“I have pain between my shoulders. It goes up into my neck and down the back side of my right arm. It started after I reached back and picked up a heavy bag. My arm feels weak and sometimes I feel a tingling sensation down the arm as well. Can you help me

The Gibson Center 93 West Colt Square, Suite 3 Fayetteville, AR 72703 479-587-0227 www.thegibsoncenter.com Answer: Well, first I would have to examine you but it sounds like you have moved your upper arm (humerus) out of alignment. When you reached back and picked up the bag, the weight of the bag pulled down and back on your arm, pulling your arm out of its normal alignment which is why it hurts. You probably also have a locked up shoulder. It’s called a “scapulo-thoracic” restriction, but I refer to it as a “locked up” shoulder because it is easier to understand. Because your arm is out of alignment, other muscles have to compensate to move your arm. Then, the muscles around your shoulder become so tight that they have restricted the movement of your shoulder blade. When your shoulder blade doesn’t move properly, the muscle on top of the shoulder and the muscles between the shoulder blades have to do most of the work of moving your arm. Then, those muscles tighten up and fatigue and you begin to feel pain as well as numbness/tingling down into your arm and into your neck. For treatment, I perform trigger point therapy on the overly tight muscles to release them. Then, I adjust any vertebral fixations that are affecting the mid back, neck, and arm using my hands or a high speed instrument. And lastly, I mobilize the shoulder blade and move your arm back into its normal alignment using a high speed instrument. Once your shoulder blade is moving well and your arm is back in its proper alignment, you will regain your strength. You cannot believe how much better you will feel with this kind of treatment. It works wonders! Call 479587-0227 for an appointment and go to www.thegibsoncenter. com for more information.