Muscle tension
 

My right arm has been feeling tense for the entire day. In fact, it woke me up at 3am this morning. I haven't been able to sit still because it is irritating. The tension is near my shoulder and it doesn't go away. I flex, I massage, I stretch, I drink alcohol, I lift weights... nothing is getting rid of this.

Does anyone have any tips to fix this?

It's probably from overuse. Have you tried icing it? If not, ice it for 20 minutes at a time and just try to relax it. The stretching and flexing may actually make it worse.

Try a good massage and some ibuprofen.

If that doesn't do it in a couple of days, go to a professional.

Rest it. Ice and ibuprofen as mentioned.
Any numbess/tingling in the arm?

Thanks for the thread topicality. I have had the same condition for the past few days as well. Right arm soreness, fingers tense, left arm lax... will try to scounge up some ibuprofen for tonight.

if there's any tension in the shoulder area that could be spreading down, try laying on two tennis balls shoved to the bottom of a long athletic sock (knotted off so they stay in place) right at the tight spot. or one tennis ball and lean up against the wall, kinda rolling it around on the sore areas. it allows you to control the pressure. also epsom salt baths rock. but the ibuprofen is going to help the most.

If there is pain involved my chiropractor and massage therapist would recommend icing the area. Personally, I find heat and massage work better for me, and stretching (ouch!) The best thing I have found though when Im in kind is to sleep on my back; it would be rare if I wasnt normal or at least well on way in the morning. I also pop Advil - you can take 4 every 8 hours, 3 every 6 hours, 2 every 4 hours.

If the tension is more like a bone thing, you know where it feels it needs to be cracked, try moving around, yanking on it, see a chiropractor, that sort of thing.

Poor baby. Hope you feel better.

Edit: Hey Noodle, thanks for your suggestion of a tennis ball - sounds simple and effective.

How Lax is your left arm?? Maybe you should see a neurologist seeing as your symptoms appear to be dimensional. Just consider how long you've had this and get a brain doctor to poke and probe.

Halx, how old are you?? I would advice seeing a doctor if your over 30. But first try the ibuprofen, icing and resting the arm.

The worst part about getting older is the little aches and pains. I have decreased range of motion in both shoulders because of rotator cuff problems.

Is your pain actually in the muscle or in the joint? It could be both since your muscles will spasm in response to joint problems. When mine act up my whole arm starts to hurt. Of course, if I overuse my shoulders (biking or play lots of shows) they scream for a day or two afterward.

I have been taking glucosamine for a few years now and it seems to help. However, there's really no "definitive" proof that it really does ... so it may just be placebo effect.

You know, Halx, I have come back to this post over and over and now my neck hurts. Quit it.

How are you feelin this morning? Its sunny here.

Could this be related to using a computer mouse? My arm starts to hurt if I spend too much time at the computer.

Some type of nerve damage perhaps?

If all else fails, you could try going to a chiropractor. I went to mine to help out issues I was having with my wrist/hand.

Eat a Banana: it could simply be a lack of potasium, which is used when you relax muscles.

/shrug, it works for my GF and her tense back.

Not to threadjack... but don't go to chiropractor. Many of them are useless (not to say all, but many are) plus this is about your shoulder... Aw, hell, just call me and I'll see if I can figure it out even tho Ortho is this semester. :)

I'll let you in on a full-body muscle relaxation trick. First, look in a mirror with no shirt on. You're looking for a roughly triangular pocket between the collar bone, the neck, and the muscle that runs from the neck to the top of the shoulder. The next part is easy for you: sit in a chair, lean back, and relax while your wife stands behind you, puts her thumbs on your upper back and digs her fingers into that pocket until it hurts a little but the pain is bearable. After holding that pinch for about a minute, she lets go and you feel an endorphine rush wash over your body. A few seconds of euphoria from the endorphines and your whole body should reflexively relax. Goes great with a full back or shoulder massage.
Seconding that. My view is that a chiropractor is someone delusional or devious enough to have gone to medical school yet can keep a straight face while telling me that my asthma is caused by bad posture.

You're wrong.

I mean, not about the delusional and devious part, about the medical school part.

Chiropractors have their own college system, and requirements seem to vary from one school to the next. The Cleveland Chiropractic College, for example, states that "It is preferred, but not required, that candidates complete a bachelor’s degree prior to entering the Doctor of Chiropractic program."

Their schools could be considered medical school in a liberal sense (in that they're schools that teach a sort of medical practice) but it's not the same type of schooling that Doctors of Medicine go to.

My rule is that before I let anyone try to diagnose my ailments they must have completed eight years of schooling plus a residency. It is preferred, but not required, that candidates complete a fellowship as well.

Huh, I guess the guys I've run into have either been tacking on an "MD" to their names fraudulently or actually did go to med school (the guy who said the asthma thing talked about his experience in med school,) MD isn't a requirement in CT, either.

Well, bad posture could cause asthma-like symptoms. Your diaphragm is just below your lungs. If you are all scrunched over, there will be less room for it to move.

That's an oversimplification to the point of being untrue. Yes, the diaphragm is between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity, but these are both normally sealed. When you slouch your stomache bulges out to account for the loss in volume, which is why slouching can make you look like you're out of shape.

Also, the diaphragm isn't the only muscle involved in the breathing mechanism. The intercostal muscles between the ribs also play a role.

Bad posture might cause mild shortness of breath, but cannot cause the extreme difficulty breathing associated with an asthma attack without some other factor being involved.

Sit up straight and take a deep breath.
Now do it slouched over.
Which one is easier?

Yeah, the gut bulges out but your forgetting about the solid organs. The liver and spleen don't have much of anywhere to go when slouched over and cut into the available area for the diaphragm to expand.
Which is why I stated asthma-like.

You seem to have missed that part. Calling the slight difficulty breathing associated with bad posture 'asthma-like' is akin to referring to a paper cut as a 'major laceration.' Asthma is characterized by a restriction of the bronchi, resulting in extreme shortness of breath, hyperventilation and/or even suffocation. Posture plays no role in this and to assert that it does is asinine.

There are different levels of asthma exacerbation, from what you mentioned to just not being able to take a deep breath and/or feeling a bit winded.