Arm, Elbow, Wrist & Hand Injuries/Conditions

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upper arm numbness

Printed From: CyberPT - Your Online Physical Therapy Resource
Category: Patient Forum
Forum Name: Arm, Elbow, Wrist & Hand Injuries/Conditions
Forum Description: Patients can post questions and experiences about arm, elbow, wrist & hand injuries/conditions.
URL: http://www.cyberpt.com/ptforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=826
Printed Date: Apr 28 2024 at 8:17pm
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Topic: upper arm numbness

Posted By: Ask a PT
Subject: upper arm numbness
Date Posted: Mar 10 2011 at 11:06am

Our user asked: "If I touch a very specific point on my right elbow I experience a quick but very intense pain. My reading tells me that this can be, and is most likely, bursitis. OK My right arm can be at rest, or like now bent at the elbow using a keyboard and the outside of my upper arm from shoulder to bicep and tricep tingles like it is numb. I want to, and do, slap the area with my left hand. The question is that if this numbness is also a result of the bursitis, is it treatable with PT? I work-out 4-5 times a week and have been for years and this numbness that comes and goes is new."

Ask a PT Response: "With bursitis at the elbow, the bursa becomes inflamed and swollen which could compress on a nerve which could result in numbness & tingling. This condition is treated in physical therapy. Physical therapists would work on decreasing the inflammation of the bursa through modalities (ice, iontophoresis, phonophoresis, ultrasound) and through therapeutic exercises. The patient is also instructed on activity & postural modifications to minimize stress to this region. If the condition doesn't improve, the patient's physician may consider a corticosteroid injection."