What the heck is wrong with my arm?

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara,

 

I am no expert at all. But I had a shoulder pain once, and physiotherapy got

rid of it. It was a very gentle massage with some kind of radiowaves thingy

or some such like - didn't hurt at all. It took a few months of this and

then it was all gone. It's never come back.

 

Does this help?

 

Lisa

 

-

" Sara Thustra " <tv_is_a_drug

<herbal remedies >; <1herbal-healing >

Monday, August 05, 2002 3:10 PM

[herbal remedies] What the heck is wrong with my arm?

 

 

> Hey All: You've been so helpful in the past, so here's hoping!

>

> I've had bad pain in my shoulders--usually worse on one side--since I was

a

> child. The pain is a sharp ache radiating out from one spot. Moving in

> some ways (okay most ways) hurts, and yet not moving seems to make it

> actively worse; the longer the arm is held (totally) still, the worse it

> gets. It spreads up into my neck and down to my upper back and even the

> wrist, but the epicenter seems to be on my arm, just below the shoulder on

> the front of my body, and " in the middle " , i.e. well underneath the skin,

> probably under the muscle too. Pressure or massage on the painful areas

> hurts too. It aches, actually, exactly like I've just been charley-horsed

> in the upper arm.

>

> I saw a specialist when I was younger (don't remember what kind, since my

> mom took me) who did x-rays and said there was no arthritis or carpal

> tunnel, but he thought that my " tendons were too loose " , and that the

> problem would clear up as I got older. This even sounded silly to me at

> the time, but hey, what can you do?

>

> The other thing that accompanies this sometimes really nasty pain is

> " cracking " of the joints in my neck and shoulder. My joints are often

> stiff (yay office work) and I can crack them anyway (but I don't unless

> they hurt); however when this shoulder problem flares up, my shoulder,

> wrist and the affected side of my neck will crack almost constantly. If

> they don't " crack " (say because they just did), then moving will cause

them

> to " crackle " , with kind of a crunching sensation.

>

> Usually I take copious amounts of ibuprofen when this flares up, but now

> I'm pregnant so I can't. Also I've been sleeping more, which I think

> is making it worse. I try to sleep in good positions, but just leaving my

> arm still for hours makes it hurt progressively worse (and of course when

> I'm in pain I flop around at night, and if I end up laying on it *look

> out*). Even deep tissue repair oil, which does wonders for my normal

> office neck-pain, doesn't touch this shoulder thing. Also tai chi doesn't

> help it, and my usual exercise regimen makes it feel better, but the

effect

> lasts only for about a minute after I'm done.

>

> Last night, it kept me up all night--the pain was horrible. This morning,

> I had my first puke-my-guts-out bout of morning sickness, which I'm sure

> had something to do with having such a terrible night. (You know what set

> it off? The smelly recirculated air in this office! I was okay for the

> whole commute here, but I stepped inside, took 2 breaths and YARK! Gods I

> wish I could open a window.)

>

> I know that, being pregnant, it's likely there isn't much I can do now.

If

> stretching (tai chi) and exercising doesn't help, I don't know what will.

> But I'd be really interested if anybody knows what this might be, or what

> kind of doctor I could go to to ask about it. I did see a chiropractor,

by

> the way; he did x-rays (of course) and said my neck was a little

misaligned

> but not bad; then for three appointments he did the standard neck-cracking

> back-cracking thing on me, and it didn't help at all. If anything it made

> me ache more, so I didn't go back. The regular MD I mentioned it to years

> ago gave me big doses of ibuprofen, which kills the pain, but only

> temporarily.

>

> Information will earn you eternal gratitude.

>

> Thanks!!

>

> Sara T.

> http://www.boredmail.com

>

>

> Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following:

> 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire.

> 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural

remedy.

> 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and

to

> prescribe for your own health.

> We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long

as

> they behave themselves.

> Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any

person

> following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk.

> It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from

list members, you are agreeing to

> be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and

members free of any liability.

>

> Dr. Ian Shillington

> Doctor of Naturopathy

> Dr.IanShillington

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sara,

Could it be a pinched nerve? have you tried the Deep Tissue Oil.... could you have a rotator cuff or separated shoulder problem.... My DH went a year with both... one on each side... DUH>..they kept telling him it was aches and pains from a ditch collaspe and would take awhile to heal... And him having one of the highest pain tolerances I have ever seen continued to work until he was having lots of problems lifting arm very high and finally went to a specialist instead of reg dr.... I get tight muscles sometimes and the more I try to work it out the worse it gets... Do you have any chiros around who do acu pressure??? That would be a try. I have one who is wonderful.... very seldom does he ever crack my neck... by touch he does wonders.

