Hi guys! So about a week ago I was doing squats at my house but with a smaller bar then I’m used to so I had to put my arm in kind of a weird position. Immediately after my arm had pins and needles and felt numb. Most of the numbness had gone now but I still feel numbness around the bottom of my bicep and around my tricep and rear delt and sometimes still have pins and needles in my hands. Today was arm day and my left arm(the one with the issue) was much weaker than my right which isn’t normal. There is absolutely no pain tho. Any ideas of what this could be? Will it work itself out? Pinched nerve maybe? Please help
Precisely where are the parasthesias (pins and needles) located? And which specific muscles were weak?
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Pins and needles mostly in the hand(mostly thumb), lower bicep, tricep and rear delt are just kind of numb but not really pins and needles. My arm seems to be fine on all exercises except bicep exercises. Today was my arm day and the left bicep was much weaker, like I’m talking I do 15 reps with right arm then can only do like 6-7 with left arm with same weight. The rest of the arms strength doesn’t seem to be effected as it seemed to be even with my right arm through tricep kick backs etc, and through my shoulder exercises the other day.
‘Pins and needles’ are distributed to segments of the body, not to muscles. So, don’t try and describe them in terms of nearby muscles–instead, describe them in terms of the aspects of your arm and shoulder that are involved. Also, be more specific; eg, exactly which portions of your thumb are affected? Are other aspects of the hand involved as well?
OK, so just the biceps was weak. That helps.
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Ok gotcha so the pins and needles in my thumb go from the meaty part of the bottom thumb( on the palm side of the hand) up to the tip. But all on the palm side of the hand or fingerprint part of the finger. The “crook” of my arm(the opposite side of my elbow) is around where I’m the most numb. The upper back of my arm going towards my shoulder is numb, and the back of my shoulder is numb. Hope this helps? Lol hard to describe without being able to point or show. No other part of the hand is involved. Let me know if this answers all the questions
OK, that helps. It sounds like you may have injured your C5/C6 nerve roots–‘pinched nerves,’ as you called it. These roots contribute to the musculocutaneous nerve, which innervates the biceps–explains your weakness. Further, their dermatomes coincide with the areas in which you’re experiencing parasthesias:
The fact that your symptoms started suddenly when you were squatting in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable manner suggests you sustained an acute injury at that time. Further, the fact that your symptoms haven’t resolved suggests the injury itself hasn’t either. Will it do so spontaneously? Hard to say. I would venture this is worth a phone call to your primary-care provider; s/he may want to image your spine, or want you to try a course of anti-inflammatory meds. So, give your doc a call.
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