Forearm Pain linked to sleep disorders! Does anyone else get this?

[nativedancer]

i have a damaged ulnar nerve in my left arm, from positioning durin ggggg surgery for a knee replacement a few years back. at first there was no pain, only a limited use of the little finger, but over the past year or so, i have developed the kind of pain you describe. i can no longer use non-steroids, so i am limited to tylenol, but it does the trick most nights. holding the forearm across the chest also helps.

[DocWils]

I really hate doctors (except DocWils)...

Yeah, me too.

[DocWils]

Not to wear out the issue, but realize you are dealing here with an ankylosing spondilitis sufferer who has struggled to find a sleeping position that works for decades. Usually with success. A flat mattress? out of the question. I sleep partially sitting up for the most part.

None of this came in handy during my sleep test; I was awake and in pain for most of it.

But I appreciate your input very much.

Tyrone,

Even a partly raised mattress can be done in a way that keeps your spinal alignment such that you do not impinge or press on the girdle of the shoulder muscles.

Your scalenes are the muscles in the front of your shoulders and neck that help to form the characteristic delta shape of the shoulder muscles and can be felt forward at the junction of the neck and the clavicle (the bone that juts sideways to the shoulder cap) - if that area feels like rock or bone, it shouldn't. Supra and ifnra spinatii are located on the back side of your shoulder muscles and run along the shoulder and up to the neck. Same notation about rock and stone.

[TyroneShoes]

Tyrone,

Even a partly raised mattress can be done in a way that keeps your spinal alignment such that you do not impinge or press on the girdle of the shoulder muscles.

Your scalenes are the muscles in the front of your shoulders and neck that help to form the characteristic delta shape of the shoulder muscles and can be felt forward at the junction of the neck and the clavicle (the bone that juts sideways to the shoulder cap) - if that area feels like rock or bone, it shouldn't. Supra and ifnra spinatii are located on the back side of your shoulder muscles and run along the shoulder and up to the neck. Same notation about rock and stone.

I am somewhat not at all surprised to learn that you agree with me about docs in general.

I did some research regarding your suggestions...much more to get to, of course. Thanks for pointing me in a helpful direction. No rock, no stone. Just a stiff C1 through T6.

But I am also the king of experimentation with sleeping positions and support strategies, not because it's good to be the king, but by necessity, because I would like to occasionally get a good night's sleep without waking in pain after 4 hours. Most nights I can do that, but every once in a while I get a run of 3 nights or so when things don't work out the way I would hope. The other night I had to lay a bunch of pillows on my desk at 2 AM and sleep the second half of the night laying forward on them in my desk chair (try that with the mask). The next night, no problem at all. Go figure.

Every night, gravity seems to be my nemesis, but memory foam is my best friend, and my favorite invention since the microwave oven. I thought it would be a scam, but it is actually a godsend. Pillows, mattress toppers, what have you, that stuff really works.

Once more, I am endorsing the neural glides for everyone; my forearm pain is waning every day.

[nativedancer]

I can only add to the possibilities. A few years back, during surgery to replace my left knee, the ulnar nerve in my left arm was injured. Although movement of the little finger was limited, there was no pain for a year or so. Lately, however, the nerve has grown painful off and on in the forearm. My coumadin doesn't allow for the use of naproxen, or aspirin, so I am limited to tylenol, which I never used to have much respect for, but it is actually very helpful. Also, crossing the arm across the chest, even using a sling in the daytime, or just resting it on the chest area at night, if you can lie on your back when sleeping. The only real cure, I am told, is surgery, and that might actually worsen the condition.

[DocWils]

Yes, surgery is a risk, but a limited one, often. First, however, you have to go through binding and any other method of resting and regenerating the joint and nerve. Using a sling for a few months and manual therapy would be my first consideration. Also, if you can get it, Voltaren gel rubbed into the joint to help relieve the inflammation and encourage circulation is good idea. Ask your pharmacist if it interacts with coumadin when used in gel form. It may not as it doesn't get into the blood stream so much. DMSO topically (horse liniment) is also a good idea - again, ask your pharmacist how that works with coumadin before using. You will begin to smell of garlic after using for a while, but it is an effective method for helping in situations such as yours (here we sell it in a gel called Sportusal as an over the counter medicine, I think the Us is more restrictive for topical DMSO).

I am sort of curious how your arm got injured during a knee operation. Was it from how you were placed on the table? Or did they drop an instrument on it?

[nativedancer]

I understand it had to do with placement, but no definitive answer. I do know that I noticed the numbness immediately after surgery, and even mentioned it to the surgeon, who said it was probably temporary, but if it persisted I should perhaps see a neurologist. I have read recently that this ulnar damage is a fairly common occurrence statistically, owing to placement while under anesthesia, but I never pursued it further, mainly because I had no pain at all for over a year.

[DocWils]

Not all that common here, but it does depend on how they place you on the table, and practices vary depending on what is being operated. Often what you have in a case like yours is a soft tissue injury, akin to tennis elbow, and this is tough to heal and will come back at you repeatedly. For such cases I try to do everything short of surgery first, even an elbow cuff sometimes does it, osteopathic therapy is also sometimes effective, but I prefer not to cut unless all options are exhausted for a case like yours, simply because the results are variable.