Hello. For the last few months I’ve experienced some strange sensations in my left arm. Here’s a summary:
- The base of my palm is tender, and my thumb feels swollen. ROM slightly limited. (Thought this was related to phone use, but cut back and don’t see any change.)
- My fingers feel swollen. Bending my fingers is not as “fluid” (if that makes sense) as it is on my other hand.
- My grip strength feels weaker, but hasn’t been tested.
- The underside of my forearm feels like “pins and needles” to the touch. Almost ticklish.
- A few times when benching or doing hammer curls it feels like my outside forearm muscle “twisted” (best way I can describe it).
- Alleve doesn’t seem to make a difference; I think ibuprofin does (weird, right?).
- I’ve had some golfer’s elbow before, and still have some sensitivity, but this feels different. (For example, I still get irritation when I’m brushing my teeth or shaving with this arm (when arm is bent at 90+ degrees for period of time).)
I saw my GP who did some touching and feeling and sent me for an EMG (testing muscle and nerve function in my arm). I was told the EMG was “normal” although I haven’t seen a report (just my doctor’s message to me). He advised me to give it more time and see what happens.
Does this sound like anything to you? Not sure where else to go/what other diagnostics to ask for. I’ve switched my bench grips, widths, and even used a multigrip bar and haven’t noticed any difference. II even took a week off from benching but no difference. This is not preventing me from anything, but it’s annoying considering it’s in my dominant arm, and I’m not prepared to just live with it.
I appreciate any suggestions you may have for treatment and/or diagnosis. Thank you.
-K