15 replies to this topic

[Laura H]

Hey Guys,

Any ideas here...I am a T3-T4 incomplete para...yet, for the past two weeks, the muscles in my stomach, chest and back have been feeling like they are planks and I am stuck in a tree trunk...making things harder like transferring, trunk control is crappy...I am using the tens unit and doing arm and back movements in the bed and in the chair but my strength is going and I am not sure what is going on here...when I got out of rehab...I felt much better...heck, was feeling good a month ago...just worried...anyone experience this out there, would like some help or just to discuss it...

Thanks,
Laura

[dangerousdave]

cant realy think of anything to suggest
other then - has the tens m/c activated some nerves to tension your abs
i know it sounds daft
maybe someone else can offer a better explination

[MTB John]

It will be increased spasm/tone. When your in rehab your moving around a lot more - rolling on beds, getting twisted here and there, etc. Then you get out and spend most of the day in a chair with your body at a right angle. Muscles start to shrink and the spasms increase. You need to start doing more stretching and exercising. Also, if you can sleep on your stomach then this will be a huge help, at the moment I suspect you spend most of the night in the fetal position.
You will find that you are not losing strength, it's just that you are trying to fight against all that tone.
Stretch every day and you will start to see improvements but it will by like walking up a steep sand dune - two steps forward, one step back...
Hope this helps,
J

[Edinburgh Colin]

Do yo have a standing frame? If not then think about getting one. 20 to 30 minutes a day will help to extend things and also it's good for your heart and bone density and I've found my feet as well (toes are more flexible!)

Also the prone lying is helpful to extend everything.

Are you legs difficult to extend in the morning when getting out of bed and very tight? if so then standing in the morning will help a lot.

[The Black Sheep]

I have a stiff back and stomach in the morning and throughout most of the day. I'm a t5 incomplete, and for some reason I get stiff as a board when I wake up. My lower back is my worst area, and once I'm up in the chair, I'm constantly fighting to lean forward cause my back just wants to arch really bad. I'm not sure if this is the same thing you're experiencing, but it sounds similar, only mine does eventually loosen up and go away for the most part. Occasionally throughout the day it'll just arch and tighten up for a minute or two then dissipate. Are you losing actual function in areas you once had, or is it just stiffness? It might be because of the tens unit someone zapping those muscles, then the next day they're temper-mental from it.

One thing that helps with my spasms, albeit it's not healthy, is a smoke. I usually have a small cigar in the morning before I get in the tub. Otherwise I just spazz all over the place in the tub and I can't get out. If you're old enough to smoke and are open to try it, maybe try one cigarette or a small cigar and see how it affects your muscles. A few members also have smoked pot, which I can also vouch for helping with spasms. Not legal in the states, so I stick to a cigar or 1 cigarette. Again, I'm not recommending to make bad habits. =)

[dangerousdave]

Thanks guys, youve educated me if no one else
I can only assume that as a active wheelie my everyday life keeps my muscels stretched and thus I havn't come across this delema as of yet

[greybeard]

Because of the nature of my condition, I do not suffer spasms in the same way as most of you, but for some time now I've been troubled by periodic spasms and contortions mainly of my fingers, hands and forearm muscles. There has also been an increase in cramping of the muscles between the ribs and the muscles of the inner thighs. All of these occurred at odd times during the day and often woke me from sleep at night.

To treat these, I tried a low dose baclofen - with no good result, and latterly quinine sulphate tabs before bed at night. While the quinine has reduced the severity of the spasms, they have not gone away completely - - - except when I haven't drunk any red wine.

I have therefore had to confront an unpalatable truth and admit that the main cause of all these problems was simply the almost daily consumption of a glass or two of my favourite Rioja. I feel like crying.

Maybe red wine is the cause of spasms for others.

[dangerousdave]

I prefer white wine GB
Red wine is a contamination of white wine and is often asidic

Thats a thought - do asidic drinks give people spasm problems???

[slyd]

Hey . . red wine is so cool tho' !
ain't it !
Makes u feel better either way . . . . . Whisky too !!!!!!!!!!

