# Ever Have A Body Action That Triggers Other Involuntary Movements?



## SeaBreeze (Jan 11, 2016)

Doesn't happen all the time, but just happened again last night in bed.  I yawned, and the fingers of one hand simultaneously bent closed a bit until the yawn was over.  This has happened before, and I found it very spontaneous and odd.

The other thing is I've been having fairly frequent foot/toe cramps for the past few years, something new.  Noticed it when I was doing dance moves at a Zumba class at the gym.  I sometimes make the effort to get my Magnesium Oil, and that relieves the cramp in seconds.  When I get a toe cramp now, I noticed that the last three toes of that foot will uncontrollably curl under.  Never had that experience before in my life.

Do you ever have a body action that triggers other involuntary movements?


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## applecruncher (Jan 11, 2016)

I've had foot/toe cramps, but usually only in bed. Sometimes I'll get out of bed and walk around, and it subsides.


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## Pappy (Jan 11, 2016)

In the arch of my foot all the time. My toes get all screwy looking and do things I would never get them to do on my own. It's a sign to eat a banana. This usually helps.


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## Falcon (Jan 11, 2016)

Never have those kinds of cramps.  Sometimes I get leg cramps but I stretch my legs;  standing a foot or so facing the wall,
then lean forward  (with heels flat).  {You know the drill.}  That usually does the trick.

Also eating a banana sometimes prevents cramps. (potassium).


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## SeaBreeze (Jan 11, 2016)

I heard that Potassium was good for cramps, I usually eat a banana almost daily.  Magnesium Citrate is a supplement I take daily that is good for the muscles.  It's weird when your toes or fingers move on their own.


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## AprilT (Jan 11, 2016)

Pappy said:


> In the arch of my foot all the time. My toes get all screwy looking and do things I would never get them to do on my own. It's a sign to eat a banana. This usually helps.




Funny I was thinking low potassium as a possibility.  However, I should also mention I sometimes get sever charlie cramps and such down to toes curling at times after eating bananas guess too much p in those instances


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## jujube (Jan 11, 2016)

I get bizarre foot and hand cramps (my hand curls up longwise -- the neurologist calls it "reaching-in syndrome"-- and my toes go in all different directions).  I have two kinds of nerve conduction studies tomorrow afternoon.  I'd sure like to know why, why and why.  I get tired of the term "idiopathic".


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## imp (Jan 11, 2016)

*Bananas and Their Potassium*



SeaBreeze said:


> I heard that Potassium was good for cramps, I usually eat a banana almost daily.  Magnesium Citrate is a supplement I take daily that is good for the muscles.  It's weird when your toes or fingers move on their own.



Popularly touted, but consider this: The average daily adult recommended intake of potassium is about 4,000 mg. One banana has 194 mg of potassium on average, so, assuming 100% assimilation of it, ya gotta eat *20 *bananas daily, if they are relied upon for adequate potassium.

Personally, I like salty taste, since my loss of smell and taste is pretty profound, and salty or sweet are the only tasty affect anymore, I use No-Salt exclusively on food and in cooking in place of regular salt. No-Salt is Potassium Chloride, contains 2,600 mg of Potassium per teaspoonful.  Just sayin'.    imp


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## imp (Jan 11, 2016)

"Reaching-in Syndrome" ---- Not good! Ya wanna be more, like, "Reaching Out".......

imp


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## imp (Jan 11, 2016)

Oh, yeah....this morning, awakened with both knees drawn up, I went to stretch straight out, and the most painful "Charlie-horse" struck my right calf! Bending the knee did nothing to alleviate it, very painful and persistent, I found by bending my foot upwards, that tended to "release" the spasm, but only momentarily. I wondered how I'd get to the john......it was gone in about 15 or 20 seconds.     imp


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## SeaBreeze (Jan 11, 2016)

I understand Imp that too much potassium can cause kidney failure.  Besides the banana there's other foods that have potassium that many people eat daily, not to mention any potassium that may be included in a daily multi vitamin/mineral capsule.  I don't think any of us could get the maximum amounts of recommended vitamins and minerals daily, unless maybe if we paid a lot of money for specialty supplements.



