A reader asked me about left arm numbness following a truck accident. Here’s her question:
My dad had a bad wreck 3 weeks ago. He has had 3 different x-rays an MRI and a CAT scan. All the tests showed nothing, and they sent him to physical therapy. His left arm is completely numb and he can’t lift it without his back and arm hurting him. He was pinned under a big truck for over an hour laying on his left arm the entire time. He has 3 knots in his back and when he sits down for 10 minutes it hurts so bad for him to get up. Once he gets up it’s lightened but still hurts. He can’t get dressed by himself because he can only lift his arm up so far without pain shooting through him. Can you tell me what might be wrong?
Here’s my response:
I’m so sorry to hear of your dad’s accident but he is lucky he has you. I’m glad he doesn’t have anything showing in his tests because that’s good news. That means it’s most likely muscle and other soft tissues. They can be treated and they do heal!
Based on what you told me, here’s what I would guess and suggest:
1. There is a muscle in the left side of his neck and causes knots in the back and pain in the hand and arm. I think this will be a big cause of his pain. (video link deleted due to technology.) It’s called the scalene muscle.
2. The deltoid, or cap, muscle on the outer side of your dad’s arm might also be involved because that muscle prevents the ability to lift.
3. I would suspect that ALL of the muscles around his upper body, ribs, chest, back, neck and arm are involved because they’re all attached.
At CarpalTunnelPainRelief.com there is a “Massage” Category. That category will give you some self-help info and also ideas about how to find a massage therapist who can help. Also check out the “Self-Help” Category. Even though it’s not carpal tunnel syndrome, there are many similar causes.
Breathing thoughtfully as fully in and out as he can (while he’s in the most comfortable position he can get into) will massage the muscles around the ribs, inside and out.
Either ice or heat around the back, side, shoulder and chest will help those muscles relax at this point. See the Category for “Heat and Ice Therapy.” Ice would probably be the treatment of choice around his neck.
Because of your dad’s symptoms, check out this Internet radio show,too. I’m sorry I’m not technically advanced enough to give you the address of this recording, but it is the featured episode (so it’s at the top of the list) at CarpalTunnelRadio.com and it’s about that muscle in the neck. It’s only 30 minutes.
Massage therapists who are trained to relieve pain by getting to the root cause of the pain can usually get relief for people in your dad’s situation. Manual medicine (massage) actually gets into the muscles to relieve tightness and trigger points. (See the “Triggers and Trigger Points” Category.) That doesn’t mean ANY old tight muscle; it means the muscles that are CAUSING the pain. There’s a big difference.
Physical therapy will work best when all of the muscles are treated (massaged by hand) and “released” manually first and the tissues are normalized. But, at that point, your dad may not need the physical therapy because he’ll be feeling so well.
It’s not necessary to see a professional massage therapist if you can’t afford it. It is important to know where to massage and press into areas that are causing his symptoms. If you can’t afford a therapist, try to get your hands on the trigger point self help book by Claire Davies at Amazon or your local library. It’s worth its weight in gold.
You can do a lot of the massage for him (perhaps) yourself. It will be painful because the muscles are so tight and tender right now, but if he will allow you to do that he may find himself saying, “That really hurts; don’t stop; I can tell that’s a place that’s causing the problems.”
My expertise is in how the body works and how to get rid of pain. Because of my background, I am very, very biased about the value of massage. Very! Your dad’s body needs some help right now and I believe in my heart that this type of muscle and soft tissue treatment will give him the most relief and healing because I have seen it over and over and over.
Hopefully, this father will be feeling much better soon. While it’s difficult to make a long-distance assessment, bodies tend to behave in predictable ways. That’s how I am able to come up with my “best guesses” about the cause and “cure” for muscle pain.
