The Amazing Body! & Nerve-path Testing

I've had problems with my right shoulder and arm this summer and decided to get it checked out.

I've had a lot of numbness, tingling, some clicking and some sore spots throughout my neck, shoulder, arm and into my thumb and pointer finger. It's more frequent now and occurs in multiple body/arm positions, so I went for help.

At the first clinic appointment we moved my arm in various ways looking for ideas. While it was numb most of the appointment there were no obvious answers.

Next I had a nerve-pathway testing appointment downtown. We did two tests, one with shocks and one with needles. After the nurse took my blood pressure and pulse she measured my arm temp--it was too cold for the test.

My blood pressure in my right (numb) arm was 95/56. My bp in my left arm was 100/68 and pulse was low mid 60s. We ran my right arm under water to warm it up for proper conduction.

For the nerve velocity test I had electrodes on my wrist and marks along my arm measuring distance. Then the doctor took a shocking device (!!!) and sent a mild shock along different parts of my arm. One of my nerves was deep and he kept turning up the signal ... ow. My right arm was jumping off the table like a frog in science class. But, it was good news, my nerves are firing as fast as a concert pianist or elite athlete, something like 50 meters a second, great!


Then we did the electromyography. I have a tattoo (the doctor thought my m-dot was a birthmark at first.) but needles make me tense, so I was worried about this part.
The needles were thin and most of the actions didn't hurt. Some of the pokes and contractions near and on my hand were painful, but overall OK.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to have tests done and look for answers. Two days later my arm is a little beat up and still numb, but I'm confident we'll figure something out.

My next appointment is a MRI (medicated) of my skull, neck, shoulder, arm and then an appointment with a sports medicine doctor.

ON TOPIC

Think fast! Scientists unlock nerve speed secret
http://www.physorg.com/news72352266.html

How nerves work & more info on nerve conduction velocity test
http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/nerve6.htm

Questions for You:
- Have you had an MRI or nerve testing?
- What's the coolest medical fact you know about the human body?

p.s. I'll have pictures and updates from my incredible trip to San Diego soon!

Pain in the Neck! :-(

A week ago I did something to my neck, and it hurts. I have limited mobility turning to look left and also leaning my head to the left. I've had a "sore spot" where my neck and shoulders meet for several years that I got when I started riding my bike a lot for IM training. But this new pain was on top of that old sore spot.

This morning I went back to Dr. Aberle, a Madison, Wis.-based Chiropractor who I used years ago. At that time I had mostly Graston Technique done. In addition to Graston, ART and other chiropractic treatments Dr. Aberle now offers Advanced Biostructural Correction (TM).

My body has many issues going on, I'll try to summarize correctly:

- my eyes are at different levels

- my mouth is at an angle

- my back teeth are higher than the front teeth (twist on different quadrant)

- my shoulders are rounded and tight

- my 1st ribs are pushed forward which limits my breathing

- my spine is missing its curves where it should be curved.

OK. This is bigger than a kink in the neck. I was surprised to see how working on my right

shoulder, arm and my right inner leg all helped relieve pain and give me more neck mobility.

I knew a little about fascia and its role in the body, so when Dr. Aberle spoke about its role in postural problems it made sense to me. To learn more watch this video - with the 3-D skeleton model it's easy to understand what's going on in the body.

It reminded me of professional triathlete and movement specialist Jessi Stensland and her experience with structural changes in her body and related performance. I remembered reading her post on active.com related to asymmetries and imbalances. Read it & check out the photos with examples! I'm attending Jessi's new MovementU clinic in March. I'm excited to learn more about my body and how I can start moving well!

My hubby and I met Jessi a few weeks ago when she was in town for a video production assignment. During the ride to dinner, my husband Ken said, "I used my abs once when running ... when I sneezed." Jessi totally cracked up in the back seat and said, "Can I use that?" Follow MovementU on twitter and you'll see Ken's quote.

Questions for You:

- What hurts?

- Tell me about your posture.

photo: public domain image