> Duke University and the American Kidney Foundation
> have divided foods into low, moderate and high *potassium* groups. Some of the more common foods in each category are:
> 
> 
> ...


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## Don M. (Jan 11, 2016)

I sometimes get the "toe cramps"...and walking around for a couple of minutes takes care of that.  I also get a cramp in the base of my thumbs if I've done some heavy work that involves some heavy use of a wrench, etc.  When that happens, I just run the hands under some warm water for a couple of minutes, and the muscles loosen back up.  The worst, for me, are leg cramps on the rear thigh muscles...that muscle will knot up and feel like a baseball.  Again, getting up and limping around for a couple of minutes generally takes care of it....and then I go eat a couple of bananas.


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## tnthomas (Jan 11, 2016)

SeaBreeze said:


> I heard that Potassium was good for cramps, I usually eat a banana almost daily.  Magnesium Citrate is a supplement I take daily that is good for the muscles.  It's weird when your toes or fingers move on their own.



I'm taking mag citrate in hopes of lessening some pain throughout my body.   Supposed to help with insomnia and anxiety, etc.


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## imp (Jan 11, 2016)

Thank you, SB, for the listing of foods. I did not intend to imply that only bananas might keep us from deficiency. I see where many of my favorite foods provide lots of Potassium. When I first learned that ADR of Potassium was double that of Sodium, I worried a bit, because Potassium is said to play a critical part in heartbeat and heart rhythm. imp


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## WhatInThe (Jan 12, 2016)

I sneeze and might get a tingle or numbness in an extremity.


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## Pappy (Jan 12, 2016)

A bit off subject, but has anyone tried this? I'm going to give it a go.


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## Lon (Jan 12, 2016)

Some body movements will trigger involuntary bowel or bladder response----Not nice.


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## Stormy (Jan 12, 2016)

Sometime I get a twitch in my eyelid and even rubbing it doesn't make it go away not sure what causes it


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## Denise1952 (Jan 12, 2016)

SeaBreeze said:


> Doesn't happen all the time, but just happened again last night in bed.  I yawned, and the fingers of one hand simultaneously bent closed a bit until the yawn was over.  This has happened before, and I found it very spontaneous and odd.
> 
> The other thing is I've been having fairly frequent foot/toe cramps for the past few years, something new.  Noticed it when I was doing dance moves at a Zumba class at the gym.  I sometimes make the effort to get my Magnesium Oil, and that relieves the cramp in seconds.  When I get a toe cramp now, I noticed that the last three toes of that foot will uncontrollably curl under.  Never had that experience before in my life.
> 
> Do you ever have a body action that triggers other involuntary movements?



The only one I can think of when I sneeze it triggers a couple of different, socially unacceptable "movements".  

I know yours isn't anything to laugh about, and I think that getting older can just be so weird.  I mean with different unexplainable things happening.  The worse part is telling the doctor and they say it's just age

I did hear that ACV (apple cider vinegar) is very helpful in getting rid of cramping.  I don't know if you are to take "when" the cramp happens or on a daily basis.  I'll have to check that out  I do hope someone will have some further "real" info for you SB, hug, denise


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## Denise1952 (Jan 12, 2016)

Pappy said:


> A bit off subject, but has anyone tried this? I'm going to give it a go.



Hi Pappy,

I think this is wonderful for a cold, top notch, and tastes so good too  Although I found it wasn't working with one "cold" then I found out I had bronchitis.  I did find an over-the-counter remedy that worked amazingly with the horrible cough I had.  That was the Equate brand of Delphym?  The ingredient is called dextromethorphan.  So the cough syrups that say DM have that I guess.

To keep with SBs post, I wanted to say that I get coughs (bronchitus) that cause me to gag, and actually not be able to suck in any air, scared me so bad.  Finding this syrup otc, was a real blessing because the doc was prescribing meds, but only one time as I guess they are addictive.


