Is one particular spot of your body a hot area for muscle twitching?
In other words, you keep getting muscle twitches in that same spot all the time?
• Every day but only a few times
• Multiple times every day or almost every day
• Cluster twitching: a run of twitches and then a long quiet period, and then it kicks up again—the same cycle over and over
Fasciculations (the medical term for twitching muscles) that occur in the same area on a repeated basis will get your attention.
Some people are able to just brush it off, while others, knowing that a world of knowledge is just a mouse click away, will google for answers.
And soon after doing that, you’ve learned that a phenomenon called “muscle twitching” is listed as one of the symptoms of ALS.
Shutterstock/Dima Sidelnikov
But those medical sites don’t say much more, such as whether or not frequency and the same location all the time mean a greater likelihood of ALS.
There are various reasons a muscle may twitch at random. Often, a person isn’t even aware when this happens.
Benign causes include after exercising, too much coffee, stress, anxiety and trouble sleeping.
So if you just happen to feel some fasciculations and know exactly where they are occurring, and notice that this keeps happening in the same spot, you may start worrying about ALS—even though ALS is at the bottom of the heap as far as likely causes.
Muscle twitching in the same spot over and over is normal and nothing to panic about.
“The key point with benign fasciculations is that they occur but do not represent an ominous underlying condition,” explains Kristina Lafaye, MD, a board certified neurologist and full time clinical staff and director of the neurophysiology lab at Ochsner Medical Center.
“Yes, some people with benign fasciculations could experience them 24/7, but if nothing else is wrong, then I wouldn’t probe further,” continues Dr. Lafaye.
“I don’t do any kind of frequency count, because if a person doesn’t have evidence of denervation which, if present, would indicate a motor neuron disease, myelopathy, or some other condition, then it doesn’t warrant any further neurologic evaluation.”
Next time one of your hot spots acts up, remind yourself that there are people panicking because their fasciculations are ALL OVER their body, and how relieved they might be if they had YOUR problem!
Perhaps the most common areas for twitching to occur are the eyelids, calves and the arches of the feet.
Imagine how many times every day your eyelids blink; they’re not immune to fatigue and strain.
Your feet and calves must support your body weight every time you walk. They don’t have the easiest job.
If the muscle twitching happens frequently on a chronic basis, you should see a doctor to uncover the underlying cause.
It may still be benign, such as a magnesium deficiency. This mineral helps prevent muscle tension — which of course, could lead to twitching.
