When Your Arm Is Trying to Tell You Something

Does your arm ache or feel heavy when you raise it overhead? Maybe your hand tingles or goes numb when you carry a bag over one shoulder, reach for something on a high shelf, or sleep in a certain position.

Sometimes the fingers may feel cold or look pale or bluish. You may notice that your hand tires easily or that symptoms seem to appear only when your arm is in a particular position.

These can be signs of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)—a condition involving compression or irritation of nerves or blood vessels as they travel from the neck and chest into the arm.

Because the symptoms can resemble those of other neck, shoulder, nerve, or vascular conditions, determining their source is important.

Before He Ever Picks Up the Probe

At Orthopedic Ultrasound Inc., every examination begins before the ultrasound probe is ever picked up.

We start by listening. Where are you feeling the symptoms? What movements or positions bring them on? Does raising your arm reproduce the pain, tingling, or heaviness? Does changing position make it disappear?

Michael Jablon begins with a focused history and a careful physical and positional examination, looking for the movements that reproduce your symptoms and the clues your body provides.  This is referred to as the Jablon Protocol.  Only then does he pick up the probe to perform the ultrasound examination.

This approach helps guide the examination to the areas that need the closest attention.

Why MSK Ultrasound?

One of the important advantages of musculoskeletal ultrasound is its ability to evaluate structures in real time and during movement.

When symptoms are positional, being able to examine the area while the arm is moved into the position that causes discomfort can provide valuable information. Rather than looking only at a still image, we can observe what is happening as the patient's symptoms are reproduced.

MSK ultrasound can also evaluate many of the muscles, tendons, nerves, and surrounding soft tissues that may be contributing to arm or shoulder symptoms.

MSK ultrasound is safe, noninvasive, and uses no radiation.

Finding the Source Matters

Arm pain isn't always simply an arm problem. Tingling isn't always coming from the hand. And symptoms that appear only when you raise your arm shouldn't necessarily be ignored just because they disappear when you lower it.

Understanding what is causing the symptoms is the first step toward determining the appropriate treatment.

If you're experiencing unexplained arm pain, numbness, tingling, heaviness, or symptoms that change with position, a musculoskeletal ultrasound examination may help provide answers.

Orthopedic Ultrasound Inc.
949-229-7377