It’s been around 20mts since my ischaemic stroke. For the purpose of this post, eventually I could walk normally, albeit slower and there was nothing sinister happening…until now.
After a few months I developed occasional muscle stiffness in what felt like my calf and it is affecting my gait. I had a couple of physio sessions and I was told it’s the Soleus* muscle tightening and this is a post Stroke side effect. Lovely, another one. I mean that’s putting it mildly given my recent experience. In a nutshell it’s got much worse.
Has anyone experienced this and what help have you received? Any advice welcome!
These past few weeks I’ve started to get significant stiffness every morning when I get up. I can cope at home because I’m not performing a marathon around the house. I just put it down to ageing at first (mid 40s). It’s not improving so I’m going back to the physio this week. It’s really obvious when I’m out.
The stiffness gradually subsides in about 30mins - 1hr. It then flares up through the day in waves, all day every day now. If I sit down for a while it gets stiff again and the routine starts again. I have to tell people what’s happening because it’s embarrassing and it looks like I’m dawdling when I’m actually not! It’s got so bad that I’m seeing the physio again and I’m wondering if this could be go on forever like this? I’m only sharing all of this because I have no clue how to address it as I can’t afford to have physio every day!
The technical bit if anyone’s interested…
I can’t stride forward on to my right foot because there’s limited flexibility in my left leg. This is (I’m told) caused by the Soleus muscle contracting instead of flexing. I’m imagining it is not allowing the leg to stretch and give me the power to push forward on to my right foot. Instead I get a dull pain at the back of my ankle and it basically makes me hobble. To avoid this, my current coping technique is to walk like a geisha. Yes I am exaggerating, slower is the point.
*Soleus is a long slab of 2 muscles which sits under the calf and runs from the back of the knee to the heel bone via the Achilles tendon. This is me looking at pictures on Dr Google.
Oh boy, yes do I know a bit about this! Stroke at 57 yrs m married, very severe stroke 22 months ago, walk with stick. all sort of leg muscles & spasms slow me down…
Soleus ; there’s a specific stretch that addresses this muscle ; use it but with moderation. The calf muscle stretch is slightly different… I do these most days. Go gently… I don’t know what shape your nerves are in (that’s important) but stroke muscles develop very slowly. Are your calf muscles good? tight?
I don’t think you have spasticity. Spasms, perhaps, but you probably have insufficient higher brain function controlling the muscle… that’s a superficial conclusion… more than muscles, it’s a question of innervation. Nervous system.
Just my personal opinion : Careful the physio doesn’t overwork the soleus… your instinct to go slow (slow motion) and mindful is spot on… expand on that. Trust your instincts more than the physio, but take what you can from them. Then try some things outside the box, Remember the more conscious and careful you are, unfortunately, the less natural the mechanism becomes. A necessary evil. The smoothest movements are on an automatic, care free, fluent level. Thinking too much fries our brain, and fluency is lost. Got a treadmill? Vary the speed to stimulate the brain.
It’s possible your muscle is telling you to put exercises on hold & they can’t keep up… listen to them carefully. You’re welcome to follow up my post, Good luck, ciao, Roland
Thanks Roland! @pando Yes the physio said it’s a slow path to recovery (if possible) as we need to work on the nerves in the whole leg. Plus I had a previous back injury where the affected muscle and tendons in the buttocks (left side) are periodically inflamed and hip flexors are tight. It’s all tight basically! He recommended a roller along with exercises (calf raisers, bridge, single leg dead lift etc. but gently and slowly). Interesting this could be more about the nerves. Physio also mentioned (and this is how I interpreted it) that the email from my brain to my legs are getting different instructions!
Good to know we’re on the same page about nerves; I mean muscles are muscles, but without a settled nervous system they count for naught… almost.
To take therapy to the next level you have to look inwards, not outwards. I do a bit of simple meditation; I know how to control my Vagus nerve, do a bit of Qigong, “sink” my chi, work exercises with awareness, stimulate my nerves, tame them, re-educate them… try to feel the movement of my foot etc. I am a workaholic, with a passion for my recovery. I’m not there, by a way, but /i’m getting there, with improvement and changes I notice each day. To a certain degree I feel in control, and so can you ; You just need to invest the time.
Good luck, ciao, Roland
ps… agonist / antagonist muscle synergy can be sorted ; takes time but you can improve it
Hi RedFraggle-- I had the same waves of muscle tightness after my stroke. In my case on the affected side of my body, my whole left leg would seize up . (This happened for me every night when I lay down to sleep. It would tighten, hold about a minute, then relax. I’d have a minute or so of peace, then it would happen again. I couldn’t get to sleep. Muscle relaxants didn’t help. The nurse at the hospital recommended (on the side) that I try CBD oil (with no THC in it) when I got home. I did get some CBD oil and used about 20 mg under the tongue. If that didn’t work within a half hour, I took another 20mg. That always worked. The spasms stopped – until the next night I would repeat. Over time the spasm ebbed away–my needing the CBD less and less. Now, 6 years later, I still keep 25 mg CBD gummies at my bedside just in case. It occurs only every few months. You can look up dosage suggestions on the net. Too much doesn’t help. Best to start low 8 mg and work up til getting results. Always check with your doctor first. I did–both GP and cardiologist OK with it and GP said many of her paients use it. May not work for you, but I hope it will help. Jeanne
Thank you Jeanne, glad to hear you are much better. I don’t have spasms but something is definitely going on. I’ll check it out though aa it may still help.
my wife has an amazing selection of DoTerra essential oils. They cost “the Earth”, pun intended, and I discover more about them all the time. I just rub some cedarwood oil on the offending area, you can also put it in the bath… there are many uses; ttake a look at this
Help arthritis symptoms---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most common symptoms of arthritis include the inflammation of tissues and joints, which can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. Using a rat model, researchers found that after daily topical application, an ointment containing cedarwood and other essential oils was able to reduce the severity of these symptoms. Whilst more research is needed to establish the full potential of cedarwood oil as an arthritic treatment, this is a method you can try at home. Simply mix with a carrier oil and apply to painful or stiff areas, or dilute and add to warm bath water before stepping in and allowing the natural benefits of cedarwood oil to soak into the joints.
I have a book by Dr Axe, “Essential Oils: Ancient Medicine”, in which he says it’s great for treating spasms and cramps. I tried it and was quickly converted. I’m going away for a couple of days, and said to my wife; I want to take just Cedarwood, Rosemary and Thyme. At home I use others, sandalwood oil being another favourite. Let me know if you have any luck,
Thanks Roland, I think I might have an experiment with that. The trouble is it’s osteoarthritis not rheumatoid and I never know when the restless leg is going to strike and it’s not frequent…yet. So I haven’t been able to figure out what might trigger it. When it does strike it tends to be in bed at night, so all I can do is keep walking it off But next time it does, I’ll be armed and ready
There are a few things that help with OA (I’m sure you’ve looked these up) ; I hear curcumin, turmeric are good, then montmorency cherries (good for sleep too), essential oils are lavender, chamomile, eucalyptus, ginger, copaiba. It takes time and experimentation to discover what help you as an individual,
I’m only sharing all of this because I have no clue how to address it as I can’t afford to have physio every day!
But next time it does, I’ll be armed and ready 