How long do muscle twitches last?

The duration of muscle twitching also depends mainly on the underlying cause. In most cases, no specific cause can or must be identified and the twitching disappears within a few days to weeks, even without treatment. On the other hand, in the case of a herniated disc, the symptoms usually increase steadily without treatment. Exercises to strengthen the neck muscles can provide temporary relief, but in most cases they are only a bridging measure until surgery. The latter, on the other hand, often achieves a considerable improvement or even a complete elimination of the muscle twitch immediately after waking up.

Treatment

Whether, and if so, which other symptoms accompany a muscle twitch in the upper arm depends primarily on the cause of the complaints. Conversely, any accompanying symptoms often provide an important clue to the underlying cause, which is why querying accompanying symptoms is an essential part of the diagnosis. As a rule of thumb If the muscle twitching occurs in isolation, the cause is usually harmless and requires no further treatment.

The presence of accompanying symptoms, on the other hand, indicates a cause requiring treatment. If the muscle twitching in the upper arm is accompanied by pain, this indicates the presence of a herniated disc. The herniated disc tissue presses on the nerve roots responsible for the upper arm and can therefore cause numbness, tingling sensations or even paralysis in addition to pain and twitching.

A very rare, but all the more serious cause of muscle twitching in the upper arm is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In a relatively high proportion of patients, muscle twitching is one of the first symptoms, often accompanied by increasing insecurity in walking and impairment of fine motor skills, i.e. the execution of fine movements such as lacing shoes. However, it should be emphasized that ALS is an extremely rare disease and muscle twitching can only be attributed to ALS in absolutely exceptional cases.

If, in addition to the muscle twitching in the upper arm, there is also pain in the upper arm or shoulder area, this is a strong indication of the presence of a slipped disc in the cervical spine area as the cause of the complaints. The pain often extends from the neck and neck area to the shoulder and upper arm and is described by many affected persons as “electrifying”. Such a combination of muscle twitching and pain should result in a specialist medical examination as soon as possible.

Too much hesitation can cause the herniated disc to grow and, in the worst case, limit the surgical treatment options. The joint occurrence of muscle twitching and tingling in the upper arm is in principle not very specific and is usually harmless. Under certain circumstances, however, it can still alert the specialist to certain possible causes.

For example, a herniated disc in the cervical spine can trigger this combination of symptoms, but usually there is additional pain in the neck, shoulder and upper arm. In the case of larger prolapses, numbness or paralysis may even be added. The pure combination of muscle twitching and tingling is more appropriate for MS, even though the majority of people affected initially notice it in the form of visual disturbances.