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## AprilT (Jan 12, 2016)




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## Linda (Jan 12, 2016)

If I get lazy about taking my Cal/Mag I get horrible leg cramps, especially at night.  We keep tonic water by the bed and I just take a few sips of that.  It's the Quinine that helps.  I hate the taste of tonic water and if I remember to I can buy little homeopathic pills at the health food store for leg cramps and they have Quinine in them.  They work great too.  My husband told our neighbor lady about the tonic water and later she told him it didn't help.  She said she had been rubbing it all over her legs.   I guess it wasn't really funny but we thought it was.  Anyway, after she started DRINKING it, it helped her too.  I know 3 or 4 other people that use the tonic water this way.


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## Linda (Jan 12, 2016)

[h=2]Ever Have A Body Action That Triggers Other Involuntary Movements?  		Seabreeze to answer your original question.  One body area greatly affects other areas and that is the whole thing behind reflexology.  We usually just do it on the feet but I have books on hand reflexology, body reflexology, the whole thing.  It's very interesting.  If anyone is really interested they can google it and get more info.  To get much response in helping or even healing a problem in your body you have to work at lest 30 minutes on your feet and our hand pain won't let us make it past 5 minutes.  I just noticed a foot reflexology place opened up next door to the lab we use.  It's usually only $20 bucks but so far I haven't had the nerve to go in one of those places because if it turns out to be a man working there (unless he's super handsome) I'm going to turn around and run like heck.  I don't even let a strange guy help me try on shoes at the shoe store.  [/h]


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## Butterfly (Jan 12, 2016)

Low calcium can also cause muscle cramping.  I had a spell of muscle spasms a while back, doc did some blood work and said I had very low calcium and that was a big part of the problem and he told me to take supplements of that and D-3, which I was also low on.  Did the trick.


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## Linda (Jan 12, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> Low calcium can also cause muscle cramping.  I had a spell of muscle spasms a while back, doc did some blood work and said I had very low calcium and that was a big part of the problem and he told me to take supplements of that and D-3, which I was also low on.  Did the trick.


That is so true Butterfly.  We also take D-3.  It's when I get lazy about taking my herbs, vitamins and supplements that I run into so much trouble.  My husband's Dr's have him take Cal/mag, D-3 to help keep his bones strong as they feel (and I sure agree) that cancer is more apt to move into unhealthy weak bones than healthy ones.  Or at lest he is buying more time.

Our neighbor who broke her upper leg a couple years ago was having trouble getting it to heal, in fact she was on morphine for about a year due to pain and I believe drug addiction.   She was too sick (and depressed) to go to town to get her meds so we'd drive 60 miles to the other side of the big city to get a Dr's note or some paperwork so we could pick up her Morphine at CVS.  So anyway, to get back to my point, my husband told her she wasn't going to heal drinking 24 cans of Pepsi a week and smoking didn't help either.  So she laid off the Pepsi for a couple weeks and than ask her Dr and he told her the Pepsi didn't hurt her bones at all.  Of course, my husband and I don't believe that for a second.   We don't go get her medication any longer.  Either she's doing it herself or she's getting someone else to do it.  They have cut her off the Morphine now though.


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## Denise1952 (Jan 12, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> Low calcium can also cause muscle cramping.  I had a spell of muscle spasms a while back, doc did some blood work and said I had very low calcium and that was a big part of the problem and he told me to take supplements of that and D-3, which I was also low on.  Did the trick.



