Dead arm syndrome is a condition created by repeated movements that place pressure on the joint of the shoulder. The shoulder gradually becomes unstable, leading to pain and discomfort. Overhead mobility like lifting weights, swimming, or pitching a baseball tends to become more complex. You will likely develop shoulder instability if you play specific sports or lift your arm when doing manual work.
Symptoms of the dead arm syndrome
This condition causes your arm to feel ‘dead’ in addition to the pain and discomfort. Other symptoms that you may experience include.
- Decreased speed in throwing
- Stiffness
- Exhaustion in the affected arm
- Failure to use force when throwing
- Feeling numb or a tingling sensation
Causes
Constant movements such as lifting stretch the ligaments in your shoulder, causing them to loosen. When the ligaments loosen, they lead to discomfort and instability in your shoulder. Injured rotator cuff tendons can also lead to dead arm syndrome.
Repetitive movements such as lifting may exact pressure on the shoulder, giving the rotator cuff a hard time balancing your shoulder during the move. This constant pressure injures the rotator cuff tendons causing shoulder instability.
Treatment
The best method to treat dead arm syndrome depends on how frequently you carry out overhead movements and how severe the injury is. Our chiropractors are the best in solving these problems and will do a quick physical examination to determine if anything else may be causing your shoulder instability.
They offer solutions such as:
- Applying ice on your shoulder to help reduce the amount of pain.
- Scale down on the activities that require overhead movements regardless of vague or severe symptoms, as it will prevent the symptoms from escalating.
- The use of anti-inflammatory meds such as ibuprofen assists in easing the pain.
- Chiropractic adjustments and or massage therapy that will help strengthen your shoulder.
- Surgery may be needed as a last resort if you are experiencing severe symptoms where your ligaments and injured tendons are repaired. After surgery, you will start physical therapy for about four to six weeks, and during this time, you will most likely be wearing a sling.
Prevention
Some of the things that we advise you to do if you are unable to avoid performing overhead mobility activities include:
- Allowing your body to rest after a period of extreme activity.
- When performing overhead movements, consider changing how you position your body to reduce the pressure exacted on the shoulder.
- Stretch frequently before and after activity with a routine intended for a particular sport.
- Learn the correct execution for your sport, which will highly reduce the likelihood of injury.
Conclusion
The dead arm syndrome or shoulder instability is prompted by overuse. Redundant overhead movements like golfing and throwing damage the tendons and muscles in the shoulder, leading to pain, discomfort, numbness, and stiffness in the affected arm.
Athletes who are more likely to suffer from shoulder instability participate in swimming, tennis, golf, and baseball. Manual workers who often reach overhead are also highly likely to develop this syndrome. Fortunately, there is a treatment for the dead arm syndrome, including icing, resting, and anti-inflammatory meds.
To prevent and minimize the risk of the syndrome, you are required to include exercise that strengthens your shoulder into your daily routine. These recommendations are what our chiropractors give to keep our shoulders strong.