@nzieli6486 Hello and welcome to Connect. I see that your neurologist says your muscle tests are normal. Did they suggest any studies to look at your spine? Have you had a neck injury like a whiplash? If so, how long ago did it happen? Did you tell the neurologist about getting dizzy when you move your head around and the popping sensation?

Let me tell you why I'm asking these questions. I am a cervical spine surgery patient, and I had a whiplash injury that many years later caused my C5/C6 disc to herniate and rupture into the spinal canal and bones spurs grew along side it compressing my spinal cord. Because every signal from your brain to your body passes through the neck, anything can be affected if you have spinal cord compression there. I had muscle spasms that were independently rotating or tilting my C1 through C4 discs and it caused vertigo and dizziness severe enough to make me fall over when it was out of a normal position. I also have thoracic outlet syndrome which makes my neck too tight on one side, so it sets up that situation. It is possible to have spinal cord compression and not know it until it gets severe. I also had muscles jumping spontaneously in my legs, and I also worried about ALS. However, most of the time that is just fear of the unknown, so it's best not to suggest a serious problem to yourself for your brain to latch onto with fear. I am a Mayo patient and did talk to an ALS patient in a waiting area when I was there, and I could see muscles jumping very randomly in his arm all the time. In comparison, my muscle jumping was in a specific place and it did change when I changed my neck position, so that is a big clue. If you move your neck and cause or change symptoms or pain, there may be a cervical spine problem.

Has there been an MRI done of your brain, neck and spine? Other things that can also cause jumpy muscles are thyroid hormone levels that are too high (which also causes loose bowel movements) or dehydration. If that has already been assessed by your doctor, but not the spine, it may be worth asking the neurologist to authorize an MRI based on the symptoms when you move your neck.

The reason that rotated vertebrae can cause vertigo is because the vertebral arteries pass through the sides of those vertebrae on the way to the brain. They get stretched if a muscle spasm moves the bones and holds it there, so it alters part of the blood supply to the brain. If your neurologist doesn't consider the neck movement involvement, you can seek another opinion.