Lhermitte’s Sign

So, this being MS awareness month, there is a lot of information being shared from all different MS sources. I am still learning about my MS after all these years. I was diagnosed in 2012 and now in 2022 I have found something that amazes me and explains so much about a pain I have always had. Every time I bend my head forward, I get an electric shock down my spine that travels throughout all my limbs as well. I had no idea it was related to my MS; I honestly had no idea which of my diseases I could attribute this to so I just accepted that it was a thing that was only happening to me since I’ve never seen anything about it. 

So, after doing some MS research I have found that I am not the only person that experiences this sensation, which is a relief to me because I hate thinking I am the only person dealing with these issues. It is not often talked about or I’d say it’s never talked about because I have never heard of it until now. Lhermitte’s Sign is what it is actually called. Apparently, it only happens in a small number of people with MS. It is stated that when looking downward, an intense sensation like that of an electric shock travel down the spine and could possibly go into arms, legs, feet, and/or trunk of the body. 

That is the best way to describe it, an electric shock. I have been electrocuted once in my life when a light went out in a pool and it sent electric through the pool and beside it. That wasn’t a pleasant moment but I was okay, nothing but a small stinging sensation throughout my body. So now when I place my head downward it is actually pretty painful. I can barely place my head down and then a shooting pain takes over my entire body. You will see me doing this a lot because I am not sure what it is and if I am okay. So, I continue to check to see if it will happen every time because I guess I am a glutton for punishment. 

It is just such a weird sensation to feel. No matter how many massages I’ve gotten to loosen it up, it does not work. Mostly it actually makes it worse because it sets off the electric shock that travels my entire body. In the definition it states that it can travel to limbs and trunk of the body, in my case that is true it travels throughout my entire body. I feel it all the way to the tips of toes and tips of my fingernails. I’ll be honest I am so thankful there is a name to what I experience when I bend my head forward, and that even though the numbers are very small that others are going through what I am dealing with. I just thought since it is MS awareness month, I would share with you that I have learned this month!