Posted on

Pinched Nerve in Shoulder Blade

pinched nerve in shoulder blade

The first symptom to pinched nerve in shoulder blade would be signs of pain spreading throughout your body. In this condition the nerve feels trapped amidst muscles, cartilages, bones and other such tissues. This is essentially why this also goes by the name trapped nerve.  Strenuous movement or excessive exercise can be two of the things which may result in such a condition to occur. To relieve minor or mediocre symptoms, you can always take help from the home ailments and remedies but for severe symptoms, doctor’s medical attention is proficiently needed.

Pinched Nerve in Shoulder Blade- Signs and Symptoms

To look for a symptom of a pinched nerve in shoulder blade is actually quite easy since they are often very clear. Along with a numb or tingling sensation you may feel adequate pain and weakness too in the affected area. While some of them are temporary in nature, the others may plan on being here for a longer time. The source of the main sensation is traced all the way up to the C5 nerve that is placed on our neck and not the shoulders. However, pinching of a nerve in the neck region may reciprocate the pain all the way to the shoulder blade.

  1. Pain :- The symptoms especially the pain is experienced different by different person. It can either be shooting pain that is sudden in nature or it may be in the form of a heated burning sensation around the parts. Neck or head pain is a common symptom too most of the times caused by the pinched nerve. Even the muscle spasms that occur around the nerves may cause the pain. A little movement may help you free up the pain a little but if the pain is persistent and won’t go away, you need to enroll this as a serious condition and seek your doctor’s help.
  1. Weakness :- Weakness or numbing sensation in the muscles of the shoulder blade may render everyday activities difficult, such as movement of the arms or lifting heavy items. The intensity of this weakness can even roll on to such measures that you face difficulty lifting up your own arm. In case of a serious intense weakness, your healthcare provider should be informed.
  1. Tingling and Numbness :- Either you will experience your arm falling to sleep through the numbness or the tingling sensation in your arms may resemble a pins and needles condition and these are common symptoms for a pinched nerve in shoulder blades. Either these symptoms will be persistent and stagnant or they may appear and reappear. With ample movement, you may aid in subsiding the pain with ease.

The symptoms of numbness, tingling and pain solely depend on the nerve that has been pinched along with the intensity of the problem that has occurred. If the problems are mediocre in nature, it would disappear after a while but incase of the serious kinds, the sensations would linger around for a longer time span.

Pinched Nerve in Shoulder Blade – Diagnosis

The diagnosis part to a pinched nerve in shoulder blades is not much of a hassle at all. On visiting the doctor may run you through some basic laboratory tests to congeal the source of the pain or the problem, whether the weakness or the muscle build up is affected. If the doctor feels you are carrying around a compressed nerve, tests like CT scan or MRI or even X-Rays may help you get to the root cause of the problem. At rare cases electromyography or nerve condition study may be important.

Pinched Nerve in Shoulder Blade- Treatment and Cure Procedures

After the diagnosis by the doctor if the results indicate towards an eminent pinched nerve in shoulder blades, there are certain things that your doctor can help you with so that you recover quickly from this condition. Many of these treatment and cure procedures are home bound itself. It is suspected that the condition can also be caused by lifting heavy objects constantly, certain physical conditions, poor posture of the body, obesity, bone spur or even a herniated disc. It is necessary that you treat the underlying cause.

  1. Rest :- If you have the pinched nerve in shoulder blade condition resting it at times gives the area time to heal. Sleeping on your back with your arms rested beside you would elevate the pressure of your arms and therefore the shoulder blades. Limiting the movement off your hands or arms would help too.  Your doctor knows specifically which nerve is affected and based on that he will guide you with preliminary instructions.
  1. Hot and Cold Compresses :- Warm and cold compress makes it easier for you to treat your inflamed nerve in the shoulder blade. The alteration of the temperature should be in the manner where the cold compress goes in first for the first 15 minutes and then is immediately replaced by the warm compress for the next 15 minutes. Continue this alternation until the pain or the inflammation appears soothed or tones down the intensity to it.
  1. Medications :- The list for medications pertaining to pinched nerve in shoulder blades is many in number. You can opt for the over the counter medical drugs that are analgesic in nature and may help you relief pain. These are Tylenol, ibuprofen or naproxen. Some medications are solely used to treat the pinched nerve painful condition like Neurontin or Lyrica. Your doctor may even prescribe the muscle relaxants. If the pain sensation is mediocre in nature you may start with over the counter medication for starters.
  1. Injection and Surgery :- Cortisone injections can help you elevate nerve pain with much ease. In case the injections are of no help, you need to resort to surgical options. However, the surgery is often the last option when nothing else seems to work towards elevating or relieving the painful conditions. Surgery options are also levied when the nerves have been damaged way beyond recovery and can only be fixed using surgery as an option.
  1. Other Options :- For the ones who still haven’t worked out the cause and treatment procedures given above, here are some more options that you can levy in order to get your pinched nerve in shoulder blades condition sorted out. Acupuncture and particular exercises at times are of good help. A healthy diet would ensure healthy weight and therefore would keep you fit and protected from encountering these conditions. Physical therapies can aid in lengthening or stretching the muscles. A good posture of the body too can aid in relieving or protecting you from symptoms that cause pinched nerves in shoulder blades.
Posted on

