Doctor Questions Doctor

Scared of ALS?

Recently I’ve started experiencing strange feelings in my arm and hand after yoga training recently. My thumb gets stuck suddenly (usually after using it) in a straight position, as if fixed, and buzzes inside, but it’s not visible. After a few seconds, my thumb returns to a normal position and I feel again that I control it. Also, I have twitches in that arm and in other parts of my body, and my thumb and partly hand feel rigid at times and weak. When I straighten or bend my thumbs they also shake. My shoulder also aches a lit bit, because I’ve sprained it. I have a severe phobia of ALS and already had ENMG when I sprained my arm 5 months ago and felt weakness in it. I’ve also had ENMG two times before that because of other symptoms which turned out temporary. Could you please tell me why my thumb feels so weird when it’s stuck straight in one position (without any pain), just feels like I can’t control it? And I’d be very happy if you reassured me it’s not ALS because I’m so scared and obsessive about that. I’ve been taking antidepressants for some time, but they sometimes stop helping me.

Female | 26 years old
Complaint duration: several days
Medications: Paroxetine,Fluanxole, Stresam
Conditions: OCD, anxiety disorder

4 Answers

ALS is unlikely to occur at your age
I understand your concerns and overall level of fear regarding ALS. It is certainly not very likely. You should get a thorough examination from a neurologist. Fingers can lock for several reasons. You can have an orthopedic hand specialist check it out. Happy to give you advice but this needs more than justAn email type answer. The odds are very much in your favor that you do not have ALS
No way to appropriately address those issues in an email. You definitely need to be evaluated in person. With regards to the thumb getting stuck, that could be due to a trigger thumb, for which I would see a hand surgeon.

I hope to reassure you that it is very unlikely that you have ALS. Most likely your symptoms are caused by muscle fatigue of the muscles of the thumb or perhaps low potassium as a result of sweating. Due to either the muscle will spasm and it will "get stuck" due to spasm. Try to hydrate with an electrolyte drink before yoga to see if that helps.
Hope it helps!!

Dr. Bose