Q&A: What is causing pins and needles in my arm? | Expert Opinion
When patients start to feel these issues, they often think it’s an arm issue, but in most cases it is not.
When there is tightness in the shoulder or there is a change in shoulder, upper back or head position, a group of nerves that sit right behind the collar bone can get pinched or impinged.
The most common symptoms of impinged nerves include arm numbness, pain, tingling or even a cold sensation into the fingers. When patients start to feel these issues, they often think it’s an arm issue but in most cases it is not.
When patients experience these symptoms, I start by looking at the muscles around the shoulder joint to see whether muscle tightness could be the cause. There are also tests that can be performed to determine whether a nerve is being impinged or if the problem is more complicated. If the nerves are being impinged behind the collar bone area, the patient is often diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.
Thoracic outlet syndrome is caused by repetitive motions or contractions of the muscles around the collar bone. For millions of Americans with desk jobs, this repetitive motion can come from prolonged sitting.
Just think: You wake up, sit in the kitchen for breakfast, sit in your car on the way to work, sit at work, sit at the dinner table, and then finally sit on the couch at the end of the day. All of that sitting can really add up to tight or overused muscles. People with a rounded thoracic spine (mid back), shoulders that are rounded forward, or their head way out in front of their shoulders (think of your teenager on a cellphone) put themselves at risk for thoracic outlet syndrome as well as other issues such as headaches, low back pain or neck pain.
There are reasons other than posture that someone may develop thoracic outlet syndrome. Performing a swinging or throwing sport such as tennis or baseball, lifting weights, working in a physically demanding job can all put a lot of stress on the shoulder musculature
So, how do you fix thoracic outlet syndrome? First, I use the patch technique, a form of myofascial release or manual massage, to improve flexibility with the muscles around the shoulder. If the tight muscles are stretched out, the signal traveling through the nerve into the arm frees up and the symptoms often go away. Once the muscles are stretched out, I recommend physical therapy to help correct bad posture that caused the problem.
Marc Legere is a chiropractor specializing in myofascial release. He has offices in Cherry Hill and Blue Bell and can be reached at mlegere@patchtechnique.com.