There are 30 bones, 14 major nerves, and over 40 muscles in the arm to make it flexible and adaptable. This also makes the arm prone to injury and arm pain should not be ignored. It can be caused by an injury but can also be a symptom of a more serious underlying problem. If you’re not experiencing pain relief for your arm pain from home care or exercises, or if your symptoms are prolonged or recurring, it may be time to schedule a full chiropractic exam to find out why and what can be done to fix it.
Together, we will create a personalized treatment plan catered to YOUR body, YOUR pain points and YOUR speed. What is right for one won’t be right for another. We specialize in the following methods to create a customized treatment plan.
Chiropractic care is not just a solution to spinal pain, but to arm pain, tingling, and numbness as well. Your chiropractor can perform gentle adjustments at your shoulder, arm, and wrist which can help free nerves that are causing your pain.
However, not all arm pain is actually due to a condition in the arm. Many types of arm pain are the result of a problem in the neck or spine. Although the nerve is being pinched in the neck, you may feel the pain in your shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, hands, or fingers. Chiropractic adjustments can alleviate arm pain due to spinal misalignments as well.
In addition to chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy can help you with arm pain as well. Massage helps loosen ligaments and tendons that could be making your joints painful and stiff. Massage also helps reduce overall inflammation and muscle soreness by treating muscle spasms, increasing flexibility and range of motion, and improving circulation throughout the body. This can help reduce your pain and recovery time.
Most arm pain starts in the neck. Pain that starts in the neck and radiates to the arm can result from poor spinal alignment, disc degeneration, osteoarthritis, disc herniation, or any combination of the above. Arm pain is usually an indication of pressure on a nerve in the neck and many people seeking treatment for arm pain are unaware the pain is likely stemming from a problem in their neck.
Ice or heat applied to your arm or neck can sometimes do the trick. Treatment from your chiropractor can also typically help alleviate pain and tingling in the arms depending on the cause. If the tingling lasts longer than several days you’ll want to schedule an exam to find and address what’s causing the tingling, numbness, or pain in your arms.
Your chiropractor will examine you and conduct diagnostic tests to determine the cause of your arm pain. They will then decide which treatment option is best for you. Gentle spinal manipulation may be an option, as well as other methods of treatment.
Yes! This is called cervical radiculopathy and results when the nerves in your neck or back get pinched or compressed resulting in pain that travels down into the arm, elbow, and hands.
Numbness and tingling are unpleasant and usual physical sensations usually felt in the extremities such as the toes, feet, legs, fingers, arms, and hands. The sensations come in two different forms – paresthesia and dysesthesia. Paresthesia is the feeling of pins and needles on the skin or the sensation of the hands or arms feeling asleep. Dysesthesia is a less common, but more persistent sensation of itching or pain that resembles electric shock, burning, or tightening.
Arm numbness and tingling may occur with other symptoms in addition to numbness, tingling, and itchiness. Additional symptoms may include a burning feel, cold arms or fingers, increased symptoms when typing or writing, muscle spasms, neck pain, rash, sensitivity to touch, and twitching.
Causes of this condition may result from reduced blood flow to an extremity which may simply be from external pressure that constricts blood flow. Injuries to the nervous system may produce these symptoms, and the injury may be far away from the parts of the body experiencing symptoms. Pinched nerves in the neck resulting from arthritis, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, disease, and more can cause numbness and tingling in the arms. Other causes may include tumors, scar tissue, enlarged blood vessels, infection, headaches and migraines, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, trauma, golfer or tennis elbow, thoracic outlet syndrome, and more.
Treatment for these symptoms varies based on the underlying cause of the symptoms. Treatment will likely start out with less invasive options such as ice or heat therapy, rest, physiotherapy, and chiropractic treatments. Chiropractors are experts in understanding how the spine, vertebrae, and surrounding muscles and tissues interact. Thus, gentle chiropractic adjustments of the spine, neck, and extremities can help to realign your body and provide relief for pinched, stressed, or restricted nerves. These gentle adjustments also help to decrease inflammation, relieve pressure, reduce nerve irritability, and ultimately allow your entire body to be more receptive to the healing process.
While the sensations may be unpleasant and scary, they are rarely serious. However, be wary of uncomfortable or painful numbness or tingling that persists or has no discernible cause. Numbness and tingling around the back, shoulders, and neck are of particular concern and immediate medical assessment should be considered.
