Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesWhen to See a ProviderOther Twitch-Like DisordersDiagnosisTreatmentPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
When to See a Provider
Other Twitch-Like Disorders
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Some people experience muscle twitching all over the body everyday. Muscle twitching is more common than you may think and it’s usually not serious. Common causes range from too much caffeine and too much stress to strenuous exercise and a lack of sleep. Managing stress and limiting caffeine, for example, may be enough to stop the twitching.
Muscle twitching alone does not necessarily indicate a disease. Other symptoms that something more serious may be going on include muscle weakness or wasting and fatigue. Causes can includemultiple sclerosis(MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), thyroid disease, and more.
What Causes Muscle Twitching?
Muscle twitching occurs when nerves misfire, causing groups of muscle fibers to contract uncontrollably. Muscle twitches are small movements and may go unnoticed.
Fasciculations, or muscle twitches, happen where the tips of the nerves, called axons, meet your muscles. A nerve fires an electrical impulse and triggers the release of a chemical between the axon and muscle, causing the muscle to contract. Involuntary (uncontrollable) twitches have a number of common causes as well as a few rare ones including ALS.
Benign Causes
Common triggers for benign twitches include the following:
These triggers may cause the following types of benign twitches. However, these muscle twitches may also occur without any specific provocation:
It’s important to understand that a run-of-mill muscle twitch here and there is likely nothing to worry about. Twitching can occur in healthy people and rarely signals the presence of an underlying disease, especially if it occurs without other symptoms.
More Serious Conditions
Lower motor neurons transmit nerve signals from your spinal cord to your muscles. When these nerve signals are disrupted, muscle weakening and wasting will eventually occur, along with uncontrollable muscle twitching called fasciculations.
Fasciculations are a hallmark symptom of diseases that affect the lower motor neurons, like ALS.Other lower motor neuron diseases that may cause fasciculations include post-polio syndrome,spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and progressive muscular atrophy.
Besides neurological diseases, fasciculations may also be a symptom of certain diseases and conditions outside the nervous system, such as:
Is Muscle Twitching a Sign of ALS?
Muscle twitching is a common symptom of ALS. The twitching is not painful, but it can interfere with sleep.
While ALS can occur at any age, people are most often affected in late middle age.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
If your muscle twitching is constant or has been recurring for a few months, or you have additional symptoms, check with your healthcare provider for an evaluation. Muscle twitching alone doesn’t indicate ALS. Progressive muscle weakness is the hallmark symptom.
When Should I Worry About Muscle Twitching?
Other Causes of Twitch-Like Symptoms
Twitching is not the only sign of abnormal firing of neurons. Spasticity and clonus can easily be perceived as twitching, but medically, they’re different.
Spasticity
Spasticity describes muscle tightness and stiffness, as well as spasms that can be constant or sudden; some people describe these as a twitch.
Spasticity is a common symptom in MS and often affects one or both of the legs.It results from disrupted signals between the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons. In other words, there is impaired nerve transmission from the brain and spinal cord to the nerves that control your muscles.
Other conditions that may cause spasticity include:
Clonus
In more severe cases, the knee-jerkreflexis hyperactive and the muscle that controls the knee shakes rhythmically and uncontrollably.
Other causes of clonus include:
Gary Ferster / Verywell
Is Twitching a Sign of MS?
Twitch-like spasticity and clonus are commonmuscle symptoms of MS. They’re not quite the same as muscle twitching defined as fasciculations.
The difference between clonus and fasciculations is that clonus causes shock-like movements large enough to move a joint and fasciculations cause visible twitching in an individual muscle, but it’s not enough to cause joint movement.
An MS muscle spasm might feel like a tight muscle or a painful contraction of the muscle. It could make it difficult to bend or straighten your leg, for example.
Multiple sclerosis very rarely involves the lower motor neurons, which is why fasciculations are usually not a symptom of the disease.
Every disease and condition has its own set of established or widely accepted criteria for diagnosis.
To determine the underlying cause of your muscle twitching, your healthcare provider will likely do a physical examination and ask you questions such as:
If the healthcare provider suspects your muscle twitching may be due to an underlying condition, they may order blood tests, amagnetic resonance imaging (MRI)scan, acomputed tomography (CT)scan, orelectromyogramto assess the health of your muscles and the nerve cells that control them.
How Can I Stop Muscle Twitching?
Treating the underlying cause of muscle twitches is the primary concern, and it may stop the twitching. What that entails, of course, depends on what condition is at the root of the symptom.
Generally, speaking, medications that may be used to specifically address spasticity and clonus include:
For muscle twitching related to anxiety,cognitive behavioral therapyandantidepressant medicationmay help with managing the twitches.
Preventing Muscle Twitching
If have recurrent episodes of muscle twitching unrelated to an illness or a disease, it’s important to pay attention to stimuli or situations that seem to trigger the episodes. Taking steps to avoid mental or physical stress can lower your risk of experiencing twitching.
Specific steps you can take include the following:
Summary
Muscle twitching can have a number of different causes. Common causes are often benign, meaning the twitching is not due to an underlying disease or abnormality. In rare cases, muscle twitching can be a sign of a more serious medical condition, like ALS or MS.
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hersh C MH, Fox RJ.Multiple sclerosis. Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education.Younger DS.Motor Disorders. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hersh C MH, Fox RJ.Multiple sclerosis. Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education.Younger DS.Motor Disorders. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hersh C MH, Fox RJ.Multiple sclerosis. Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education.Younger DS.Motor Disorders. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing
Hersh C MH, Fox RJ.Multiple sclerosis. Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education.
Younger DS.Motor Disorders. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing
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