Numbness in Head

Numbness in Head

Numbness in head would usually signal towards a disease brewing inside or some other kind of grave fatality that you may harbor inside. This indeed is concerning in nature as it includes Lyme disease, epilepsy or a simply head injury. Consult your healthcare provider at the earliest in case this situation occurs. Causes for the numbing of the head region can never really be guessed but professionally diagnosed. Either way however, the write up below can at least help you contain or control the occurrence causes.

Related Post: Waking up with a Headache

Numbness in Head- Causes

  • Head injuries:

Owing to the nerve damage that is usually caused by a head injury, numbness in your head may occur. A serious injury often includes heavy blood loss in the area which may result in losing sensation for a brief time in that particular area. Head injuries may also lead to jarring or concussion of the brain which in return results in nausea, severe headache, oversleeping and confusion.

  • Spinal cord injuries:

Spinal cord injuries also result in nerve damage once again leading us back to the numbness in head. The loss of nerve functionality works its way up to the head. Herniated or degenerated disks, meningitis or multiple sclerosis may be some of the causes for the nerve damages.

  •  Paresthesia:

If you experience numbness in the body without having a proper explanation for it, it is referred to as paresthesia. Hence, this term can appropriately also address to the numbness in head situation. The symptom starts with an initial loss or diminishing sensation in the head and is usually followed by a “pins and needles” tingling sensation.

  • Cervical nerves irritation:

Irritation of the cervical nerves especially the C1 and C4 nerves may cause numbness of the head section. These are usually located at the spinal cord, trigeminal nerve, brain nerve or brain stem. These crucial parts actually assist you in feeling sensations raised in the head or the face. These irritations can be caused by a variety of nerve conditions which eventually leads to numbness.

  • Shingles:

The chicken pox virus in your system retains a part of itself even after the major illness passes over. These dormant infectious viruses cause herpes zoster where red blotchy blisters or patches eventually crust and dry out in a matter of 3-4 weeks. Some of the side effects to this are- tasting trouble, vision problem, headache and fever, hearing casualties and numbness to the side of the head.

  • Lyme disease:

Lyme disease comes to action on being bitten by a tick where the Borrelia burgdorferi, a type of bacteria spreads an infection. After 6-7 days of the bite, the first symptom will show up in the form of a red spot circular in shape. The infection may last from weeks to even months and years. One of the side effect to this is the numbness of the head while the other symptoms are- cardiac problems, paralysis of facial muscles, vision problems, migrating joint ache and memory loss.

  • Multiple sclerosis:

Multiple sclerosis is a type of auto-immune disease that affects the spinal cord, brain stem or the brain itself. If you are aged in between your 30s- 40s, the symptoms for this disease is very likely to show up. The symptoms include numbing sensation in the head, fatigue, concentration difficulty, impaired speech or hearing, vision blocks, paralysis, depression etc.

  • Trigeminal neuropathic pain:

The condition trigeminal neuropathic pain is usually caused following a trauma mainly physical, dental procedural, disease such as diabetes or surgeries. The symptoms usually include numbing sensation in the head, a dull or sharp pain or tingling sensation.

  • Epilepsy:

Epilepsy is a type of disease where seizures occur quiet frequently. On the event of one, the blood flow through the neck artery may encounter disruption leading to numbness in the face and head.