[Laura H]

I usually sleep on my back most of the night sometimes cocked to the side but never on the hips or anything..trying to calm a small pressure sore in my crack...hate those...anyhow...I do need to stretch more during the day I suppose but the hardest thing is the trunk control. I feel like I have none with the stomach muscles all tight..I can't move on the sliding board like I used to..I am using the tens unit on the stomach and on my back to try to loosen things up but to not much avail...unfortunately, private ins. is no longer paying for in home pt...or anything else seems like for that matter...it is just me and my family. I have no lifts to stand me up right now and I doubt we could afford them.

I will try the stretching more...my legs are still quite flexible...only thing is, when I get to twisting and turning in the bed, I get burning sensations going down my arms...I was thinking they were coming from my back scarring and all of that but I am wondering now if it is coming from the rotator cuffs..burning them out cause I try to use my arms so much...it's just sucking feeling like one big ole plank.....thanks for the info. though...if anyone has anymore to add, hey, I am all ears here....family too...

[MTB John]

DDave - if your injury is complete then that's probably why you do not suffer this one.

Laura H - You might need some help but try stretching across the arm of a couch. Lie you body on the couch with the arm just above you hip. keep you body straight and let your upper body sink towards the ground. Then lie on your back with the arm in the small of your back letting your upper body sink again. Then do the other side. If you can manage it it will give your back and stomach a great stretch.
If that is to hard then roll up some towels and lie on your back on the floor with the towels in the small of you back. Take the towels out and have someone bend your knees up with your feet on the floor. then have them take your knees to the floor on one side and then the other. Go back and forth a few times. That ought to save your shoulders..

Hope that is helpful,
J

[Laura H]

wow, sounds kind of complicated but I am willing to try anything..I can already see where it feels like you are just moving in the sand cause I stretched most of the evening...but did get one shoulder in a good place and I am trying more...thanks for the good info...I am going to try that with my hubby..we'll see what happens..in the meantime I can stretch better in the chair with the tree trunk thingie...side to side, up and down for the stomach..using the chair, I can get down pretty good then stretch all the way up to where my back is straight...I hope it works...

Thanks again though...good info. from good people here....

[dangerousdave]

MTB - I'm one of the awkward SCI
Not complete but chord is dying in patches all along its length
Injured in 73, walked until 93, chairbound in 95, and all sorts of problems since
Got T probs with muscels, got C problems with right arm, shoulders now in a state of retirement

Apart from that.....Great

[McTavish]

Hi Laura, I am T4 incomplete too, I agree with E.Colin you just have to get a standing frame if you don't already have one. I stand daily and also use the motomed bike and I don't have any of the problems you have. I know we are all different but I have great faith in exercise helping. I also swim and do physio weekly, I really do believe in keeping active, it's good for the mind as well as the body. Hope you start to feel better soon.

[barbara9999]

I was used to going to the gym every day (30 min exercise) and PT's weekly however I went on a two week vacation, did not exercise just ate (turkey and lots of other good stuff) and now that I am home find that i can hardly stand up straight and the muscle spasms in my leg are really strong and it takes a few minutes for them to relax and i can take a step and balance. Exercise is the culprit and overeating too I guess. I am now concentrating on stretching and exercise and trying to get back into shape. I feel just like that board or plank you were talking about and my hand and arm are so so stiff. A friend in Calif took me to a Qi Gong class and it was full of stretches, balance and acupressure so i checked out the internet and have ordered some CDs so that i can take them with me when i travel next and can not get to a gym or have any PT help. Just google Qi Gong and you will find them.

Its reassuring that other people are having the same problem and at least there seems to be a solution with exercise and stretches. Too bad we HAVE TO DO IT ALL THE TIME just to feel half way normal.

[MTB John]

barbara9999, on 03 December 2010 - 07:53 PM, said:

Too bad we HAVE TO DO IT ALL THE TIME just to feel half way normal.

I find I start getting depressed if I don't stretch too.. I sit there and I know all I have to do is get on the floor and start but its so hard..