MS fast fact - Lhermitte's sign

This is the name given to an electric shock-like sensation that occurs when flexing or moving the neck. This sensation radiates down the spine, sometimes into the trunk, legs, and arms.

At some point, about one third of individuals with MS will experience Lhermitte’s sign.  Lhermitte’s sign was named after Jacques Jean Lhermitte, the French neurologist who first characterized it.

It is a classic symptom of cervical spinal cord lesions.

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I felt this for the first time about a month ago, when I flexed my neck downwards.  Then again this past weekend during a marathon fight with the Rainbow Loom.  (Age 7 and up?  Pfftt!  I swear it's the most complicated blasted piece of plastic I've ever encountered).

It does feel like an electric shock, but it also feels like intense heat.  The heat spread right down my back, like I was on fire.  I was grabbing at my shirt, asking everyone to check because something must be on me. 

Nope.  Just that darn cervical spinal cord.

(And... the Rainbow Looming is coming along a little better now)