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mhr74
USA
20 Posts |
 Posted - 08/30/2006 : 21:03:00
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| Anyone else have their arms go numb (I mean waaay numb) when they hold them in an elevated position? |
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Stryder
686 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 10:21:56
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Hi mhr74,
Could you provide detail...
Loss of strength?
You mean raised to 90 degree position (out front of you) or over your head (180 degree position)?
Does one arm alone raised go numb? The other alone?
Just numb or do you also have blood flow / circulatory issues when you do this (do your hands get blue or cold?).
Like Dr. Sarno says, you should consult a doctor to rule out any possible serious condition. If you come up clean then consider treating this as TMS, in that, yes, maybe they go numb, but its a benign condition like TMS pain.
There is a real condition called TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome), when the blood vessels and nerves are restricted to your arms. Talk with your doc about that. TOS is not very common, so don't latch on to that at the moment.
My arms go numb over my head when I'm lying in bed on my stomach. I just roll over and it goes away. I just ignore it.
Take care, -Stryder |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 11:53:56
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Most TOS is just TMS. It's very rare for it to be actually because of compression of nerves by vascular or bony structures...
having it checked out is worthwhile, naturally. |
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mhr74
USA
20 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 12:24:25
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My neuro rules out TOS, but a chiro said it was a nerve impingement of the brachial plexus. I've looked over lots of TOS literature. I know someone on the forums here had TMS manifested as TOS. No fun.
Signal a touchdown = arms go numb quick. |
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ndb
209 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 14:45:43
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quote:
Originally posted by mhr74
My neuro rules out TOS, but a chiro said it was a nerve impingement of the brachial plexus. I've looked over lots of TOS literature. I know someone on the forums here had TMS manifested as TOS. No fun.
Signal a touchdown = arms go numb quick.
I was diagnosed in almost the same way...the doctor suspected TOS. Then, he ruled it out after the MRI, and said it might be some compression irritating the nerve going to my arms. And yes, I did have numbness when I raised my arms. Though there were periods when my arms would be numb when I let them hang down, and holding onto something with my arms raised seemed to give relief!
Anyway, fortunately all of this was total baloney, just my mind playing tricks on me. It was TMS, and all my symptoms are gone now.
good luck with your recovery,
ndb |
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AnthonEE
USA
80 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 08:24:11
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quote:
Originally posted by mhr74
Anyone else have their arms go numb (I mean waaay numb) when they hold them in an elevated position?
I've had recurrent pins and needles in the fingers of my right hand (median nerve), possibly injured during a waterskiing fall last summer. The muscle injury should have long since healed, it's been over a year now. The pins and needles seem to come and go depending on I don't know what. So from the recent MRI the shoulder surgeon was able to rule out any muscle tears, but he suspected I might have a lingering brachial plexus injury in the area under my armpit, because of the way my arm was hyperabducted in the fall. He referred me to a physiatrist for an EMG and nerve conduction study, and possibly a brachial plexus MRI depending on the result of the study.
The physiatrist did the study and said I was completely fine. Part of the exam did involve holding my arms up to check for TOS issues, as well as all sorts of electrical shock machines, etc. And in the end, he was the one that told me about TMS. After his exam he suggested I try to abandon the "physical injury" model for my symptoms, and instead consider the work of Drs Sarno, Sopher, and Brady. All this of course after the MRI and EMG studies to rule out an underlying injury to the BP... and also in the context of a huge constellation of other physical "complaints", personality profile, anxiety and stress issues, and so on.
I still struggle with it a little bit now and then, and I'm still not 100% sure there isn't something wrong. But I am working on it, and doing the best I can. I thought you'd be interested to know that I was NOT self diagnosed with TMS, but that the physiatrist (MD) pointed me in this direction, for an issue that may be in a similar category as your own concern (brachial plexus, TOS, numbness and tingling, etc).
Naturally it is important to get yourself checked out, don't try to self diagnose something like this, and don't let somebody on this forum convince you either. Real brachial plexus and TOS issues, while not super common, can be a pretty big deal. But I'm guessing there's a fair chance you'll be back with the same answers I got. Time to re-read The Divided Mind... best luck to you either way.
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Edited by - AnthonEE on 10/09/2007 08:31:44 |
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 09:15:21
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If true TOS has been ruled out, I'd go with TMS as the most likely possibility for this symptom. Temporary numbness is the result of temporary ischemia, which is the predicted TMS mechanism.
Have you tried "thinking" the blood back to your arms? (I.e. sending a message to your brain "Increase blood flow to arms".) I found/find that helpful to counteract the brain's habit of doing the opposite.
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Wherever you go, there you are. |
Edited by - armchairlinguist on 10/09/2007 09:22:29 |
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Arms go numb?
