Why do my legs twitch? There can be many reasons for this condition, and not all of them indicate the development of a serious pathology. In some cases, twitching of the lower extremities is a completely normal physiological phenomenon, in others it requires the help of a doctor. What to do when your legs feel restless?
Restless legs syndrome occurs in 10% of all people on the planet. The problem can occur at any age, but most often muscle twitching during sleep bothers people after 40 years of age. It has been noted that this particular syndrome is the cause of chronic insomnia in 1/5 of people around the world.
Do your legs twitch in your sleep? Consult a doctor!
Restless legs syndrome is quite common during pregnancy. Up to half of all expectant mothers notice that before bed, when falling asleep, the muscle on the leg twitches. The desire to move the leg or scratch it becomes so strong that the woman simply cannot sleep. Typically, these symptoms begin after 24 weeks of pregnancy and disappear on their own after delivery. This condition is not dangerous and does not require any special treatment.
When should you see a doctor?
The phenomenon in which the legs behave restlessly has its own special features. Symptoms have their own clear daily rhythm and appear at approximately the same time. The maximum severity of symptoms is observed between midnight and 4 am. It is at this time during sleep that the muscle twitches in such a way that it forces the person to wake up. The moment a person wakes up, he feels severe discomfort and even slight pain in the leg. Restless legs prevent you from falling back into sleep, and that is why this condition causes insomnia and poor health for a huge number of people on the planet.
A warm bath or shower in the evening will help you relax and get ready for sleep.
The bad habit of drinking tea before bed can also have a bad effect on your health. You shouldn’t have a heavy dinner at night either – an overloaded stomach can also cause restlessness in your legs. At night you can drink warm milk with honey and spices, kefir or unsweetened fruit drinks.
If the cause of muscle twitching lies in a deficiency of vitamins and microelements, you should seriously think about changing your diet. A nutritious diet is a simple and affordable way to get rid of discomfort and solve problems with falling asleep. Strict diets and fasting are also contraindicated for restless leg syndrome.
Should you go to the doctor when your leg muscles twitch? Many people do not want to sit in line to see a therapist with such a minor problem - and suffer from a constant lack of sleep. But restless legs can be not just a minor nuisance, but also a sign of serious health problems. If the problem interferes with your life, and every night falling asleep is accompanied by painful twitching of the legs, you should definitely see a specialist.
Many people are concerned that their legs twitch during sleep, most often when a person is just starting to fall asleep. The answer to this question must be sought in the field of neuropathology. When falling asleep, a person loses control over his body, and uncontrollable spasms lead to twitching of an arm or leg, or even twitching of a toe. Most often, this does not cause any particular inconvenience if the legs twitch and this process is not accompanied by pain. Therefore, people usually ignore this phenomenon without special attention, but this is not correct, because such a condition can be a syndrome of other, more serious diseases.
Simmonds nocturnal myoclonus is the name given to a condition where a leg, arm, or finger or toe twitches on its own. Myoclonus is a sudden, short-term muscle movement similar to the result of a small electrical discharge.
Often symptoms appear even before falling asleep: discomfort, goosebumps, burning, mild pain. Doctors call this condition "Restless Legs Syndrome" - an unpleasant sensation that affects both legs or just the left or right leg. The condition haunts a person at rest and forces him to voluntarily jerk his legs in order to get rid of it. Sometimes you have to get up and take a few steps to relieve the discomfort. Of course, this negatively affects the quality of sleep.
To make an accurate diagnosis and find out why your legs are twitching, it is recommended to undergo polysomnography. Sensors are attached to the body of a sleeping patient that respond to how muscles twitch involuntarily during sleep. Sometimes just one toe may twitch, but this does not mean that the possibility of any disease is completely excluded. Next, the incoming signals are examined, along with the patient’s blood tests, and a clinical picture is drawn up. This condition can most often be caused by problems such as:
Medications should be taken only as prescribed by your doctor, but you can alleviate your condition and get rid of unpleasant symptoms on your own without any threat to your health.
You still need to undergo a medical examination first to identify the reason why muscles twitch during sleep, because diseases such as diabetes or anemia must be treated as early as possible. But what to do when a trip to the doctor has not yet taken place, but you really want to sleep peacefully?