I need to get back on my D3, but the Calcium does a number on me.  There is something to take with that to get it to digest better??  Anyway, I get constipated bad.  I know, TMI, but I literally won't take my calcium because of that.  Anyone have a solution for this??  Thanks, denise


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## Denise1952 (Jan 12, 2016)

Linda said:


> That is so true Butterfly.  We also take D-3.  It's when I get lazy about taking my herbs, vitamins and supplements that I run into so much trouble.  My husband's Dr's have him take Cal/mag, D-3 to help keep his bones strong as they feel (and I sure agree) that cancer is more apt to move into unhealthy weak bones than healthy ones.  Or at lest he is buying more time.
> 
> Our neighbor who broke her upper leg a couple years ago was having trouble getting it to heal, in fact she was on morphine for about a year due to pain and I believe drug addiction.   She was too sick (and depressed) to go to town to get her meds so we'd drive 60 miles to the other side of the big city to get a Dr's note or some paperwork so we could pick up her Morphine at CVS.  So anyway, to get back to my point, my husband told her she wasn't going to heal drinking 24 cans of Pepsi a week and smoking didn't help either.  So she laid off the Pepsi for a couple weeks and than ask her Dr and he told her the Pepsi didn't hurt her bones at all.  Of course, my husband and I don't believe that for a second.   We don't go get her medication any longer.  Either she's doing it herself or she's getting someone else to do it.  They have cut her off the Morphine now though.



I feel sick watching people drink soda pop, several cans a day where I was living in Eureka.  It is bad for us and I feel so lucky I have no craving for it, except literally, once a month or two, I may have a Sprite with popcorn.  I never buy but one so I am not tempted to drink more.

I keep a case of water on hand always, and that is my main liquid now, so grateful to have the "habit" of drinking it, and enough, whether I am thirsty or not.  Water is like a miracle "drug" if you ask me.  I do hope I can figure out how to do the calcium so it doesn't upset my digestion, or lack thereof, lol hugs Linda, and prayers for your hubby too sweetie, Denise


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## fureverywhere (Jan 12, 2016)

I'm on a bunch of things at bed time. Does anybody else get the reaction of a whole body shake? Hubby gets a bit startled, the dogs just change position.


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## Yaya (Jan 12, 2016)

Toe/foot cramps - Stretch the foot upwards towards the front of you, stretching the calf muscles with it, like you are trying to make your toes point upwards to your face.
Circling the foot around from the ankle also helps. And simple leg stretches. Do all this before going to bed while drinking a big glass of water. Also, stretch AFTER a hot bath/shower, when the muscles are still warm - they stretch better then.


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## Denise1952 (Jan 12, 2016)

Yaya said:


> Toe/foot cramps - Stretch the foot upwards towards the front of you, stretching the calf muscles with it, like you are trying to make your toes point upwards to your face.
> Circling the foot around from the ankle also helps. And simple leg stretches. Do all this before going to bed while drinking a big glass of water. Also, stretch AFTER a hot bath/shower, when the muscles are still warm - they stretch better then.



I had this help me Yaya, stretching towards me if I'm lying down.  Also, I can get rid of a cramp if I can get up fast enough and walk around for a few seconds, weird, but it works.  One gal had leg cramps so bad after going into the cold river, up where I was camping last Summer.  I tried to get her to get up and walk but she couldn't.  She suffered awful for several minutes.


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## NancyNGA (Jan 12, 2016)

A couple of times in the middle of the night I've gotten a bad cramp in a calf muscle.  So I pulled my toes upward to stretch the calf, and then get a shin muscle cramp, which was even worse.  Had to jump out of bed and stand up on the leg to make them go away.   

I always get toe cramps, where the toes curl under, trying to swim in cold water.  Sometimes my middle finger will get stuck flexed at the knuckle after working with my hands a lot.  Except for the toes, these things seem to happen after an unusual amount of exercise.


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## Linda (Jan 13, 2016)

Fureverywhere, no we haven't had the shaking all over.  That sounds extremely uncomfortable.  How long does it last and I hope it doesn't happen every night.

Denise, I don't have trouble with constipation and Calcium because of other things I take.  My husband stirs up psyllium whole husks (health food store) in juice or water and sometimes he take cascara (Wal-mart) which is an herb.  Really its bark from a tree but they grind it up and put it in capsules.   Of course, people have to be careful taking laxatives, even natural ones.  I only take Calcium that will dissolve in a glass of water.  For some reason I have it in my head the harder Calcium tablets don't do much for our systems.   That's just my thing.


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