Question: What’s Causes Loss of Use of the Right Arm?
QUESTION: Here’s what a patient wrote lately in an email. “I’ve never been to a chiropractor, but I thought I’d just write you an email. That way I can find out upfront if you can help. Here’s what’s going on and the reason I’m writing you today. I have lost most of the use of my right arm and hand over the past 6 to 9 months. I have muscle problems as a result. I have muscle twitching, chronic pain from my hand, right arm, right shoulder, back behind my shoulder blade, neck and up through my neck. I get sharp pains in my neck, behind my shoulder blade, and in my shoulder. My right hand has progressively gotten colder to the touch over the last 6 months to the point now that it is VERY cold to EVERYONE that touches my hand (as the weather gets colder, so does my hand. An arthrogram indicated no arterial blockage per my medical doctor). I get occasional numbness in my fingers. Can you help and what do you think is my problem?”
ANSWER: The problem can stem from your neck. It can also be some other issues. Nerve pinching does not necessarily make your hands and fingers cold. This is a vascular phenomenon and you want to do something about it as fast as you can because this is not something that is just going to go away. It sounds to me as though this is some variant of a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Big name huh? Well let me explain that to you. This is an unusual syndrome that can come on after any kind of hand/arm trauma. It seems to be a problem in people’s nervous systems and then that leads to spastic musculature, then maybe you have some coldness in your hands. It also leads to widespread pain. If you already have atrophy or a condition where you’re losing your muscle size, it is probably fairly advanced. Usually, the treatment consists of adjustments to help relieve any blockage of your nervous system). You might also need some aggressive physical therapy. Avoid any operations or any other trauma, as this is likely to make the pain and syndrome worse than it already is. Your best treatment option would to make sure you’re getting adjusted at least three times a week or more.