The other thought that comes to mind - Are you under alot of stress? Do you have a tendency to keep things "bottled-up" inside, stewing, instead of expressing yourself? This leads to having pain similar to what you are referring to....my X used to do this and we thought he was having a heart attack.... it was allthat stress built up inside and not being let out....

Suzi

Sara Thustra wrote:

Hey All: You've been so helpful in the past, so here's hoping!I've had bad pain in my shoulders--usually worse on one side--since I was achild. The pain is a sharp ache radiating out from one spot. Moving insome ways (okay most ways) hurts, and yet not moving seems to make itactively worse; the longer the arm is held (totally) still, the worse itgets. It spreads up into my neck and down to my upper back and even thewrist, but the epicenter seems to be on my arm, just below the shoulder onthe front of my body, and "in the middle", i.e. well underneath the skin,probably under the muscle too. Pressure or massage on the painful areashurts too. It aches, actually, exactly like I've just been charley-horsedin the upper arm.I saw a specialist when I was younger (don't remember what kind, since mymom took me) who did x-rays and said there was no arthritis or carpaltunnel, but he thought that my "tendons were too loose", and that theproblem would clear up as I got older. This even sounded silly to me atthe time, but hey, what can you do? The other thing that accompanies this sometimes really nasty pain is"cracking" of the joints in my neck and shoulder. My joints are oftenstiff (yay office work) and I can crack them anyway (but I don't unlessthey hurt); however when this shoulder problem flares up, my shoulder,wrist and the affected side of my neck will crack almost constantly. Ifthey don't "crack" (say because they just did), then moving will cause themto "crackle", with kind of a crunching sensation.Usually I take copious amounts of ibuprofen when this flares up, but nowI'm pregnant so I can't. Also I've been sleeping more, which I thinkis making it worse. I try to sleep in good positions, but just leaving myarm still for hours makes it hurt progressively worse (and of course whenI'm in pain I flop around at night, and if I end up laying on it *lookout*). Even deep tissue repair oil, which does wonders for my normaloffice neck-pain, doesn't touch this shoulder thing. Also tai chi doesn'thelp it, and my usual exercise regimen makes it feel better, but the effectlasts only for about a minute after I'm done. Last night, it kept me up all night--the pain was horrible. This morning,I had my first puke-my-guts-out bout of morning sickness, which I'm surehad something to do with having such a terrible night. (You know what setit off? The smelly recirculated air in this office! I was okay for thewhole commute here, but I stepped inside, took 2 breaths and YARK! Gods Iwish I could open a window.)I know that, being pregnant, it's likely there isn't much I can do now. Ifstretching (tai chi) and exercising doesn't help, I don't know what will. But I'd be really interested if anybody knows what this might be, or whatkind of doctor I could go to to ask about it. I did see a chiropractor, bythe way; he did x-rays (of course) and said my neck was a little misalignedbut not bad; then for three appointments he did the standard neck-crackingback-cracking thing on me, and it didn't help at all. If anything it mademe ache more, so I didn't go back. The regular MD I mentioned it to yearsago gave me big doses of ibuprofen, which kills the pain, but onlytemporarily.Information will earn you eternal gratitude.Thanks!!Sara T.http://www.boredmail.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara,

 

I would recommend chiropractic (which I know you have done some of).

However, I would recommend using the activator method

(http://www.activator.com/). My chiro managed to get rid of my pains

when physical therapy would not. Hope this helps.

 

Marti

Sunland, CA

[Guest guest]

Sometimes this can be caused by a small tumor located on or next to a nerve

cell. Occasionally people are born with these, especially in industrial

zones. If the thing never grows, it may be impossible to pick up in an x-ray.

 

I understand about Ibuprofin. It's nasty stuff, and actually if you take too

much it will rot out the kidneys. Lots of pro football players have that

happen.

 

Try taking some lecithin. It's the cheapest of all supplements. At least it

can't hurt you, and if this is caused by pressure on a nerve cell, it will

strengthen and condition the coating of the cell, thus gradually providing

some relief.

 

 

On Mon, 5 Aug 2002 09:10:22 -0500 Sara Thustra <tv_is_a_drug wrote:

 

> Hey All: You've been so helpful in the past,

> so here's hoping!

