What is an MS hug?

The 'MS hug' is symptom of MS that feels like an uncomfortable, sometimes painful feeling of tightness or pressure, usually around your stomach or chest. The pain or tightness can stretch all around the chest or stomach, or it can be just on one side. The MS hug can feel different from one person to another.

How do I get rid of MS hug?

Why do MS hugs happen?

The MS hug occurs because messages from nerves are blocked or disrupted by the damage caused by MS. The feeling of tightness around your chest can be due to spasms in the small muscles between your ribs (the intercostal muscles) which help expand your chest when breathing.

Is MS hug curable?

People can try a range of home therapies to manage an MS hug. These techniques are anecdotal, and no clinically proven cure exists for MS hugs.

Is multiple sclerosis fatal?

MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.

MS Trust symptom challenge (how to explain the MS Hug)

What are the 4 stages of MS?

What are usually the first signs of MS?

How long MS hug last?

An MS hug usually lasts for a few seconds or minutes, but it can last for hours or even longer.

How long can you live with MS?

One study has found that the average life expectancy for people with MS is 76 years of age. In 2019, the U.S. life-expectancy averaged 78.8 years, and in 2020 it declined to 77.3 years, primarily due to the COVID pandemic. Many people with MS may live for 25 to 35 years or longer after their diagnosis.

What are symptoms of MS in a woman?

Does MS hug feel like cramp?

The MS hug is a tight, uncomfortable, sometimes painful sensation that wraps around your body like you are being squeezed. Some people report no pain. Instead, they feel pressure around their waist, torso, or neck. Others experience a band of tingling or burning in the same area.

Can MS hug cause shortness of breath?

A common multiple sclerosis symptom known as the MS hug (which feels like a tight band is wrapped around your torso) can also bring on breathing trouble by causing pain and tightness in your chest. One much less-common cause of trouble breathing is a problem with the autonomic nervous system.

At what age does MS usually occur?

These factors may increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis: Age. MS can occur at any age, but onset usually occurs around 20 and 40 years of age. However, younger and older people can be affected.

How do they check if you have MS?

Can Covid cause MS?

Indeed, some studies show that viral respiratory tract infections may be linked to most of the exacerbations of MS (Marrodan et al., 2019). If we focus on the coronavirus (CoV) family, there is clear evidence of its neurotropic character.

What does MS pain feel like?

Neuropathic pain happens from “short circuiting” of the nerves that carry signals from the brain to the body because of damage from MS. These pain sensations feel like burning, stabbing, sharp and squeezing sensations. In MS you can experience acute neuropathic pain and chronic neuropathic pain.

Does having MS make you disabled?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes MS as a chronic illness or “impairment” that can cause disability severe enough to prevent an individual from working.

Can you live with MS and not know it?

Benign MS can't be identified at the time of initial diagnosis; it can take as long as 15 years to diagnose. The course of MS is unpredictable, and having benign MS doesn't mean that it can't progress into a more severe form of MS.

What is end stage MS?

If an individual reaches this stage, where their disabilities result in severe difficulties which may not respond to treatment and lead to life-threatening complications, they are considered to have end stage MS.

How does MS affect your legs?

Over time, your muscles can get weaker and weaker. Some people with MS find that their muscles tire more easily than usual. For example, someone with MS might find that their legs might start to feel unstable or they may have trouble moving them after periods of exercise, like walking.

Does MS show up in blood work?

While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.

How does MS affect your hands?

Numbness, tingling, or pain in the hands is a common symptom of MS. Symptoms that affect the hands result in less functionality and more difficulty in performing everyday tasks.

What can trigger MS?

What does MS feel like in legs?

Some people with MS describe it as like having bags of sand attached to their legs. This muscle weakness combined with MS fatigue can be upsetting. Weakness in your legs can cause balance and walking difficulties and you may be more likely to fall.

How do I know if I have MS or fibromyalgia?

MS can permanently damage your nerves. Fibromyalgia causes pain and stiffness all over your body, along with other symptoms. Doctors aren't sure what triggers it. They think it might have something to do with how your brain processes pain.