Chiropractic adjustments to your spine can help alleviate these sensations by gently adjusting the spine and relieving pressure from the nerves that may be causing your symptoms. If you have sought other treatments and not had much relief, chiropractic care may be the solution you are looking for.
If you have a history of or are at high risk of cardiovascular disease you should seek immediate medical attention if you experience unexplained or persistent numbness and/or tingling in your arm, especially if you don’t have an obvious cause or reason for the sensations.
Carpal tunnel creates a wide variety of symptoms and not everyone will experience all symptoms. Symptoms typically appear gradually and worsen over time. At first, symptoms may only appear with certain activity, but as the condition progresses, symptoms will likely be felt all the time. Symptoms include throbbing and swelling of the wrist and hand, aching pain in the wrist, numbness or tingling in the fingers and hands, loss of grip strength, decreased range of motion in the wrists and hands, and the urge to shake your hands.
There isn’t usually one single cause of the condition, but rather a combination that affects most people. Causes may include repetitive movement of the hands or wrist such as playing tennis or typing, pregnancy, health problems such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes, and dislocation, fracture, or injury to the wrist.
If you’re suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, we have good news for you! There are some great conservative care options for treating and overcoming this condition. Some of the more common practices providing patients relief include anti-inflammatory medication, ice therapy, short and frequent breaks from activity, and wrist splints.
Chiropractic care can also provide the relief you are seeking. Gentle, chiropractic adjustments of the spine, elbow and wrist help to alleviate pressure in your joints, decrease inflammation and allow your entire body to function better. This is a much safer and better alternative to surgery and worth exploring first.
To best ease the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, you may want to soak your wrist in an ice bath or put ice on your wrist. Try this for 10 to 15 minutes once or twice an hour.
Any job or activity that requires repetitive movements of the wrist or fingers, awkward hand movements, mechanical stress, or vibration puts you at increased risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Strong pulling, tugging, twisting, or pushing movements are also associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Both the neck and spine can play a role in carpal tunnel syndrome and your chiropractor may try techniques to give gentle relief of these underlying conditions. Gentle manipulation of the wrist and elbow may also be used to help ease the pain.
Your wrist houses a lot of bones and ligaments that protect the inside nerves and tendons. When this interior tunnel is irritated or injured, carpal tunnel syndrome may occur. Bones and ligaments may move out of place or swell and put pressure on the median nerve resulting in symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon, a thick fibrous cord that attaches muscle to bone. The condition often causes tenderness and pain just outside of a joint. It is most common around the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and heels.
Symptoms of tendonitis typically occur at the point where the tendon attaches to the bone and include pain described as a dull ache, especially when moving the associated joint. Tenderness and mild swelling may also occur.
Tendonitis may be caused by sudden injury, but it is more likely to result from repetitive motion to a particular area. Most people develop tendonitis due to a hobby or job that involves repetitive motion that puts stress on the tendons.
Initial treatment for tendonitis will include avoiding activities that aggravate the symptoms, icing the area, and taking anti-inflammatory medications. If the condition persists, your doctor may recommend steroid injections, physical therapy, and chiropractic care.
Chiropractic treatment is a natural way of reducing inflammation and relieving pain if you suffer from tendonitis. We use spinal manipulation to reduce pain and inflammation. By aligning your spine, we can help tackle inflammation for optimal mobility. Through a controlled force to certain joints, this type of treatment can help restore comfortable movement.
Anyone can get tendonitis, but it is most common in adults over the age of 50. As tendons age they don’t handle stress as well, are less elastic, more likely to tear, and more likely to suffer from tendonitis.
When starting a new activity, start out slow and gradually build up your activity level. Use limited force and limited repetitions and stop if pain occurs.
Tendonitis can take weeks or months to recover from. How fast you recover depends on what treatment options you are using to heal and how severe your tendonitis was when you started treatment.
Pain associated with tennis elbow often radiates from the outside of the elbow into the forearm and wrist. Weakness in this area is often present as well. This makes it difficult to grip objects, shake hands, hold things, and turn door knobs.
