Joint Stiffness

[K Hamilton]

I have a simple question of definition that I keep forgetting to ask my neurologist:

When people refer to stiffness of joints with PD, do they mean the joint itself, as in arthritis, or the stiffness of two opposing sets of muscles fighting for control? :confused:

Sometimes when I am walking, I find that the muscles in my neck are all pulling as hard as they can, and if I attempt to move my head quickly, the muscles in the back of my neck feel like they've been sprained.

[pegleg]

"Stiffness" isn't quite a strong enough word to suit PD; I would choose "rigidity."

I believe what you desribe is what I have - "off" dystonia. Your desciption is pretty on the mark - more than just joint stiffness. And unlike arthritis, where (although painful) after you move around it gets better, this type stiffness responds only to dopamine.

We Move has some great information.
http://wemove.org/par/par_sym.html
If you watch the little video under "Dystonia," you will see the type of dystonia I mean. But 30-45 minutes after I take my PD meds, it goes away and I'm as "normal" as can be.

Oh, and I have pain with mine, also. But remember, everyone is different with his/her PD symptoms.

Peg

[october]

PegLeg, I have looked and looked and can not find video clip you are referring too. My stiffness and pain is getting worse, can hardly get out of bed in morning. It is from muscle cramping and :o pain that causes, primarily in back and lower torso and neck and shoulders. I guess that is pretty much whole body. Anyhow, could you please be more specific about where the video is? Thanks.

[pegleg]

These videoes are mimes of what occurs in focal or cervical dystonia. However, they are a pretty good interpretation of what "off" dystonia in PD look like. (Thank God for Sinemet to make it go away!)

http://wemove.org/dys/dys.html

And just for your info, here's one on Restless Leg Syndrome:

http://www.life-in-motion.org/

Peg

[october]

thanks Peg Leg. I saw the videos, pretty depressing. Thank you I don't have those, I can only imagine the pain associated with dystonia. Hopefully, my problem never gets that severe. This whole journey is such a mystery, never done this before.

[pegleg]

october

I didnt mean to frighten you - we are all traveling this road for the first time.

The "normal" PD stiffness is difficult to describe. I call it "rigor mortis" while you are still alive. lol And as quickly and severe as it can get in off time, it all but disappears for most when taking L-dopa (Sinemet). It's not an aching stiffness, but feels as if every muscle is pulling against the other.

FYI here are most all symptoms experienced with PD (from We Move);
Symptoms
The cardinal motor symptoms are slowed movements (called bradykinesia), resting tremor (shaking in an arm or leg when it is not being moved), muscle rigidity (stiffness), and postural instability. Other symptoms are listed in the Box below. Symptoms typically begin on one side of the body (unilateral) and progress to include both sides.

Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
(Not all people with PD develop all these symptoms.)

Motor Symptoms
Tremor
Bradykinesia
Rigidity and freezing in place
Stooped, shuffling gait
Decreased arm swing when walking
Difficulty arising from a chair
Micrographia (small handwriting)
Lack of facial expression
Slowed activities of daily living
Postural instability
Difficulty turning in bed
Nonmotor Symptoms
Diminished sense of smell
Low voice volume
Painful foot cramps
Sleep disturbance
Depression
Constipation
Drooling
Increased sweating
Urinary frequency/urgency
Male erectile dysfunction

[K Hamilton]

Peg:

Thanks for your response. Sorry it took me so long to respond; I was having the computer version of an out-of-body-experience.

I feel dumb - I remember now that in my diagnostic visit to a neurologist, he wanted me to relax while he checked my knee for rigidity, and I asked him while he was doing it to wait a minute so I could relax my leg. I only just now figured out that this was the whole point - I couldn't "just relax" my muscles.

Not that I'm looking forward to the eventual consequences, but this whole PD thing is a bit of an adventure. Always wondering what comes next!?

For instance, tonight I'm in a hotel in Calgary, and the only way I can type is to hold my hands away from the keyboard and just punch each letter - if I hold my hand close to the keyboard, I end up typing a lot of unintentional letters, or one letter six times in a row. Haven't really had this problem before, or at least not to this extent. My little finger has learned exactly where the Delete key is. Only time I've ever been able to teach it anything! :)

While I'm at it, I have found that almost (but not quite) always when I have a tremor in my right hand, if I am able to devote all of my attention on the hand, I am able to stop it from shaking. But the second my attention wanders away (which with ADD doesn't take very long at all!), off it goes again. Is this the way it usually works?

I'm glad to see more and more old friends here, even some that are also on the other forum.

[mamafigure]

K, I have parkinsonism, not Parkinson's, and PD is such an individual thing that what I may have may not be the same as yours.

For example, I don't have the typing problem (only can't type), but as far as tremor goes, one of the cool things is that I can usually stop my tremor. Usually by bending my wrist back or foot up it will stop. Sometimes it will stop by concentrating on it, but the physical bending of either of these two joints works really well.

Good luck to you,
Mama

[proudest_mama]

K Hamilton ...

I, too, have been able to somewhat control my tremor by focusing on it. Mostly it gets bad when I THINK someone is watching me, especially when writing. If I tell them, they'll actually look the other way. HA But I also believe that I've been "status quo" and haven't needed to up my meds because of this. I AM getting slowly worse, however, and would not be surprised if I'll be put on Sinemet in the near future.

Terri