>

> I've had bad pain in my shoulders--usually

> worse on one side--since I was a

> child. The pain is a sharp ache radiating out

> from one spot. Moving in

> some ways (okay most ways) hurts, and yet not

> moving seems to make it

> actively worse; the longer the arm is held

> (totally) still, the worse it

> gets. It spreads up into my neck and down to

> my upper back and even the

> wrist, but the epicenter seems to be on my arm,

> just below the shoulder on

> the front of my body, and " in the middle " , i.e.

> well underneath the skin,

> probably under the muscle too. Pressure or

> massage on the painful areas

> hurts too. It aches, actually, exactly like

> I've just been charley-horsed

> in the upper arm.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm usually just a lurker here, but I have a suggestion. I would try the

chiropractor thing again. I love mine. He works out all sorts of stuff for

me. He's really good at streching things into place (because I hate the

popping sound). He also fixes all sorts of stuff for me, shoulders and

knees mostly. I would do a little interview to find out how the dr feels

about other alternative medicines. You might also see if there is a local

college my theory is the youngers ones tend to be more open.

 

 

> " Sara Thustra " <tv_is_a_drug

>herbal remedies

>herbal remedies , 1herbal-healing

>[herbal remedies] What the heck is wrong with my arm?

>Mon, 5 Aug 2002 09:10:22 -0500

>

>Hey All: You've been so helpful in the past, so here's hoping!

>

>I've had bad pain in my shoulders--usually worse on one side--since I was a

>child. The pain is a sharp ache radiating out from one spot. Moving in

>some ways (okay most ways) hurts, and yet not moving seems to make it

>actively worse; the longer the arm is held (totally) still, the worse it

>gets. It spreads up into my neck and down to my upper back and even the

>wrist, but the epicenter seems to be on my arm, just below the shoulder on

>the front of my body, and " in the middle " , i.e. well underneath the skin,

>probably under the muscle too. Pressure or massage on the painful areas

>hurts too. It aches, actually, exactly like I've just been charley-horsed

>in the upper arm.

>

>I saw a specialist when I was younger (don't remember what kind, since my

>mom took me) who did x-rays and said there was no arthritis or carpal

>tunnel, but he thought that my " tendons were too loose " , and that the

>problem would clear up as I got older. This even sounded silly to me at

>the time, but hey, what can you do?

>

>The other thing that accompanies this sometimes really nasty pain is

> " cracking " of the joints in my neck and shoulder. My joints are often

>stiff (yay office work) and I can crack them anyway (but I don't unless

>they hurt); however when this shoulder problem flares up, my shoulder,

>wrist and the affected side of my neck will crack almost constantly. If

>they don't " crack " (say because they just did), then moving will cause them

>to " crackle " , with kind of a crunching sensation.

>

>Usually I take copious amounts of ibuprofen when this flares up, but now

>I'm pregnant so I can't. Also I've been sleeping more, which I think

>is making it worse. I try to sleep in good positions, but just leaving my

>arm still for hours makes it hurt progressively worse (and of course when

>I'm in pain I flop around at night, and if I end up laying on it *look

>out*). Even deep tissue repair oil, which does wonders for my normal

>office neck-pain, doesn't touch this shoulder thing. Also tai chi doesn't

>help it, and my usual exercise regimen makes it feel better, but the effect

>lasts only for about a minute after I'm done.

>

>Last night, it kept me up all night--the pain was horrible. This morning,

>I had my first puke-my-guts-out bout of morning sickness, which I'm sure

>had something to do with having such a terrible night. (You know what set

>it off? The smelly recirculated air in this office! I was okay for the

>whole commute here, but I stepped inside, took 2 breaths and YARK! Gods I

>wish I could open a window.)

>

>I know that, being pregnant, it's likely there isn't much I can do now. If

>stretching (tai chi) and exercising doesn't help, I don't know what will.

>But I'd be really interested if anybody knows what this might be, or what

>kind of doctor I could go to to ask about it. I did see a chiropractor, by

>the way; he did x-rays (of course) and said my neck was a little misaligned

>but not bad; then for three appointments he did the standard neck-cracking

>back-cracking thing on me, and it didn't help at all. If anything it made

>me ache more, so I didn't go back. The regular MD I mentioned it to years

>ago gave me big doses of ibuprofen, which kills the pain, but only

>temporarily.

>

>Information will earn you eternal gratitude.

>

>Thanks!!

>

>Sara T.

>http://www.boredmail.com

 

 

 

 

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