed Scientist]

Has anyone else experienced anything like a neurological spasm in their brain or neck?

I have noticed that most of my postconcussion symptoms seem to be pretty familiar to everyone else, but I haven't seen any mention of twitches or spasms. It feels as though there is something building up that tends to get discharged in a kind of spasm. It isn't something that is noticeable to others except that there is visible contraction around the eyes and in the throat. It feels like an electrical discharge or a wave of something.

Please send me a message if you have experienced anything like I am describing. I am curious to know if it is a widespread phenomenon or just me.

Thanks.

CS

[Mark in Idaho]

I have spasms and twitches but not in my head or neck. I have had body jerks, arm jerks, leg jerks, usually just on one side, more commonly my left. I take Neurontin and it seems to reduce their frequency and intensity.

I know what you mean about the sensation building before it releases a twitch. The anticipation from the building sensation is worse than the twitch. I know I cannot change the building sensation but it gets in the way of other thoughts.

Weird stuff.

[Hockey]

Despite a boat load of meds, I still spasm and twitch.

Among my favourite spasms are the one that closes my throat so I can't breath for a few seconds and the one that makes my hand fly open (bye, bye coffee cup.) It's like being tasered a hundred times a day.

Additionally, do you guys have the the sensation of nerve pulses all over your body and/or shaking hands?

Anyway, as I also have spinal cord damage, it's hard to say if the source is brain or neck (probably both). Either way, they're no fun.

[Concussed Scientist]

I am beginning to wonder if there is an actual build up of something, Glutamate. That has been shown to build up in cases of traumatic brain injury and it is an excitatory neurotransmitter, so perhaps it could be triggering these pulses. This is currently my working hypothesis.

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

I have spasms and twitches but not in my head or neck. I have had body jerks, arm jerks, leg jerks, usually just on one side, more commonly my left. I take Neurontin and it seems to reduce their frequency and intensity.

I know what you mean about the sensation building before it releases a twitch. The anticipation from the building sensation is worse than the twitch. I know I cannot change the building sensation but it gets in the way of other thoughts.

Weird stuff.

[Concussed Scientist]

Thanks for replying, Mark and Hockey.
Regarding Hockey's question: I do get a sensation of a nerve pulse in my neck as well as the head. I did have some neck as well as brain damage, so that might be similar to your case. It doesn't really spread out to my hands though.

On one occasion, not long after I was injured, I felt a pulse like being hit in the back and neck. It almost make me collapse. It has never been that bad again and I think that my periferal nervous system has pretty well recovered. It felt really strange moving my arms at first but that has gone and it feels normal now. I guess the central nervous system can't recover in the same way or at least not as fast, so that's why the symptoms have only remained in around the head and neck.

I know it is sometimes difficult to tell if it's coming from the neck or the brain, but I have come to thinking that the sensations are probably coming from where you feel them, and we can confuse the situation by always thinking of referred pain.

CS

Originally Posted by Hockey

Despite a boat load of meds, I still spasm and twitch.

Among my favourite spasms are the one that closes my throat so I can't breath for a few seconds and the one that makes my hand fly open (bye, bye coffee cup.) It's like being tasered a hundred times a day.

Additionally, do you guys have the the sensation of nerve pulses all over your body and/or shaking hands?

Anyway, as I also have spinal cord damage, it's hard to say if the source is brain or neck (probably both). Either way, they're no fun.

[Mark in Idaho]

For the first two years after my injury, I had ballistic movement problems. It effected my arms and legs. If I wanted to move my arm from a relaxed state, it would move far beyond the target point. The same would happen to my legs. I kneed my wife a few times while turning over in bed.

From what I could find out, it was likely caused by the sensory nerve failing to send signals of position and movement. It appeared to be limited to times when my neck was either bent forward and/or to the left. This was either when I was in bed or relaxing in my recliner.

I also have problems where a muscle will lock in a flexed state. My thumb can spasm across my palm, toward my little finger. I can get toes stuck in a clenched mode, too.

If I try to concentrate, I often start shaking. It can be my hand(s), arm(s), head, etc. This can also be brought on by stress.

Trying to do find motor control can bring it on and especially fine motor control where I need strength as in trying to hold a heavy part in place while I put a bolt in a mounting hole.

These are all skills that I was highly proficient at prior to my injury. I had planned to study to be a dentist based on this aptitude. I changed career directions after having a bad decompensation with associated academic struggles in college.

I have experience a few loud sounds in my head. They are not real because nobody else heard them. They are very short duration, like a bang or clash. I have always wondered if they are micro-strokes.

The Neurontin appears to reduce these symptoms.

[nancys]

I am not sure if this is related to what you guys are experiencing, but my daughter's left arm will twitch/temor when she gets really stressed or her system goes into overload. Sometimes it's just her thumb and index finger, sometimes her hand and then her whole arm. It just kind of depends. It's better now than it was previously. The interesting thing was this didn't start right after her concussion, but maybe 5 weeks into it - when she freaked herself out about going back to school. She also started stuttering at that time. The stuttering has since resolved and twitch/temor is much better.

[Hockey]

Although I'm unaware of it, my husband also says that my whole body shudders as I fall asleep and that I shudder many times through the night. (Lucky him.)

I also have an exaggerated startle reflex. If you come up behind me while I'm holding a coffee, it's a sure bet we'll both end up wearing it.

I have a stutter that gets worse if I'm tired of flustered.

Cheers

[nancys]

Hockey - did you have a stutter before your injury? My daughter's doctor told me thought her stutter/temors were anxiety related and not concussion related. Based off what you guys are experiencing it could have very well been her injury.

[arb64]

you may suffer from benign fasciculation syndrome, microscopic twitching of the muscles. I have those all over my body, and was concerned years back that these twitches where associated with ALS .
As the word implies, these twitches are benign. I am not sure that they really relate to PCS.
The twitches are noticeable on the skin as a flickering and they feel like bursting small bubbles. weird..huh.

Let me know if this description fits your twitching, I will than forward you some info about this syndrome.