Expert: Dr. Paul Newhart - 5/22/2009

Question
Last year, I used a blood pressure machine at the store and the cuff was very stiff- unlike the ones at the Dr. office. It seemed very tight at the time but I didn't think much of it. (Too late when I noticed the "stop" button). About two weeks later, I had a lot of pain and tingling between my shoulder blades and surrounding the area where the cuff had been on my left arm. The pain would shoot downward to my hand, and my hand would tingle & become numb. Eventually it went away & I thought it was healed, but just a few days ago these areas seem to be acting up again- though not quite as severe. My questions are- is it possible that the cuff did cause a pinched nerve in my arm & since the pain & numbness have returned in the same exact areas, does this mean it never fully healed? What can I do?

Answer
First, I would like to apologize for the tardiness of my reply:  I was away from all technology for the weekend. If the cuff was too tight, it may have caused a pressure injury to the nerve, leading to a pinch.  Given time, the pinch can heal on its own.  However, if you can find a chiropractor that uses low level laser, that can speed the healing dramatically, and they can also assess to make sure you have no other problems that are causing the symptoms.