  • Exerting pressure on blood vessels:

Pressurization of the blood vessels would definitely reduce blood circulation thereby aiding numbness directly in the neck, face or head. Shoulder aches or stiff neck pains may too be a common symptom. However these are temporary symptoms in comparison to some of the most severe conditions.

Related Post: Headache above the Right Eye

Numbness in Head – Treatment and cure

If the feeling of numbness in head is appearing for the first time in you, the first step to cure should be contacting a medical assistance support to get the condition treated professionally. The symptoms can often be related back to some life threatening grave form of disease. Only professional and efficient healthcare personnel may effectively diagnose the cause of the problem and treat it.

  • The treatment procedure alters or varies according to the intensity and duration period of the numbness. To tone down or alleviate your symptoms some of the common procedures include psychological or physical therapy, oral medications such as blood pressure medications, antidepressants, anti inflammation medications, diet or lifestyle change, acyclovir for shingles or herpes or surgeries to repair damaged nerve endings.
  • Take note of the specific time periods when the symptoms may feel heightened. The triggers can be anything such as heightened sensation during urination or appearing during physical forms of exercises. It can also tag along with a rash formation. Disclose this information to your doctor so that he can diagnose better since the cause sources are essentially important before starting the treatment procedure. Consult a neurologist who can probably diagnose the source by the symptoms that are occurring. He can also diagnose the onset of the symptoms along with the specified location. To do so, some sort of physical examination may be mandatory. Electromyography, nerve conduction or biopsy or blood tests are some of the best diagnosis methods that you can opt for.
  • In most of the cases, it has been noticed that if you get down to the source of the problem, the treatment of the cause will help you deal with the numbness in head efficiently. Your doctor may advise you to formulate some calming techniques if stress is something that you go through every day. By reducing stress you can reduce the repeated occurring of this symptom. To relieve the stubborn numbness, supplements of vitamin B12, glucose, calcium, hemoglobin and thiamine might help. Pain killers, anti depressants or anti inflammation medications might help too.
Posted on

Numbness in Lips

Numbness in Lips

Numbness in lips in the medical term can also be called lip paresthesia. Here in this condition you may experience partial or full loss of sensation and feeling in your lips. This may appear in either of your upper or bottom lips. Being primary composed of soft connective tissues, the lips therefore can be deemed quite sensitive. So in the occasion of any sort of tingling or loss of sensation in your lips would probably feel uncomfortable for you. If the condition is really grave in nature, it may even result in change in the lip color. The numb sensation at times may be progressive in nature where it expands from the lips to the gum or the tongue rendering speech, eating or drinking a bit difficult.

Click here to know about causes, symptoms, home remedies & pictures  of Lip Discoloration

Numbness in Lips: Causes

  1. Allergy

Numbness in lips may occur in the event of an allergic reaction pertaining to certain kinds of food or beverages. An inflammation or swelling of the lips along with a tingling sensation may direct you towards an allergic reaction symptom with the numbness either being instant or delayed. While the minor or mediocre kind of allergic reaction usually lasts a few minutes, an allergic reaction of the serious kind would in fact last for an hour or more. These reactions may also accompany side effects such as hives, breathing trouble, dizziness etc. emergency medical attention too may be required to prevent the side effects.

  1. Mineral Deficiency

Deficit of the essential minerals in the body may lead to numbness of lips condition.  If your body is running low on sodium, phosphate or potassium, the lack of these minerals would show up in your blood stream causing a chemical imbalance. To get this treated you would be required to present to the doctor your urine sample which on laboratory tests would tell you which mineral is lacking and based on that you may be prescribed mineral supplements.

For instance, if your body lacks the calcium in your body in required amounts, you may come up with a condition that we call hypocalcemia. Different underlying diseases or certain drug interactions too may result in this. Some of the common symptoms pertaining to this can be- muscle spasms, tetany, muscle aches and lip paresthesias. To diagnose this condition the usual medical methods opted for are blood tests to determine the phosphate or calcium levels.

  1. Poor Circulation

Circulation is yet another common cause for lip numbness. If the blood vessels in and around your lips are constricted, it may leave you with a disturbing numbness or tingling sensation in your lips. This particular condition can be recognized as Reynaud’s phenomenon where owing to the blood vessels spasms, certain conditions of numbness or tingling appears. This is a progressive condition where the color eventually will end up changing from white to blue and red to pink.