Previously, the condition when you twitch at night while sleeping was equated with an inexplicable phenomenon, but now medicine explains it quite simply. During sleep, two neural subsystems can come into conflict with each other. One is responsible for muscle tone, and the other is for their complete relaxation. When falling asleep, all life processes in the human body slow down: heartbeat, breathing; temperature and pressure drop - a state similar to “little death”. But the brain is not always able to distinguish whether its owner is falling asleep or dying, and to check this, it sends impulses to the muscles so that they twitch. This condition is not dangerous and is not a prerequisite for convulsions, which are usually accompanied by severe pain. In this case, it is enough to adjust your daily routine, take a relaxing shower before bed and do not neglect physical exercise.
There are other reasons why a leg twitches during sleep or a toe twitches. They are to blame for the change in the phases of a person’s sleep. In the sleep phase, called “paradoxical,” the body may feel some of its needs and a lack of any vitamins, microelements, and minerals. When a muscle twitches, this can be perceived as a signal of a lack of, for example, calcium or potassium.
Also, if your day was stressful, nervous, and before going to bed you did not have time to properly rest or relax, then the body twitches to relieve muscle tension. Relaxing procedures before bed can correct this.
REM sleep is when the leg twitches primarily as you fall asleep. This may be due to the fact that you heard some noise in your sleep, and your brain “woke up” you by sending a signal to your muscles.
Sometimes it’s not a muscle that twitches, but something like a vein in the leg or both legs. This may be a sign of the initial stage of varicose veins - a disease characterized by severe expansion of the veins, their stretching, deformation, and the formation of nodules. The disease primarily affects the veins of the lower extremities. The reason for this phenomenon is stagnation of blood, the scourge of some “standing” professions. The disease is very dangerous and painful and requires immediate medical intervention.
But often, when it seems that a vein is twitching, this is still an erroneous sensation, and in fact it is a muscle that is twitching. An experienced neurologist will make an accurate diagnosis during examination and prescribe treatment.
There is a very rare disease, the symptoms of which also include a condition where the muscles in the legs twitch. This can happen both while awake and during sleep. This is fibromyalgia. If your leg twitching is accompanied by the other symptoms listed below, you may be among the 4% of the world's population affected by this rare disease.
Diagnosing this disease is extremely difficult. Tests for blood glucose levels and thyroid activity, analysis for the production of the hormone prolactin and calcium levels in the body help.
Why do the fingers on my left hand twitch when at rest?
There's something wrong with my nerves, I guess. Perhaps you are too tired.
Twitching of fingers can be caused by stress or nervous tension, or due to stress.
If the cause is not stress, then it is most likely a neurological pathology. Only a neurologist can find out the exact cause by conducting the necessary studies and examinations. Don’t delay visiting a neurologist.
Any disturbances and deviations from the usual in our body are signals that indicate malfunctions occurring within us.
From fatigue and overexertion, this also happens to me, not only my fingers, but also my eyes and even my ears. After tension, muscles catch quot; that is, they relax, and for this reason they tremble. Pulsations (jerking) throughout the body are normal.
Involuntary twitching of the finger of the left hand can be observed in myopathic syndrome, which arose against the background of cervical osteochondrosis, for example, and this signals a pinched nerve, so it is necessary to contact a neurologist as soon as possible, otherwise this may lead to partial or complete impairment of functional ability finger, well, it will simply hang. It is better not to procrastinate with any neurological disease and not to think and hope that it is nonsense; it is better to prevent the disease than to treat it, especially since nerves are difficult to treat.
Involuntary movements of any part of the body (limbs, head, fingers, as in your case) can be one of the signs of dystonia. Stress and stimulants such as caffeine can further worsen the condition. To clarify the diagnosis, it is advisable to contact a neurologist and undergo an examination.
There can be many reasons, for example, you have greatly overloaded the muscles of the forearm and now in a calm state they cramp. Or the reason is much more terrible, for example as a result of some kind of disease. Therefore, the best solution to this problem is to contact a specialist, he will help with treatment.
Sometimes, during severe anxiety or stress, different parts of the body twitch: arms, legs, fingers and toes. This also happens with a nervous tic. In any case, the problem is nerves. If this happens often, then you need to go to a neurologist and undergo a thorough examination.
