Dead arm

octatonic

Now I have the words 'dead arm' going around in my head to the Pink Panther theme tune.

Thanks a lot, fuckers!

monquixote

I've had it a few times. 

It's bloody freaky. 

mike_l

ToneControl said:

I get left arm numbness every time I fall asleep in the wrong position - nerve compression in my neck, so try no pillows, what I have is a very common problem, try it to eliminate it , then go to the Doctors, yes you're a bloke but you are allowed in (sorry, just being flippant, since I like most blokes have to bully myself to go - ignored appendicitis until it burst a few years ago and had to be operated on at midnight to save my life)

Dead right about going to the docs. I've put off and put off going, until I had to go, and got sent straight to hospital........

As for the "dead arm" thing, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth did something similar, and ended up in a very bad way.

Emp_Fab

What ?  Still playing ?

Axe_meister

You should have taken advantage and used it for a wank. Would feel like somebody else doing it ;0)

ROOG

/\ LOL

Grunfeld

mike_l said:

As for the "dead arm" thing, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth did something similar, and ended up in a very bad way.

The Wiki entry says that Mustaine's nerve compression was the "Saturday Night Palsy" variety (which I mentioned earlier).  It is "similar" but I think it depends how much you want to stretch "similar".  For example, most of us have had the "fizzy foot" feeling that you can get after you've sat on the floor or been kneeling for a while.  That's also nerve compression and I'm guessing most people wouldn't bother their doctor about it (but of course there's nothing stopping them from going along).

The dead arm (foot/ body part) feeling is often incorrectly attributed to "cutting off the blood supply" -- but it's nearly always a squashed nerve.  To cut off the blood supply to an arm from the shoulder down takes quite a bit of pressure -- think of the tourniquet used in blood pressure measurement -- and the symptom most commonly (but not always) associated with that isn't numbness but rather a lot of pain!

Emp_Fab

Axe_meister said:

You should have taken advantage and used it for a wank. Would feel like somebody else doing it ;0)

I have just wasted half an hour trying to find a customisable QI style klaxon animated gif with 'Have a wank' in flashing letters - but I failed.

May I refer you to my initial post...

Emp_Fab said:

No jokes about wanking please.... not because they're not funny or tasteless but because they'd be wrong.  I had zero muscle control and couldn't grip anything :-)

Emp_Fab

I'll just have to do the text version instead....

<whooop-whooooo, whooooop-whooooo> HAVE A WANK <whooooop-whoooooo, whoooooo-whooooooo>

Emp_Fab

Grunfeld said:

The dead arm (foot/ body part) feeling is often incorrectly attributed to "cutting off the blood supply" -- but it's nearly always a squashed nerve.

So, would a squashed nerve render you unable to have any muscle control ?  As you can tell, the nervous system isn't my forte !

Grunfeld

Emp_Fab

said:

So, would a squashed nerve render you unable to have any muscle control ?  As you can tell, the nervous system isn't my forte !

Yep, it certainly can have that effect.  But with a squashed nerve there can be a massively wide range of symptoms along a continuum from a few pins and needles, to paralysis without sensation.  Duration can be a few seconds to permanent.  Effect is proportional to the trauma and/ or the duration of the compression.

For example most members of the Kripple & Kill Karate Klub etc. have learned how to strike points on the body where nerves run close to the surface and the effect of the blow is to temporarily deaden the limb. 

Using less force, but over a longer period of time, e.g. sleeping in a position which puts sustained body-weight pressure on a nerve can produce these symptoms too.  They usually resolve pretty quickly.  The radial nerve compression, (which I really think should be re-named "Megadeath Paralysis") usually lasts a bit longer, (a few weeks or perhaps a month or two) because the pressure on the nerve is greater and the duration of compression is often longer too.

mike_l

Grunfeld said:

mike_l said:

As for the "dead arm" thing, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth did something similar, and ended up in a very bad way.

The Wiki entry says that Mustaine's nerve compression was the "Saturday Night Palsy" variety (which I mentioned earlier).  It is "similar" but I think it depends how much you want to stretch "similar".  For example, most of us have had the "fizzy foot" feeling that you can get after you've sat on the floor or been kneeling for a while.  That's also nerve compression and I'm guessing most people wouldn't bother their doctor about it (but of course there's nothing stopping them from going along).

The dead arm (foot/ body part) feeling is often incorrectly attributed to "cutting off the blood supply" -- but it's nearly always a squashed nerve.  To cut off the blood supply to an arm from the shoulder down takes quite a bit of pressure -- think of the tourniquet used in blood pressure measurement -- and the symptom most commonly (but not always) associated with that isn't numbness but rather a lot of pain!

From reading his biography it was a compressed radial nerve (IIRC) caused by falling asleep on his arm whilst in rehab

Grunfeld

mike_l said:

From reading his biography it was a compressed radial nerve (IIRC) caused by falling asleep on his arm whilst in rehab

Probably put his arm over the back of a chair whilst he happened to be in rehab.  I've only ever known this injury done that way (other than violent trauma).  Well, one other way as it happens but you don't see it any more:  do you remember the old style crutches that you steadied under your armpit?  What people would sometimes do is take the weight off their hands by putting body weight through the armpit "support" and they could squash the radial nerve that way.  Which is why those crutches were discontinued a long time ago.