  1. Neurological Conditions

Certain neurological condition too may lead to loss of sensation or numbness in your lips. Trigeminal neuralgia or multiple sclerosis can be recognized as one of the cause. You are born with an automatic nervous system that comprises of nerves which usually contain or control the involuntary functions, spinal cord and brain. The neurological malfunctioning of the system usually ends up affecting these conditions. The usual symptoms that get affected more are elevated heart rate conditions, blood pressure and breathing. In the event of malfunction in any one of these mentioned functions, the numbness in lips condition may arrive.

  1. Transient Ischemic

If the flow of blood to your brain is temporarily blocked it may cause a condition that the medical term calls Transient ischemic. This situation is commonly termed as mini stroke based on the symptoms which resemble a mediocre stroke characteristic. However, this condition will not pertain for a long time. Some of the common symptoms for this include numbness in parts of your face, at least a part of it, your limbs or maybe weakness in one side of the body and even your lips. The more serious kind of symptoms for this may be- vision loss in one or both eye, slurring of speech or speech impediment, double vision or balance loss, dizziness etc. these are usually deemed to be warning hints predicting an oncoming stroke in the near future. Therefore, it is really important that you seek immediate medical attention regarding the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause.

  1. Hyperventilation

Hyperventilation is usually caused mainly by excessive anxiety or stressed out situations. The most common symptom to this is elevated heavy breathing. During hyperventilation your blood stream starts losing out on the carbon dioxide thereby making you more anxious. Yet another symptom for this is numbness or a tingling feeling in the face, hands or lips. Other such symptoms that you should look out for are- painful twitches in your muscle, tetany or lightheadedness.

  1. Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy usually targets the sensory nerves, damaging them. It would cause a symptom that resembles pain, tingling or pinching sensation or total feeling of numbness. It has been noted in many cases that the numbness starts from the feet and as it progresses upwards it keeps numbing parts of your body making it difficult for you to walk or balance yourself. The sensation may even feel worse when you are sleeping.

  1. Raynaud’s Phenomenon

In the occasion of blood vessel contraction or constriction, a condition called Raynaud’s phenomenon may occur. Usually the lips, toes, fingers, nose or ears get affected the most. This constriction of the blood vessels results in vasospastic attacks which causes involuntary spasms, tingling sensation and pain in the affected areas. The oxygen in your blood stream diminishes at around this span causing your skin to turn blue or completely white.

  1. Ciguatera Poisoning

If you eat the tropical finfish you may come down with a condition that we call Ciguatera poisoning. Ciguatoxins are produced by tiny plants which are then consumed by these tiny fishes. Now as the food chain goes, the bigger fishes consume the smaller fishes and we in turn consume the bigger fishes thereby contracting the above said condition. Common symptoms for this include numbness in tongue or lips along with dizziness or hallucination.

Click here to know about causes, symptoms, home remedies & pictures of Swollen Lips

Numbness in lips- Cure and treatments

If the numbness in lips is of temporary nature or is minute in symptoms, you won’t need medical attention regarding that.  Often it may just be a cold sore that is causing the numb sensation and that can easily be treated at home itself. Change your dental kit, your toothbrush and all and avoid food items that are salty or acidic in nature.

If the feeling of numbness is felt throughout the body and the lips, please consult your healthcare provider. If there are allergies immediately treat it with antihistamine class of medical drugs and ask the victim to keep away from allergens. At times it can be the result of unchecked levels of sugar in your blood that causes condition brought on by neuropathy. Try lowering the level of sugar in your blood and abide by the prescription your doctor advised you on. Changing your diet plan is essential too. If you are suffering from nutritional deficiency treat it with a healthy diet and dietary supplements. Also keeps relaxation methods handy to control a quick anxiety situation.

When do numbness in lips require a doctor visit

Numbness in lips or any such other tingling or discomfort sensations should not be ignored but rather taken seriously. This is especially an emergency if it comes accompanied along with other symptoms. If you are experiencing any of these following symptoms along with numbness in the lips immediately call for medical attention at the speediest possible rate. They are- wheezing and inflammation of the lips, difficulty or shortness in breathing, swelling of mouth and throat etc.

If the numbing sensation in the lips causes your concern or discomfort or is persisting for a longer span of time, opt for immediate medical assistance. Your doctor would have to subject you to a few tests to diagnose the problem and get to the root of it. Following the diagnosis should be appropriate treatment.