Tension of the neck muscles causes twitching of the fingers. If there are problems with the spine in the neck area, other muscles begin to work with double the load. It turns out that overloaded muscles begin to pulsate and cause twitching.
Twitching of your fingers is a tension in the nervous system; most likely, your nerves are on edge and a nervous tic has appeared. It can be observed with twitching of the head, limbs, with involuntary monotonous movements that irritate others, but which the person himself does not notice.
You need to relax, unwind, take a break from everyday worries, and go to a neurologist. Drink valerian or motherwort tincture. Spend more time in nature.
If your fingers tremble even in a calm state, then there may most likely be two reasons. First: stress, nerves are acting up. Sedatives will help here; sometimes it is enough to take a course of tablets or tinctures of valerian or motherwort. But another reason for involuntary twitching of the fingers may be due to problems with the spine. Then go to the doctor as soon as possible, especially if there are other symptoms (for example, the sensitivity of the fingers on a given hand decreases).
Sometimes involuntary, often repeated twitching of the facial muscles occurs, for example, wrinkling of the forehead, trembling of the cheeks, lips, nose, opening of the mouth. This phenomenon is called a tic. It also includes twitching of the respiratory and articulatory muscles, such as kh sounds, squeaking, coughing, intermittent speech reminiscent of stuttering, and heavy sighs. Involuntary movements of other sphincters, mainly the head and neck, are called hyperkinesis. In this case, muscle twitching is more pronounced in amplitude and has a lower frequency. It is expressed in the form of vibration of the body and limbs, head movements. Tics often occur in childhood (around 6 years of age), and occasionally in adults. Involuntary muscle twitching increases most during puberty, and then gradually disappears. In adulthood, if they appear, they do not last more than a year.
For what reasons does tic occur?
In fact, involuntary muscle twitching is the last link in a complex chain of process of a painful condition caused by increased nervous excitability. The main role in this case belongs to genetically determined heredity. Impulsiveness is often passed on to a child from his father. Thus, tic is a male pathology, although it can also occur in girls. And yet, muscle twitching is most often observed in boys, especially in those who lag behind their peers in growth and physical development. Another factor favoring the appearance of tics is excitability or internal tension, which accumulates involuntarily and does not manifest itself externally in time for various reasons. The source of this factor can be bruise, concussion, asphyxia during childbirth, and neurosis.
Various factors can contribute to the occurrence of involuntary muscle twitching. But often hyperkinesis develops as a result of disorders of the thyroid gland, myodystrophic and neurotic conditions, vegetative-vascular dystonia, drug addiction, alcoholism, schizophrenia or epilepsy. A reliable diagnosis can only be obtained with the help of a highly qualified specialist during a comprehensive examination of the body. If muscle twitching occurs continuously, you should immediately seek medical help. If any tics continue for more than a few months and begin to cause discomfort and pain, hospitalization may be required.
Methods for treating hyperkinesis
Often, involuntary muscle twitching does not require correction and goes away on its own after several weeks or months from the onset of the first attack. In cases where hyperkinesis develops as a result of a nervous or mental disorder, the doctor may prescribe therapy using psychotropic drugs, which, unfortunately, do not always lead to the expected result.
This term refers to a special phenomenon in which extremely unpleasant sensations and twitching occur in the lower extremities. The muscle most often twitches during sleep or before bedtime, at complete rest. Such symptoms haunt a person in the evening and at night, interfering with proper rest. Sometimes characteristic twitching appears when falling asleep and becomes the cause of constant insomnia. A person who feels a muscle twitching is forced to constantly move his leg. Why does this condition occur?
Restlessness in the legs in most cases occurs without any connection with any pathology. In other words, the muscle twitches on its own before going to bed, and this does not indicate the presence of health problems. It is known that the tendency to this condition is inherited. In this case, the problem makes itself felt in the first twenty years of life, at a fairly young age.
In some cases, leg restlessness may occur due to the following diseases:
The minimum severity of symptoms is observed from 6 to 10 am. At this time, a person finally falls asleep. In severe cases, the usual rhythm disappears, and the muscles twitch throughout the day. This condition can make an ordinary trip in public transport or a visit to the cinema unbearable, and simply significantly complicate the normal course of life.
