Expert: Dr. Man Tran, Ph.D., D.C., L.Ac. - 1/22/2008

Question
since i can remember since child hood ive had a numbness in my left side. In my 7th grade class i was pulled aside by my P.E. teacher and told to straighten up my posture because i was walking with a slump to the left i went to the nurse by her request and did some tests and was that was it. i went on to play tons of basketball, I played 4 years of tackle football in highschool at a high level all the while with this numbness moderately annoying me. Since graduating highschool I have Had an active life and to be honest I have pushed the limits as far as partying (very hard) witch makes me confident in my ammune system. I dont get sik for more than 3 days, I havent vomited or become faint at any time in over 15 years. but I do know that in those young developing years I was overweight and ALWAYS slumped over or leaning over to that side. I am now 32 and in the last 4 years I adopted another health regimine and vigorus workout. I went from 239lbs to 216lbs in a 18 months all the while with the numbness witch I start to notice i felt in my ribs on the left side of my sternum. For almost 6 months I have backed off working out and have gained almost all my weight back. Now the discomfort is even more with a little pain as well. I am going for the dreaded over due check up, but what can I expect?

Answer
Dear James,

The numbness and pain could be due to your early year postures, sport activities (if there were any injuries involved), or/and weight issue.  It is hard to say what is causing the symptoms until tests are done with examination.  Possible structures causing the pain/numbness to the area you described are muscle strain, nerve involvement, or heart condition.  Perhaps, you will know more of the exact cause with the check up.