What have I done?

[flyingcheesehead]

The left armrest broke in my truck while I was on my way out to CA just over a week ago. After resting my arm on the window sill on the door, which was running between my elbow and the inside elbow joint (right in the little "valley" there), I'm having problems with my arm.

At first I thought it was circulation, because my arm felt like it had "fallen asleep" (tingles and such, like after you lean on it for too long). However, the tingles have remained, especially in my ring finger and pinkie as well as along the whole underside of my arm. I noticed when trying to put my laptop on a shelf that I can no longer hold it with my left hand, so there's a strength issue as well.

I'm guessing I did something to some nerve. Is there anything I can do to try to fix it without having to take days off to go to a doctor?

 

[tomcat]

I would simply arm (no pun) myself with some patience, it sounds like you have put some pressure on that nerve, and it may take a few days to recover.

 

[Brian Austin]

My wife had this exact same problem, with symptoms, under similar circumstances.

The ulner nerve was pinched by her elbow joint. PT didn't correct it so she had to have surgery. They moved the nerve, carved a channel in her bones, and put everything back together. Her left arm was in a cast for six weeks. You know you love a woman when you're willing to wash her hair daily for six flippin' weeks.

See someone now before it gets worse. Apparently it's easier to correct via physical therapy if it's caught sooner (from what our doc told us, anyway).

 

[One Short]

If you've never had troubles with it before, I would not give it a rest, sort of. Don't rest your elbow on the table or do other activities that would put pressure on the area. And you might try taking Motrin or Aleve(generics are just as good) for a while to decrease inflammation in the area. If it persists or has been frequently recurrent then see someone.

Barb

 

[Richard]

I'm going through a somewhat similar thing. Tingling, like my fingers, hand, arm, or any combo thereof, have fallen asleep with occasional fiery hot needles radiating from my elbow to hand. MRI of cervical spine reveals nothing, x-rays of arm...nothing. Neuro doc says everything normal.

Probably a combination of carpal tunnel + "severe" type of tendonitis (I didn't know there were different types). Kent, the reason I mention this is to point out maybe your condition is the result of repetitive motions and you only noticed it now.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Kent, the reason I mention this is to point out maybe your condition is the result of repetitive motions and you only noticed it now.

It was a pretty quick onset though, and the problem is exactly where my arm rests on the door when my armrest isn't functioning.

It is not improving at all.

 

[Brian Austin]

It was a pretty quick onset though, and the problem is exactly where my arm rests on the door when my armrest isn't functioning.

It is not improving at all.

Same symptoms as my wife. Get it checked.

Hers started after a three day jaunt across the US when I moved from Michigan to Arizona. Three days as a passenger, resting her arm on the moving van's center console while crocheting. Three months later, she was in a cast for six weeks and I was washing her hair under the kitchen sink for her.

 

[EtherAviator]

Kent,

It sounds as though you sustained a pressure injury to your ulnar nerve. The distribution of symptoms that you describe is a virtual roadmap of the areas supplied by that nerve, and the nerve is particularly vulnerable to injury at the site where the pressure was. (When you hit your "funny bone", you are actually dinging the ulnar nerve at this spot.)

Bad news: Sounds like you did sustain some nerve injury, evidenced by both sensory and motor deficits. You should be seen by a neurologist, who may order an electromyography (EMG) test to assess the extent of nerve damage.

Good news: Your mild symptoms, and the fact that the nerve sheath is likely intact, make it more likely than not that you will completely recover, although this may take several months.

Your physician might suggest one of several medications to control any nerve pain symptoms you may be having. Many of these may be disqualifying, so discuss the implications with him/her and your AME. Of course, a significant motor deficit would likely be grounding as well.

Mike H., M.D.

 

[etsisk]

And get in touch with Brian when your hair gets dirty!

 

[gprellwitz]

And get in touch with Brian when your hair gets dirty!

I cracked up!

Seriously Kent, I'd be ultra-cautious and see a doctor. Not something that guys are particularly good at . Brian's tale tends to scare me a bit (as does the thought of him washing my hair) Not meaning to disagree with Barb, of course! Just remember, it's a work-related injury!

 

[bbchien]

Kent, that shoulda resolved by now.....has it?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Kent, that shoulda resolved by now.....has it?

No.

It improved a hair, though sometimes it gets worse for a short time. For the most part it's just tingling and loss of strength in the ring and pinkie fingers on that hand, and some pain in the elbow itself.

Time to see a doc. "Time" being the operative word. Might have to be Sunday. Ugh.

 

[jhempel]

I am curious, Dr. Bruce, can simply leaning on the arm like that do permanent damage to a nerve? Or, is this a sign of another condition and this just brought out the symptoms?

The reason I ask is that I drive a lot. I also lean on the window sill sometimes, as he described above. It never crossed by mind that I could damage a nerve. I get restless when I drive, so I'm constantly changing positions. Perhaps he stayed in one position too long.

It still seems odd to me that it would damage anything. Of course, I'm not a doctor and know nothing about medical stuff. I'm curious about this one. I suppose the human body is fragile and vunerable in more ways than we usually think about.

 

[bbchien]

I am curious, Dr. Bruce, can simply leaning on the arm like that do permanent damage to a nerve? Or, is this a sign of another condition and this just brought out the symptoms?

The reason I ask is that I drive a lot. I also lean on the window sill sometimes, as he described above. It never crossed by mind that I could damage a nerve. I get restless when I drive, so I'm constantly changing positions. Perhaps he stayed in one position too long.

It still seems odd to me that it would damage anything. Of course, I'm not a doctor and know nothing about medical stuff. I'm curious about this one. I suppose the human body is fragile and vunerable in more ways than we usually think about.

Depends on how big the hematoma (collection of blood) was, which would be my guess. The ulnar tunnel is a narrow notch in bone and there's not a lot of place for the nerve to go faced with a big glob of pressurizing blood....we are really single use machines with no provision for after-warranty service. The notch of bone is there to protect against direct physical pressure on the nerve

Service is totally dependent on our level of ingenuity.

 

[jhempel]

Thank you for the explanation. I like your comment that “Service is totally dependent on our level of ingenuity.”

I have begun to think about these things a lot lately. I need to learn a lot more about medical stuff, since I'm fast reaching the age when things may start to wear out!

We had a cancer scare with my wife the past few weeks. It turned out that it wasn't cancer, but made us quickly realize that life can change quickly.