Tennis elbow is a muscle strain injury caused by overuse. The cause is repeated contraction of the muscles in the forearm that are used to raise and straighten the hand and wrist. This can result in tiny tears in the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the bony area on the outside of your elbow. As the name suggests, tennis players are prone to this condition. However, other common arm motions can cause it including the use of plumbing tools, driving screws, painting, cutting up ingredients (particularly meat), and repetitive use of a computer mouse.
Non-invasive treatments are often used for tennis elbow and include rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medications. As you work toward complete healing from tennis elbow, seeking out chiropractic treatment is another great way to further support your body.
A chiropractic practitioner uses gentle adjustments of the spine, neck, and extremities to help to realign your body, decrease pressure, and provide real relief to allow your system to restore proper function and speed the healing process. In particular, the adjustments of the extremities target the build-up of pressure that can cause much of the irritation from tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow most commonly affects people between the ages of 30 and 50 and although you may want to simply ignore the pain, that isn’t a good idea. If left untreated, tennis elbow can progress into a debilitating injury that could eventually require surgery.
The main difference between these two conditions is the location of the inflammation. Tennis elbow typically causes pain around the outside area of the elbow and forearm, while golf elbow causes pain on the inner side of the arm and elbow.
A pinched nerve in or near the elbow can cause elbow pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the arm, wrist, and hand. The nerve most commonly responsible for this is the ulnar nerve.
Tennis elbow is a painful condition that occurs when the tendons in your elbow are strained, usually due to repetitive motions of the arm and/or wrist. Contrary to belief, athletes aren’t the only ones who can get tennis elbow. People whose jobs require the same types of motions are also prone to developing the condition. These include plumbers, carpenters, painters, and butchers.
Golfer’s elbow, or golf elbow, is a condition that causes pain in the area where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to the bony bump on the inside of the elbow. The pain often spreads into the forearm and wrist. Just like with tennis elbow, golf elbow is not limited to golfers. Other people who repeatedly use their wrist or clinch their fingers can develop golfer’s elbow. Fortunately, rest and appropriate treatment can often fix the condition.
Golf elbow is characterized by pain and tenderness felt on the inside of the elbow that extends down into the inner side of the forearm. Pain typically gets worse with certain movements. Other symptoms include stiffness in the elbow, weakness in the wrist and hand, numbness or tingling that radiates into one or more fingers (usually the little finger or ring finger). Pain may come on suddenly or gradually get worse.
Golfer’s elbow is caused by damage to the muscles and tendons that help control the fingers and wrist. Damage is typically due to excess or repeated stress to the wrist and fingers. This can be caused by improper lifting, hitting or throwing, or too little warm up or poor conditioning. Other activities and occupations besides golf can result in golfer’s elbow including racket sports, throwing sports, weight training, construction work, and plumbing work.
Conservative treatments including, rest from activities, ice, and anti-inflammatory medications are often enough to treat golfer’s elbow. Your doctor may also recommend you wear a brace on your affected arm to reduce muscle and tendon strain. Chiropractic treatments including myofascial release, therapeutic ultrasound, and chiropractic adjustments can help initiate movement within the joint and take pressure off the surrounding muscles.
Although it may be tempting to simply ignore the pain, that isn’t a good idea. If left untreated, golfer’s elbow can progress into a debilitating injury that could eventually require surgery.
The main difference between these two conditions is the location of the inflammation. Tennis elbow typically causes pain around the outside area of the elbow and forearm, while golf elbow causes pain on the inner side of the arm and elbow.
A pinched nerve in or near the elbow can cause elbow pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the arm, wrist, and hand. The nerve most commonly responsible for this is the ulnar nerve.
Another great modality to use in your treatment of arm pain is chiropractic care. A chiropractic practitioner uses gentle adjustments of the spine and extremities to help to realign your body, decrease pressure, and provide real relief to your system. These adjustments allow your entire body to restore proper function, which is a huge win in your journey back to full health. And, when you’re managing an injury with a more intricate location – like your arms – the adjustments of the extremities in particular can help to effectively treat the root of the pain.
In addition to chiropractic adjustments, your practitioner can also provide guidance on proper rehabilitation exercises to perform at home. These personalized exercises and other guidance will help you continue to address the root of your problem outside of a chiropractor’s office, help to speed your recovery process, and keep it bay.
The most important thing is to identify the root cause of your arm pain so it can be properly treated once and for all.
