Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Laine on April 01, 2015, 03:29:23 PM
-
I went for an xray yesterday as the pain in both upper arms has got so bad it's waking me up at night :(
I don't have very good posture and find myself hunched over all the time and have to force myself to relax my shoulders. Over time it's caused a pain at the back of my neck which has now affected my arms.
Just wondering if anyone else has this problem and what you did/do to try and ease it?
Laine x
-
Yoga! Swimming! Brisk walking all with shoulders lowered and head high. If someone suffers anxiety the shoulders can rise and everything from mid-waist upwards becomes tense ……..
I take 2 Nurofen and step out briskly, by the time I get home the sciatica has eased. Making sure that you sit relaxed and not slumped can help symptoms.
How do you sleep, do you need a new pillow?
-
I've just started walking to work in the hope that will help, only trouble is I've now got a pain down the side of my leg lol.
Think I may have to have a wander into town and invest in some new pillows.
It's trying to relax my shoulders that's hard as I've been tense in that area for so long!
-
Pull your shoulders up as close to your ears as possible: hold for the count of 3; lower slowly. Lean your left ear to your left shoulder and then r ear to r shoulder. Return to the centre. 10 mins. several times a day. Lower shoulders and breath deeply.
-
I've had what feels like frozen shoulder for a month or so. I thought it was some kind of repetitive strain injury to start with to do with where I sit when working but I've changed that a number of times and it hasn't made any difference and I suspect it's more of a menopausal thing - sigh.
Has HRT managed to cure (or diminish) this for anyone?
GG x
-
I've just tried leaning my head to each side and it's so tight around my neck area, will try and remember to do them every day :)
-
Gently. Stretching. Whilst watching TV ;)
-
Book yourself a sports massage - seriously, it's excellent!
It's not a relaxing treatment while you're having it - be prepared for quite a bit of discomfort and even some pain - but it's fab afterwards and has a deeper and longer lasting effect than a normal relaxing massage.
A sports therapist will spend some time diagnosing where your tension is and how your body is (or isn't!) working and anything caused by bad posture.
-
Never thought of a sports massage, will see if there is anyone near me. I'm also looking out for a yoga class :)
-
If you are getting pain down your leg as well it could be sciatica. When I had physio for mine the cause was a misaligned vertebra between my shoulder blades. This put my whole spine out of kink and put pressure of the sciatic nerve at the base of the spine.
If you have something similar, that could explain the pain in you arms as well. I also use to get a lot of shoulder pain.
Luckily four sessions of physio put it right. :)
-
I was going to suggest a sports massage as well, our local physio does them so that could be a good starting point of where to look? And exercise as CLKD says - I can vouch for Pilates, it worked wonders for my back :)
-
Got my results from the xray back today and I have osteo arthritis. My gp is referring me onto muskoskeletal therapy. Feeling very old today :'(
-
That's a shame Laine, but at least you know what you have.
Is it in the family, it often is? :hug:
-
Im not sure if it runs in families, my mum was only 45 when she died. My gp mentioned an injection and I've read up on it this evening so fingers crossed I can have that.
Have also started exercises, a couple were mentioned on here so hopefully that will help a bit. I'm on painkillers in the hope that it will help at night too :-)
-
Got my results from the xray back today and I have osteo arthritis. My gp is referring me onto muskoskeletal therapy. Feeling very old today :'(
Try not to feel "old" Laine. It's such a common ailment. Me and a friend have had oesteo in our necks and spine since we were in our thirties and it's only in the last year or so (I'm 61 now) that I have noticed it beginning in my thumbs. It's very different to rheumatoid which makes you feel ill as well. Exercises can work wonders. Where is the wear and tear?
Taz x :hug:
-
It's in my neck Taz but I can feel over the last few months that it's affected my arms.
-
People don't die from osteo arthritis ……….. it's 'norma' wear and tear of the joints because humans evolved upright!
Try to sit as upright as you are able for a few moments a day to extend the area between the shoulders and base of the neck into the head. Shoulder exercises gently. Brisk walking. Pain relief if necessary that's what it's designed for ;)
-
I do get headaches more often than I used to and they are possibly connected to the neck pain. I try and correct my posture whenever I remember but it's been so long now that I've hunched my shoulders it just seems natural that way ::)
I've been trying one of the exercises that CLKD mentioned where you lean your ear to the shoulder and after just a couple of days it does seem to be easing as when I first tried on the right side it was agony and I could hardly lean my head to that side. I try to do it several times a day :)
-
It's remembering to exercise that is my biggest problem ::)
-
It's in my neck Taz but I can feel over the last few months that it's affected my arms.
This happened to me too. I suggest that you ask to be referred for physio. I usually have a six week course every nine months or so which keeps things ok. The weak or tingling arms are a right pain but with the right exercises this can really be helped. I found the NHS physio service excellent apart from the long wait for referral.
sparkle you have my sympathy - I remember those headaches from muscle tension. My husband gets dreadful ones due to a back and shoulder problem but, being of the "I can cope with this myself" ilk he hasn't ever asked for any physio.
Taz x