Why do I have numbness and pain all over my body?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have numbness all over my body, especially in my arms and legs. I also have pain and some weakness in my limbs. I feel immense pain in the arms, shoulders, neck, and back. Legs and feet pain very occasionally. Other symptoms are twitching, heaviness, stiffness, and throat discomfort. An MRI test was done, which showed disk and back issues. It did not show any issue with my neck. I have attached my EMG. Would you please give me your opinion on this?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for writing in, and I understand your concern. According to your description and reports (attachments removed to protect the patient's identity), you have been suffering from numbness, weakness, and soreness, especially in your arms and legs. You have done an electromyography (EMG) test, which is normal and has not shown any abnormality. Such types of clinical features may result from any injury in the area of the neck, back, herniated disks, nerve entrapment, diabetes mellitus, stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA), multiple sclerosis, underactive thyroid, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, Raynaud's phenomenon, electrolyte imbalance, vitamin B complex or folic acid deficiency, and many other pathological conditions. The treatment depends on the causes. So, some investigations should be done, like complete blood count (CBC), random blood sugar (RBS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, thyroid function tests, serum electrolytes, vitamin B12 assay, and nerve conduction study to find out the exact underlying causes for your present sufferings and then treat them accordingly. Again, in some cases, psychological disorders like anxiety or stress may cause such types of clinical features. In the meantime, you can take painkillers like Ibuprofen, Naproxen, or Aceclofenac to relieve the soreness or pain, Baclofen for muscle relaxation, calcium, and vitamin B complex containing foods or supplements to reduce your present sufferings. Applying hot compresses on the affected area several times a day may become helpful to alleviate the present complications.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

According to what I previously mentioned about electromyography (EMG), the nerve conduction portion of the study did not show any abnormalities. Electrical evidence of left C5-C6 radiculopathy and denervation with reinnervation on the left side is seen. As you have already mentioned about disk issues, many findings may be found in disk-related cases.

Usually, after denervation, muscles pass through three phases: slight loss of function and muscle mass, atrophy of muscle, and degeneration and replacement of muscle by connective tissue and fat, known as reinnervation. So, according to your report, denervated muscles are in the recovery phase on reinnervation. Though your report has shown some mild abnormalities that happened previously but also showed recovery phase. It may take nine months for the reinnervation phase, rehabilitation, strengthening and re-education to complete.

So, from my point of view, you need not worry at all.

Regards.