Muscle movements during sleep are not always associated with illness. This condition often occurs after heavy physical work, a long walk or an intense workout in the gym. Often muscle twitching occurs during stress and overexcitation. This phenomenon is especially common in children, as well as in emotionally unstable young women. Muscle twitching in these situations does not last long, does not recur daily, and always has a specific cause. If such sensations occur regularly, it makes sense to consult a doctor.
What to do when muscles twitch? First of all, you need to try to find out the cause and eliminate the factor that interferes with normal sleep. Before falling asleep, you should turn off the TV and computer, turn off the phone and dim the overhead lights. You can spend half an hour before bed in bed with a good book or soft music. A gradual going to sleep gently adjusts the body to a change in activity and eliminates all stimulating factors. This approach makes it possible to avoid twitching of the leg muscles associated with overexcitation of the nervous system and increased emotionality.
Drug therapy for restless legs syndrome is prescribed in rare cases when all other methods have not been effective. To alleviate the condition, sedatives can be used: motherwort, valerian and other similar drugs. It is best to use soothing herbal preparations that have a minimum of side effects. In difficult situations, the doctor may prescribe more serious remedies to eliminate muscle twitching.
Very often a phenomenon occurs such as involuntary twitching of the muscles of the arms or legs, or both arms and legs at the same time. The muscles can be either tense or completely relaxed. This can happen during physical activity, at rest, and even during sleep.
With the question of why involuntary short-term muscle contractions occur, they come to see a therapist, psychologist, neurologist, even a psychotherapist. What answer do doctors give to such a question?
There cannot be an unambiguous and general answer to this question in all situations, since for different people in different situations and the state of their health, both physical and psychological, the reasons for the occurrence of this phenomenon can be completely different. For example, the reasons for this phenomenon may be:
The most common recommendations for this condition would be:
This condition - spontaneous twitching and contraction of the muscles of the arms and legs - can occur in almost every person. The intensity of this manifestation, as well as the frequency and duration, may vary, but for any person, muscle twitching brings discomfort and sometimes anxiety into life. If you decide to seek help from a specialist, it is better not to delay the implementation of this decision, because timely treatment speeds up the healing process and contributes to the rapid normalization of a person’s life.
And the most important thing in this condition: remember that twitching of the muscles of the arms and legs is not a fatal symptom, it is a temporary phenomenon, which, by adjusting your life and all its aspects, will allow you to feel all the joys of life and live a full life!
Voluntary movements of the arms and legs involve conscious actions, but some of the so-called skeletal muscles work constantly and beyond our control. For example, muscles that maintain posture, hold the spine, etc. The smooth muscles of the internal organs and the muscles of the heart work involuntarily, they are not controlled by consciousness. Involuntary contractions of the muscles of the limbs or face can occur quite unexpectedly and cause severe discomfort.
If the facial muscles twitch, then perhaps we are talking about a facial or facial nervous tic. In general, a tic is a fast, stereotypical elementary movement that is intrusive (sometimes they say violent) in nature. By nature, tics can be primary or secondary. If this condition appeared unexpectedly (without trauma, severe intoxication or some kind of brain disease), then we can talk about a psychogenic primary tic. In any case, tic cannot be treated on its own. The doctor must accurately determine its nature by conducting special examinations and prescribe treatment aimed at eliminating the underlying cause. A nervous tic is usually fairly localized, as opposed to a condition where muscles twitch throughout the body. This situation is more typical of a reaction to stress. If you were very nervous before the twitching appeared, then it makes sense to regard involuntary muscle contractions as the body’s response to excess emotions. It is not necessary to seek medical help; you can try soothing tinctures of valerian or motherwort. In cases of stress, the patient will say that today the muscles in the left leg twitch, and tomorrow in the right arm. With true hyperkinesis, obsessive contractions of the same muscle or group of muscles will occur, arising due to an erroneous command from the brain. It is noteworthy that dyskinesias usually disappear during sleep. Do not forget that muscles throughout the body twitch even after heavy physical activity (for example, after an intense workout in the gym). Dyskinesia in one or another limb can also be caused by injury, more often by bruise.
