What Exactly is Causing the "Hugging" Sensation?

MS Hug is a sensation felt along the trunk of the body, anywhere from below the neckline to the waist. This is actually spasms of the small intercostal muscles between your ribs. The intercostal muscles hold the ribs together and keep them flexible so they expand when you move, bend and breathe.

When these muscles go into uncontrolled, involuntary spasms, the result is MS Hug, an abnormal and painful pressure that can last anywhere from a few seconds to hours or, in more extreme cases, even days.

Are You Being MS Hugged?

Many who experience MS Hug say it feels like they are wearing a girdle, only more painful. Common patient descriptions of the feeling include: squeezing, crushing, stabbing, gnawing, ants crawling under the skin, hot or cold burning, or pins and needles around the abdomen.

Interestingly, some people experience no pain but do describe tight pressure around the waist, torso or neck. Others may experience a band of tingling or burning or just general, widespread aching. 

These feelings can occur anywhere along the trunk of the body, as low as the waist or as high as the chest, but very rarely as high as the shoulders or neck. The sensations typically come in steady waves, lasting from several seconds to minutes or hours at a time.