I've been having numbness and tingling in the right arm for 2 weeks. I got
an MRI last Friday, and it showed that I had herniated cervical disks
(that's slipped disks in the neck in layperson-speak) at the following
levels: C3-C4, C4-C5, and C5-C6 (this last level is where it's worst). I
haven't experienced any loss of strength and coordination (yet). Based on
the advice of a friend of mine that has had the same problem, I've avoided
any exercise that could involve bending or stretching of the neck (so just
stationary cycling for now), restricted myself to lifting no more than 10
lbs. at a time, and am taking anti-inflammatory medication. I'm awaiting a
(timely) referral to a neurosurgeon.
My questions to my fellow Masters swimmers:
1. Have any of you ever experienced this problem?
2. If the answer to (1) is yes, then what sort of treatment (medical and
non-medical) did you receive?
3. Are there any specific things I should be avoiding, swimming-wise (certain strokes, drills, etc? I assume diving is out of the question) and exercise-wise?
4. Before I saw what my MRI looked like (I'm an Internal Medicine MD, so I
could see my MRI was abnormal), I had continued to swim, and actually felt
that swimming helped me feel better. Does anyone out there know if swimming can actually put you at risk for this type of injury?
Physicians, as a rule, tend to err on the side of rest and inactivity for
recovery from any injury, so if anyone has any evidence that states that I can
keep up with at least some swimming while I find out what my course of
treatment will be, I would certainly be grateful for that. I've only started
to get seriously back into swimming since last fall, and was actually
starting to feel good about my swimming, so this recent setback has me
really bummed out at present :-(
robsaque,
Yes, I've experienced a similar situation, with tingling and numbness in one arm. That was back in '87, so it's hard to remember all the details. It lasted a long time and I checked with several doctors. At first they thought it might be carpal tunnel, since I worked at a computer all day long. Turned out that the disk giving me problems was at c6-c7, plus they said I had spurs and narrow spacing between disks anyway. I ended up having a cervical fusion. I was told I should quit swimming. I didn't and still do it to this day and plan to continue. In the process of figuring out what I had, and the rehab afterwards, I learned some things that hopefully will prevent any future problems. The biggest thing for me is posture. I have always tried to have decent posture (even before the problem started) but I'm not perfect at it. Let's face it, it is a major effort to keep it perfect all the time! Anyway, I was talking to another swimmer, who is a physical therapist and he told me I was letting my chin jut forward, like most people do. I didn't quite believe him initially, but as I started paying more attention, I realized he was right. I even got a little scared awhile after my surgery, when my OTHER arm started to tingle. So I paid close attention to my posture, and the tingling went away. Whenever I start to get lazy about it, my body reminds me and then I get better about it again.
I didn't quit swimming, but I have adjusted my stroke. I make sure my head is in line with my body on freestyle (which is my primary workout stroke), so my head isn't UP. I look down and only a little forward. I also try to make sure I roll enough so I don't have to turn my head much at all. I breathe both sides. My arm recovery is slightly lower than it used to be. I don't kick much with a board, but I do it some. It is tiring for my neck. I wouldn't recommend it for you, especially while your disks are out of whack! I did a lot of kicking on my back, with my arms at my side, when my arm was tingling. If you keep your head in line with your body (not too far back and not too far forward), that should be good for your neck. I would also be careful of being on a stationary bike (or ANY bike) - what position is your head in?
I guess if I were you, I would be very aware of anything I was doing and the position it puts your head/neck/shoulders in. I often wonder if I could have avoided the surgery, but I'll never know. I have no intention of having another, though. That's not to say the surgery was bad - I had a good experience.
robsaque,
Yes, I've experienced a similar situation, with tingling and numbness in one arm. That was back in '87, so it's hard to remember all the details. It lasted a long time and I checked with several doctors. At first they thought it might be carpal tunnel, since I worked at a computer all day long. Turned out that the disk giving me problems was at c6-c7, plus they said I had spurs and narrow spacing between disks anyway. I ended up having a cervical fusion. I was told I should quit swimming. I didn't and still do it to this day and plan to continue. In the process of figuring out what I had, and the rehab afterwards, I learned some things that hopefully will prevent any future problems. The biggest thing for me is posture. I have always tried to have decent posture (even before the problem started) but I'm not perfect at it. Let's face it, it is a major effort to keep it perfect all the time! Anyway, I was talking to another swimmer, who is a physical therapist and he told me I was letting my chin jut forward, like most people do. I didn't quite believe him initially, but as I started paying more attention, I realized he was right. I even got a little scared awhile after my surgery, when my OTHER arm started to tingle. So I paid close attention to my posture, and the tingling went away. Whenever I start to get lazy about it, my body reminds me and then I get better about it again.
I didn't quit swimming, but I have adjusted my stroke. I make sure my head is in line with my body on freestyle (which is my primary workout stroke), so my head isn't UP. I look down and only a little forward. I also try to make sure I roll enough so I don't have to turn my head much at all. I breathe both sides. My arm recovery is slightly lower than it used to be. I don't kick much with a board, but I do it some. It is tiring for my neck. I wouldn't recommend it for you, especially while your disks are out of whack! I did a lot of kicking on my back, with my arms at my side, when my arm was tingling. If you keep your head in line with your body (not too far back and not too far forward), that should be good for your neck. I would also be careful of being on a stationary bike (or ANY bike) - what position is your head in?
I guess if I were you, I would be very aware of anything I was doing and the position it puts your head/neck/shoulders in. I often wonder if I could have avoided the surgery, but I'll never know. I have no intention of having another, though. That's not to say the surgery was bad - I had a good experience.
