Shoulder twitch might be something that bothers you a lot. Twitches are very common to be experienced by people, and doctors have a lot of patients visiting for muscle twitches. Muscle twitch is also known as muscle spasm, or fasciculation. It is when your muscles start to contract involuntarily, and can be painful at times.
Shoulder joint has many muscles over and attaching it.
These muscles, whenever see any damage or experience fatigue (exhaustion), these muscles might start to contract, and you may experience shoulder twitch. These muscles include rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis, and infraspinatus). Rotator cuff muscles are important to stabilize your shoulder joint.
There are two other muscles that help to prevent shoulder joint and are called deltoid and teres major.
Along with shoulder twitch you may also feel it hard to move your joint along. But even then, you don’t have to worry about it, as it might also occur because of non-serious causes. This said, it should also not be forgotten that this shoulder twitch might be a sign of some serious underlying cause like nerve damage.
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Causes
MUSCLE FATIGUE
This is a term used for exhaustion of muscles, where your muscles lose power to work properly. With your muscles weak, they may start to work abnormally, this includes muscle twitching (shoulder twitch as well).
Muscle fatigue is usually a sign of overexertion, and might indicate that you have been working out too much, or have been putting a lot of stress on your shoulder muscles. But with over-exertion there might be other causes that are the reason of this muscle fatigue including infections, dehydration, depression, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, not exercising enough, medication, and mineral deficiency.
Symptoms of muscle fatigue are:
- Muscle twitching.
- Muscle cramps.
- Sore muscles.
Muscle fatigue doesn’t usually need any treatment, and improves with you staying hydrated and maintaining a proper lifestyle. But, in case, you have difficulty moving your shoulder joint, or if this shoulder twitch is worsening, see a doctor.
DEHYDRATION
It is important for you to stay hydrated so as to save yourself from experiencing muscle fatigue and muscle twitching. Water, when taken, cools your muscles down thereby preventing them from undergoing thermal breakdown or overheating. In case you are dehydrated your muscles will heat more resulting in muscle fatigue.
Moreover, water is important to transmit nerve impulses to tissues, including muscle tissues. When dehydration occurs, your nerves start to misfire leading to your muscles contracting involuntarily.
DEFICIENCY OF MINERALS AND VITAMINS
Calcium is needed by muscles to work and contract normally. If you are someone who has hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium in blood), you may experience muscle twitch (including shoulder twitch). This calcium needs magnesium to work properly. Magnesium carries this calcium to muscles and your nerves so that they work properly. When you have hypomagnesemia (low level of magnesium in your blood) calcium isn’t carried to your nerves and muscles. This causes muscle or shoulder twitch.
NERVE DAMAGE
The shoulder muscles are supplied by a set of nerves that form what we call as Brachial Plexus. The nerves that are included are suprascapular, axillary, musculocutaneous, long thoracic, and spinal accessory. Whenever these nerves see any damage, be it because of anything like a traumatic injury, surgery, infection, or a tumor.
Damage to any of these nerves result in should muscle weakness, shoulder twitch, and pain.
VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY
Calcium, as already mentioned, is important for muscles to contract properly. As already said, magnesium is important to carry calcium to muscles and nerves so as to help them contract properly. Another thing that is important for calcium to have its proper functions is vitamin D.
Vitamin D is important for calcium to be absorbed properly. In case of deficiency of vitamin D, the calcium in your body cannot be absorbed thereby leading to muscles working abnormally. This leads to muscle or shoulder twitch.
MEDICATION OVERUSE
There some drugs, that when taken, stimulate and over-excite the muscles, which causes muscles to contract involuntarily.
There is a term known as drug-induced muscle spasm. This may be caused by a new drug use or when you increase dose of a certain drug. Most common complication of drug-induced muscle spasm is acute dystonia which is caused by neuroleptic drugs, or even anti-emetics. Diuretics also cause muscle twitch via dehydration or electrolyte imbalance (hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia).
AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS
It is a neurological disease that is rare and affects your neurons (or nerve cells) that are responsible for controlling the muscle movements that you move willingly (or voluntary muscle contracts). The symptoms of this disease worsen with time which means this disease is progressive. This disease causes your muscles to twitch and contract involuntary.
Symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis include:
- Shoulder twitch, or twitch in leg, arm, or tongue.
- Stiff muscles.
- Muscle weakness.
- Slurred speech.
- Swallowing or chewing difficulties.
It starts with mild symptoms that gradually worsen with time. It eventually causes difficulty in swallowing (known as dysphagia), not being able to talk or speak properly (known as dysarthria), and breathing difficulties (known as dyspnea).
It usually occurs in people who are aged between 55 and 75 years.
MUSCLE DYSTROPHY
It is a group of diseases that are inherited, where your muscles are damaged and with time weaken. This happens because of lack of a normal protein necessary for muscular function called dystrophin.
There are many diseases included in muscle dystrophy group including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, Congenital muscular dystrophy, Myotonic dystrophy, Facioscapulohumeral, and many more. Most of these diseases are diagnosed in childhood, but there are few variants that may show up later in your life.
Muscular dystrophy is diagnosed by testing your blood for enzymes produced by muscles that are damaged, for genetic markers, by performing an EMG (electromyography) to check the function of your muscles, or muscle biopsy.
Muscle dystrophy does not have any definite cure but treatment is done to improve the symptoms and stop the disease from progressing.
AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER
There are certain autoimmune disorders that cause muscle twitching, including shoulder twitch. Some of these autoimmune disorders include Isaac’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS),
In Isaac’s syndrome, your nerve cells are overactive which causes them to send signals to muscles to contract involuntarily, making you experience muscle twitches. Other symptoms of this syndrome include stiff muscles, muscle cramps, and sweating.
In SLE or systemic lupus erythematous your immune system mistakes your healthy tissues and attacks them as it suspects them harmful to body. It makes your muscles inflamed; condition known as myositis. Myositis itself causes muscle twitches.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) also causes muscle twitching. Other symptoms of multiple sclerosis include fatigue, tingling, weakness, dizziness, difficulty in walking, and other symptoms.
When to see a doctor?
Shoulder twitches are usually not because of some serious cause and improve with proper rest and stretching exercises. In case this shoulder twitch stays for long, and doesn’t improve with home remedies, you should see a doctor. There are some other symptoms that have you need to get checked, which include:
- Dyspnea (or difficulty in breathing).
- Dysarthria (or difficulty in speaking).
- Dysphagia (or difficulty in swallowing).
- Slurred speech.
- Shoulder twitch that stays for longer period of time.
Diagnosis
Like every other disease or symptom, for shoulder twitch your doctor will start by asking you questions about when exactly did it start, what other symptoms do you experience along with this shoulder twitch, what medicines do you use, about your activity level, and if somebody else in your family has the same issue.
Once your doctor receives all the answers that are required by them for a better diagnosis, you will further be needed to undergo a few tests. Muscular issues are diagnosed by testing your blood for enzymes produced by muscles that are damaged, for genetic markers, by performing an EMG (electromyography) to check the function of your muscles, or muscle biopsy.
Takeaway
Muscle twitching or shoulder twitch is generally experienced by many people. Many of these people are successful in managing the twitches at home by proper rest, and some lifestyle changes.
These changes include eating a balanced diet, taking supplements to compensate for your deficiencies, exercise with proper stretching and warm ups, reducing caffeine, getting adequate sleep, avoiding stress, indulge in yoga or meditation, and getting plenty of fluids.
In case you feel like this shoulder twitch isn’t improving, and is worsening, or you see other symptoms beginning to occur with it, see a doctor.
Some symptoms that you need to keep in check are dysphagia (not being able to swallow properly), dysarthria (not being able to speak properly), or dyspnea (not being able to breath properly), and some other symptoms. There are some serious causes that might cause this shoulder twitch like autoimmune disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or muscular dystrophies. All these proper and early diagnosis, and proper treatment to manage the symptoms.