What is the 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.

Why does MS hug happen?

What causes the MS hug? 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.

Does MS hug feel like anxiety?

Various people have described it as a feeling of pressure, an ache, a tickle, a pain, or a burning sensation. And they have said that the discomfort it generates ranges from “annoying to very painful.” The hug usually lasts a few seconds, but it can persist.

What causes MS hug Besides MS?

Stress, fatigue, and an increase in core body temperature can trigger this symptom, which may last a few seconds or persist for minutes to hours or longer. The MS Hug is not specific to MS. It can also occur with spinal cord inflammation, as in transverse myelitis.

What can mimic MS hug?

These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrigs disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.

How long does MS hug usually last?

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

What does a multiple sclerosis hug feel like?

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 long is too long for a hug?

Ever wondered how long a hug lasts? The quick answer is about 3 seconds, according to a new study of the post-competition embraces of Olympic athletes. But the long answer is more profound.