medical frustration

[wavyarms]

During the process of hitting snooze yesterday morning, I rolled over at one point, and then thought, "Hm, that felt funny." I then figured out that something had gotten out of place in my back which made moving my right arm rather painful. The full force of the problem was brought in upon me when I got up to get dressed, which was an extremely frustrating experience. I had problems moving my arm all day, because it would hurt unpredictably (i.e. there was no certain move that would always hurt, and nothing that always wouldn't.) I can best describe it as a shooting ache.

I hoped this would go away last night, but it hasn't, although I think it's better. Is this a pinched nerve? What's going on?

Comments

[rissymonster.livejournal.com]

Hard to tell without being there/a medical professional of some sort. However, I have had impinged (for want of a better word) muscles (I think by various harder connective tissues) that have started off in much the same way, and with a similar-sounding quality of pain. Especially if the shooting aches continue to seem connected to the back/shoulders, you might consider a chiropractor or your school's (hypothetical) doctor. Doctor trip might be good in any event, since they can better tell if its really tendons, something or other.

Feel better. Ibuprofen and bourbon are also favored pain relievers/muscle relaxants.

[samtheeagle.livejournal.com]

I have four words for you:

Chi ro prac tor.

From your description, it's impossible to tell whether you've dislocated something, impinged something, torn something, bumped something, or just accelerated the aging process by 50 years. A "shooting" ache is generally associated with a nerve impingement, by which nerve impulses (say, from the neck or shoulders) are transmitted down an extremity resulting in phantom pain or discomfort far away from the impingement. But saying you have a "nerve impingement" is like saying you have a stuffy nose: the question is what's causing it. You could have dislocated a bone, thus entraining a nerve in the dislocation, or extreme tension in one area of the body could entrain the nerve, or you could have bumped something in your sleep and bruised the area around a nerve. The only way to tell is to see a doctor person if it continues. But if you're having trouble moving something, you shouldn't wait because delay could cause more lasting problems.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't recommend applying either heat or cold because the proper choice depends on the diagnosis and the wrong choice could make things worse. I would recommend anti-inflammatories (Advil, Motrin, Naproxin, etc.) and other no-harm feel-better stuff. Bourbon is also good. Also, bourbon. In a pinch, try bourbon.

[wavyarms.livejournal.com]

Well, er, it seems to be going away, so maybe I can just have the bourbon and not worry about it? :)

Thanks for the advice, though. Considering the weekend I've had, I'd guess that extreme tension in my back might be part of it. Things should settle down for a bit now, though, so maybe the tension, and the pain, will go away!

(Also, our medical care here pretty much sucks. :)

[samtheeagle.livejournal.com]

At the first sign of something, better to have someone look at it. What you describe isn't a big deal, anything done to/for you now also won't be a big deal, and the kind of care you require is available just about anywhere. But early (even preventative) care may help avoid More Involved Stuff. When things calm down (hah!) go get yourself a chiropractic evaluation, and then afterwards treat yourself to an excellent massage. And some bourbon.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I agree. Get it looked out now. I've had nerve impingement issues for the past few weeks and a doctor today told me that it might take 2-12 months to recover from it.

Humans do all of these weird things, like sleep on their arms, which cause all sorts of nerve problems.

[mixedborder.livejournal.com]

To me it just sounds like tendinitis, which I've had many times. Take some Advil.