Fasciculations in Right Triceps

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi all,

Hope all is well in the community. I’ve been experiencing what I can only describe as twitches or spasms in my right triceps for about a year now. Sometimes my triceps twitches are more active than others, but typically they’re more prevalent the day after a workout involving a lot of triceps use. Additionally, there’s been no change to the twitches/spasms over the course of the past year, and they’re never painful, just…weird. I also don’t ever experience them when I’m training. It’s only when my muscles are relatively at rest or relaxed, and even then, only when my triceps is extended a bit. Also, I can sometimes prompt them to occur if I flex my triceps. In fact if I flex my right triceps, it’ll sometimes lock into that flexed position (not painful like a cramp, but the same sensation), and I’ll have to actively curl my arm to get it to unlock…if unlock is the right word.

I’ve been told by a couple physicians not to pay much attention or worry as long as it’s not impacting my daily life, I don’t see any loss in function or strength, and I don’t develop any balance issues. None of those have occurred. As I said above, no change to the twitching for the past year in intensity or frequency. I’m sure they told me more, but that’s all I can recall. I saw that Dr Baraki referenced this article: Cramps, Spasms, Twitches & Tremors for a forum member experiencing back spasms, so I gave it a read. I was reassured that these types of things are fairly common in adults.

All that said, I have a couple of questions. Outside of developing any of the previously mentioned additional symptoms, should I consider a more specialized examination based on how long I’ve been experiencing these twitches? If so, what length of time would be considered abnormal? Secondly, my father is 70 years old, and within the last 5 years or so has been diagnosed with and been treated for neuropathy and ataxia. Given this family history, should I take these twitches more seriously?

Thanks so much for your your time and all the great content.

2

If they’re localized to that area, haven’t changed at all in the past year, and haven’t progressed elsewhere or been associated with other symptoms (neurological or systemic), this description does not strike me as particularly concerning either.

There is no specific amount of time that would be considered abnormal, but rather the overall nature of the symptoms, course/progression over time, and other associated symptoms that could potentially raise concern.

With that said, if you’re worried enough to post this here after consulting with several other physicians on the matter, it sounds like this is continuing to worry you, which is reason enough to consult with a neurologist if you want the reassurance.

1 Like