What's cramping my style?

May 14, 2008 2:35 AM

Cramp, cramp, everywhere! I'm suffering from a rather tenacious bout of cramp. What the hell's going on?

About a week and a half ago, I was finding it painful to laugh and take deep breaths -- my sternum felt a little tender. I'd slept on the floor the night before, and I believed that to have been the cause of my tender sternum. The tenderness passed after about a week. I was also getting cramp in my legs, I put this down to cycling in hot weather. Friday night, my back felt a little stiff.

This weekend my left hand seized up, I couldn't extend my fingers nor could I grip anything.

Monday, my ankles were sore, and my back was stiff -- I could hardly walk. My hand was fine and the tenderness in my sternum had gone. I saw the doctor, he told me to get more salt in.

Yesterday, the stiffness was in my hips and knees. There was a little stiffness in my back, and my sternum was feeling tender again. My knees were so stiff that my girlfriend had to help me put my pants and socks on!

Today, the cramp seems to be a little more general and not as intense, but I can't straighten my right arm without it hurting. That arm felt fine yesterday!

My experience of cramp is that it usually keeps to one place and subsides after a few days. This cramp is moving around. What's the deal?

posted by popcassady to health & fitness (15 comments total)

Stiffness is not the same as cramp. Cramps are normally very painful and rarely last for more than a few minutes, although some soreness can remain afterwards. Stiffness, tenderness and 'aches and pains' are something else.

Have you been doing a lot of exercise or heavy lifting? Do you feel generally well? Joint stiffness and pain could be the result of a viral infection (cold- or flu-like viruses especially).

As a starting point for preventing cramp, make sure you are consuming enough liquids; dehydration can cause your electrolytes to go out of balance, which can trigger cramp. Eating bananas or nuts can help with any deficiencies.

If the cramps persist you really should get yourself checked out by a doctor - they can be a symptom of more serious problems (although this is unlikely).
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:14 AM on May 14, 2008

Did you try what your doctor suggested? I ask because you don't mention it and its only been a few days since your Drs appointment and lots of people dismiss Drs advice (especially when the diagnosis is a simple mineral imbalance)

What did you tell your doctor? The treatment he has prescribed is for cramps but what you have described does not sound like cramps. If you just told him you had cramp, make another appointment and describe your symptoms as you have done here.
posted by missmagenta at 3:59 AM on May 14, 2008

As a starting point for preventing cramp, make sure you are consuming enough liquids; dehydration can cause your electrolytes to go out of balance, which can trigger cramp. Eating bananas or nuts can help with any deficiencies.

IANAD but dehydration would cause high sodium not low (low sodium causes cramps). Bananas are a good source of potassium which is great if you're retaining water (due to high sodium) but if your sodium is low, increasing your potassium intake could make your problem worse.
posted by missmagenta at 4:09 AM on May 14, 2008

Yes, I did up my salt intake. In fact, it had been pretty high all weekend and I always keep myself well watered.

I forgot to say that when sat in one position for any amount of time, I've been finding it difficult and painful to move from that position. Waking up in the morning, I feel like my whole body has seized up.
posted by popcassady at 4:11 AM on May 14, 2008

Don't keep yourself too watered as you'll be undoing the salt treatment. Overhydration causes low sodium. If you increased your salt but also your water then you're not getting the prescribed treatment.

That said, as pointed out, what you have doesn't sound like cramp and you should probably go back to your doctor if you haven't improved in the next day or 2.
posted by missmagenta at 4:22 AM on May 14, 2008

This sounds a bit like how others have described the onset of rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis. Are you having any swelling or warmth of joints? I agree with those who've suggested you take this back to your doctor in a day or two if it persists.
posted by loiseau at 4:55 AM on May 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

I haven't noticed any swelling.
posted by popcassady at 5:24 AM on May 14, 2008

Tic bite recently? could you have lime disease?
posted by chickaboo at 6:30 AM on May 14, 2008

ur I meant LYME disease. Of course, joint pain and cramps are only part of it, you'd probably have to have a lot more of the symptoms to merit concern
posted by chickaboo at 6:33 AM on May 14, 2008

Was there any lessening of the symptoms after you added more sodium? I had extremely similar symptoms from a viral infection and my only recourse (as the doctors here scratched their heads and sent me from the blood lab to the MRI to the CT scan) was to wait it out. If it is possible under your health care plan, get blood tests...if it's another type of infection, perhaps that may respond to antibitotics.

Also, both of my parents suffer from arthritis and sometimes the inflammation is internal and not observable, visibly.
posted by squasha at 6:54 AM on May 14, 2008

another possibility: you may have pinched a wee nerve sleeping on the floor. you know nerve bundles are insanely miraculous, frustratingly complex systems that can frequently cause us problems in areas seemingly totally unrelated to the original site of the "injury"...the apparent movement may be progression of the healing process, or worsening symptoms. I'm not making you feel much better now, am I? I'll hush, now.
posted by squasha at 7:01 AM on May 14, 2008

I used to get awful cramps in my calf muscles at night. I would literally wake up screaming and clutching my leg. They usually went away when I started taking a multivitamin. I think it was the calcium and magnesium in them which was supposed to be most helpful.
posted by peacheater at 10:45 AM on May 14, 2008

IANAD and I don't mean to be an alarmist, but the specific moving nature of your pain and stiffness makes me wonder about a traveling embolism, which can be a very dangerous thing. Probably not, but you might want to ask your doctor about it just the same.
posted by platinum at 11:42 AM on May 14, 2008

Your symptoms are very similar to those of a friend of mine just before she was diagnosed with scleroderma.

In her case this all happened a couple of weeks after she was working as a traffic controller on a road crew and her shoulder was pressed into the soft dirt at the side of the road when she was run over in a 'freak' accident with a big rolling machine (a freak happened to be driving it).

After her diagnosis, she realized she'd had mild symptoms for quite a while, but the accident made them much worse. None of her bones were broken, but the area was thoroughly mashed, and the circulation to it was badly compromised.

Symptoms of scleroderma are

# Skin discoloration
# Numbness of extremities
# Shiny skin
# Telangiectasia (red spots on the hands, palms, forearms, face, and lips)
# Pain and/or stiffness of the joints
# Swelling of the hands and feet
# Itching of the skin
# Stiffening and curling of the fingers
# Digestive problems such as heartburn, difficulty in swallowing, diarrhea, and constipation
# Fatigue and weakness
# Shortness of breath
# Arthritis
# Weight loss
# Hair loss

among others.
posted by jamjam at 1:45 PM on May 14, 2008

This sounds really scary and I wouldn't wait a couple days to call the doctor, but that's just me.

Upping my calcium intake - with a pill, not with just milk - has always helped me with leg cramps in the past.
posted by GardenGal at 7:21 PM on May 14, 2008