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dull ache upper arm numb pins and needles forearm and intense pain along thumb left arm
by scott
3 months ago I had a fall, down some steps at work probably fell from a height of @ 1 metre I instinctively stuck my left arm out behind me. I came down fairly hard on the arm this resulted in an intense burning sensation in the upper part of my arm lasting 10 minutes or there about. The incident was reported and I was checked by site safety officer and after 30 minutes all seemed ok and I returned to work. 2 months later I started getting pain in the left arm like a dull ache in the upper part I went to my GP he said it was probably just soft tissue damage, give it a few days and see how it goes. After a week it had progressed to numbness and pins and needles sensation down the forearm across the hand and thumb and first 2 fingers and the dull ache in the upper arm which was now fairly constant. I also now have a constant twinge in my back in between my shoulder blades and the neck where it meets the shoulders. I have had x-rays of the neck done but they were inconclusive. What is it that I have most likely done to end up with these symptoms? I know the initial burning sensation I experienced was most probably related to stress on some nerve or nerves. Hello Scott, Do you have any neck pain, and do movements of your neck, particularly turning to the left and looking up, cause any pain in the neck, and especially does it provoke an ache in your arm/ tingling in the fingers. The tingling in the thumb and index finger yields very precise information -it's the C6 dermatome, which means you have an irritated/pinched nerve root in the neck. A couple of tests: Place your hand on your head when the tingling is bad - does it relieve the pain? Sitting, stretch your arm out to the side, palm forwards, and extend it backwards, and then extend the wrist. Compare the naughty arm with your right arm. Is there a difference? Try pricking your thumb and forefinger with a pin, compare with the R hand. Do some press ups. Does the left arm tire more quickly? That same nerve also supplies the rhomboid muscle between the shoulder blades, hence your pain in the midback. My advice is start shopping around for a competent and conscientious chiro in your area. Ask friends and family, even your doc. This is a difficult condition, one of the most painful we treat in our clinics, often bad at night, and it's going to take careful and thorough care to get you over the hump. I treat this quite regularly. It's fixable, but it might be difficult, and you will have to be patient. If there's no improvement after a month, I would ask for a MRI scan. I hope this has contributed. Click here to read or post comments. |
