Unrelenting neck/shoulder spasms

Sorry for your backset. It is soo hard to know what your liit are with PMR. I have been on Prednisone at 15 mg for about a month aned the doctor wantsme to lower it to 12.5 mg for the rest of APril and then 10 mg for May. Good luck with your plans.

Welcome @annee55, You are not alone with your experience. Many of us have played that game with PMR and exercise. Sadly I no longer play golf but did love it when I was able to walk more than I can now. Overdoing any kind of exercise or activity always increased my PMR pain symptoms for both times that my PMR was active. Everyone is different when it comes to how much is too much activity and something we have to figure out for ourselves. You might find reading what others have shared helpful in the following discussion:

--- Can PMR be induced by Exercise: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-pmr-be-induced-by-exercise/

You mentioned that you started playing golf again. Did the new symptoms start after the first day back playing golf or did you play more than usual on a day?

Have you had blood tests to see how prednisone may be affecting your minerals and electrolytes? For example, prednisone can mess with salt/potassium balance, increasing salt retention and lowering potassium and low potassium can cause muscle spasms and numbness. Dehydration can also cause those symptoms with prednisone, so drinking extra water is important too. I watch my blood test results and adjust the diet accordingly - I drink extra water and avoid processed foods which have added salt, and eat half an avocado and a big chunk of rockmelon every day which has kept potassium levels good.

I was diagnosed with PMR in March 22 andI have had consistent upper back and neck spasms since that time. My Rheumatologist and Orthopedist have both indicated that some people just get more spasms. Praying ours will both just go away. Good luck!

It was after a few games but I do believe it was exacerbated by carrying bags of groceries flights of stairs. I guess I felt so good … normal… learned my lesson.😩

I didn’t have spasms but I did experience extremely tight muscles on one side from behind my ear to shoulder blade. It felt like a non-stop cramp. At times I was totally unable to turn my head making things like driving nearly impossible.

My doctors recommended solution was a combination of physical therapy and the muscle relaxant Methocarbimol. It took a few weeks but the combo therapy worked.

My favorite sport is surfing. And I have found very simple gentle yoga stretches in the evening before bed, and walking when the sun first comes up in an east direction.... really helpful for more energetic activities like surfing.

Also VERY helpful has been the herb kratom of a specific strain called "Special Green Maylay" obtained from the website Mitragaia.

Hi John, I’m on the same regime of tapering. Good luck hope it works. This is my second time around.

I had the same thing a couple of months back and was worried it might be GCA (giant cell arteritis) coming on, being so close to the head. Doctor said to use a heat bag on it a couple of times a day and it was gone in about a week. The wheat heat bag that I heat in the microwave didn't seem to be helping at first but I persisted and it paid off.

When I thought back, the new muscle and neck pain came on after I'd been stretching to cut high branches in the yard, and I think that likely caused it. Aches and injuries seem to come on more easily with PMR.

Can anyone describe the muscle spasms they experience?