Spasticity is one of the most common — and challenging — symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, an estimated 80 percent of people with MS have spasticity, involuntary muscle spasms or stiffness that interfere with normal movement. Spasticity is also the top symptom reported by members of MyMSTeam.
To learn more about this common issue, MyMSTeam talked with Aaron Boster, M.D., a board-certified neurologist and president of The Boster Center for Multiple Sclerosis in Columbus, Ohio. His YouTube channel covers many aspects of treating and living with MS, including spasticity.
Symptoms of spasticity range from occasional, mild muscle tightness to severe, uncontrolled muscle spasms or cramps. They can occur anywhere in the body, but typically affect the legs. “Some people’s legs get stiff just at night,” Dr. Boster said. For others, “It’s the bane of existence and almost defines their day-to-day lives.”
“Spasticity is my worst symptom, so far,” said one member of MyMSTeam. Another member said they can’t “sit for extended periods of time, drive for any distance, or get a good night’s sleep. I’m constantly repositioning my body to find a position that doesn’t add to my discomfort.”
What Does MS Spasticity Feel Like?
When your arms or legs don’t work properly — or your body acts in painful, unpredictable ways — it can be debilitating. Members of MyMSTeam who suffer from spasticity describe the experience:
- “Feels like I’m walking in quicksand.”
- “I walk like a robot.”
- “My right leg kicks out without warning.”
- “One big tense-up that won’t release.”
- “Really, really tight muscles that no amount of stretching helps.”
- “Burning, cramping, and spasms that are so severe, it feels like my muscles are ripping away from my bones.”
- “My left leg feels like I’m wearing a concrete shoe.”
How Does Spasticity Affect People With MS?
In normal movement, some muscles relax while others contract. With MS, damage to nerves in the brain or spinal cord can disrupt this action, causing many muscles to contract at once — and resist being stretched. This change in the motor system is like a “tug of war between your own muscles,” Dr. Boster told MyMSTeam.
There are two types of MS-related spasticity. In flexor spasticity, contractions cause arms and legs to bend, but not easily straighten. In extensor spasticity, contractions cause arms and legs to lock straight and not bend at all. “It can be hard to get into a car or sit on a chair because your legs don’t bend,” Dr. Boster explained.
Some muscle contractions can feel like a charley horse or cramp. Others are jerky movements, similar to the way your leg jumps during a reflex test. Spasticity is “like an exaggerated reflex that won’t stop,” Dr. Boster explained. One MyMSTeam member likened her excruciating charley horses to “late labor pains.”