The most serious cause of muscle twitching throughout the body is functional or organic damage to the brain, as well as disturbances in the level of electrolytes (potassium, calcium, sodium) in the blood. The fact is that all of these substances, through complex biochemical interactions, ensure the function of muscle cells - their contraction. If any element is no longer enough or, conversely, it appears in excess, then the cellular chemical mechanisms stop working. Obsessive, unremovable hyperkinesis is a sign of a serious brain disease, which means a reason to consult a doctor. We emphasize that in children it is necessary to pay special, very close attention to the trembling of the body muscles. It is quite possible that the child has developed chorea - hyperkinesis caused by an attack of rheumatism.
Thus, if you have twitching muscles throughout your body, then you need to carefully monitor yourself and your health. If after rest and stress relief the unpleasant phenomena disappear, then everything is in order. But if hyperkinesis persists or recurs periodically, then you need to seek medical help and see a neurologist.
Muscle tissue in its ideal state is smooth and elastic, and depending on our condition and desire, it can be tense or relaxed. But in reality, especially during the aging process of our body, areas appear in muscle tissue where muscle tension persists, regardless of our will.
One such area that is often subject to tension is the arm muscles. Without knowing the true reason for the occurrence of tension zones in the muscles of the hands, causing them to twitch involuntarily, it is impossible to answer the question: “Why do the hands twitch?”
Involuntary twitching of the arm muscles is the result of their contraction and appears at different ages, regardless of the type of human activity. This phenomenon occurs due to incorrect delivery of impulses sent by nerve endings to overstrained arm muscles, and also arises from severe psycho-emotional stress, increased anxiety and various kinds of excitement.
There are three main causes of arm muscle spasms. Firstly, these are various types of injuries when a spasm of the arm muscles occurs as a response to pain (trigger syndrome).
The second reason is prolonged static muscle tension, due to incorrect body position during any action (uncomfortable posture when working, working at a computer or at a desk for a long time, prolonged physical activity).
Thirdly, if you feel a spasm in your arm muscles after experiencing difficult events in your life, and associate the twitching of your arm with a nervous breakdown. The body, under conditions of extreme emotional stress, mobilizes all its internal resources, releasing a large amount of hormones into the blood, including stress hormones - cortisol and adrenaline. At the same time, a rapid heartbeat appears, the digestion process slows down, and muscle tone significantly increases. Therefore, in order to force the body to work as usual, it is enough to take a course of medications of natural origin that have a sedative property. For this purpose, valerian, blue cyanosis, lemon balm, motherwort, mint, and hop fruits are ideal. To save yourself from wasting time preparing decoctions, it is recommended to take Nervo-Vit, Valerian P, Motherwort P, produced using innovative cryogenic grinding technology, which preserves all the medicinal properties of medicinal herbs that are lost when preparing decoctions. Even after the first course of use, you will restore calm after a nervous breakdown, relieve emotional stress and relieve yourself of arm muscle spasms.
Hand twitching can also be caused by tic hyperkinesis (tics).
Tic hyperkinesis (convulsive twitching) is characterized as sudden, involuntary, jerky, repetitive movements that can affect any muscle group, including the muscles of the arms. Tic hyperkinesis of the hands is, at first glance, a normal coordinated movement, but it varies in intensity, does not have a specific rhythm and can even be subject to willpower for a short time or, on the contrary, willpower increases the increase in tension that intensifies the tic.
Tic hyperkinesis occurs from early childhood if their occurrence is influenced by genetic and immune mechanisms, as well as pathological pregnancy and childbirth. Psychosocial factors also have an impact (divorce of parents, lack of mutual understanding in the family, frequent scandals, poor relationships in the children's team, against the background of adaptation school stress), as well as their combination. Tics are a coordinated display of a normal motor act and can be motor (motor) or vocal (vocal). The most common are blinking, tics of the lower part of the face, neck, shoulders, and torso; the rarest are hyperkinesis of the arms and legs. Tic hyperkinesis that occurs in childhood requires psychological correction, the use of non-drug methods (behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, autogenic training) and the use of mild sedatives based on valerian officinalis.