Things you should know when you can't use your shoulders due to stiff shoulders
There's something you should know when you can't use your hands due to stiff shoulders. There isn't necessarily just one cause. Therefore, if you try to find the cause of your weak hands in just your neck or arms, you may end up taking a roundabout route to a solution.
When you can't use your hands, you may be diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome or cervical disc herniation. Both are thought to be caused by pressure on the nerves leading to the hands in the neck or shoulders.
On the other hand, treatment of the muscles in the lower body often improves the symptoms. Even if the complaint of weakness in the hands is the same, there are multiple ways to solve the problem.
The illustration shows what it looks like when you press a button on a washing machine. The button is designed to respond when you apply a little pressure, but when you press it with your left finger, you feel a slight pressure on the left side of your abdomen.
Although it may appear that the fingertips are working solely in the hand, you can see that they are actually working in cooperation with the abdominal muscles via the arm.
Therefore, if there is a distortion in the body balance, such as a tilt of the pelvis, the effect will be felt through the arms to the hands, resulting in the problem of being unable to grip firmly.
You may have tried various methods, such as consciously moving your shoulders or stretching your arms and neck. If you still haven't felt refreshed, we recommend that you also work on the muscles in your lower body. By adjusting your lower back and legs, which are the foundation of the human body, you can expect a synergistic effect from the stretches you've been doing so far.
To solve the problem of being unable to use your hands due to stiff shoulders, it is important to look at your whole body to determine which parts of your body are not moving properly, and stretch the muscles that are restricting movement, starting with the larger muscles.
- Have been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome
- Stretching your hands and neck
- Have received treatment such as a massage
The key to solving this problem is to understand your body's habits.
It has been discovered that movements that only use the hands involve muscles in the abdomen and other areas that are different from those in the hands and arms. This means that in order to identify the cause, it is necessary to examine the entire body in detail. This raises the question: how can we identify the contributing area in the vast and complex human body? Tests are used to solve this problem. Several tests are combined to narrow down the contributing area.
The illustration shows how the big toe length is being tested. This test can reveal how the leg muscles are used and the position of the pelvis. Ideally, both big toes should be the same length, but the big toe on the right foot is longer.
The most powerful muscles in the human body are found in the thighs, and because of their strength, using them in an unbalanced manner can affect weaker legs.
The right thigh, which has longer toes, is tense, causing the right side of the pelvis to tilt forward, which in turn pulls the abdominal muscles.
In this way, the biased use of the lower body is transmitted to the entire body, and problems begin to surface in the hands and neck, where muscles are weak.
Treatment record
Let's take a look at the records to see what steps were taken to improve the symptoms of hand weakness.
- Symptoms: Weak grip strength in the hands. Numbness in both hands when holding the steering wheel.
- Age: 50s
- Work involves long periods of standing and bending over frequently.
- What I tried: Chiropractic
If we were to put the events up to now in chronological order, it would look something like this:
- I've had weak hands for the past 10 years.
- Pain in the hips and knees
- I have had a medical checkup and chiropractic treatment but there has been no improvement.
Various tests will be performed to find the cause. Various parts of the body have a limited range of movement. If you are unable to move as you should, or if it is difficult to move up and down or to the left or right, that may be the cause of the pain.
Test results
Upon examination, it was discovered that there were parts of the lower body that were not functioning properly.
Comparing the length of the left and right legs.
It is desirable for both feet to be the same length, but the big toe on the right foot is longer.
One possible cause is the thigh muscles (quadriceps). As they are the strongest muscles in the human body, uneven use of them can affect the position of the pelvis.
Continuing to walk with poor balance will cause the arch of the foot to be lost, and eventually the difference in the length of the toes will appear, making people more susceptible to developing bunions.
It seems that there is a problem with the stiffness of the right thigh. Next, I checked the thigh.
Although the patient complains of pain in the hands and shoulders, I don't touch the neck or shoulders from the start. There are two reasons for this.
① Inflammation worsens and the number of visits to the hospital increases
When you massage your arms or shoulders, it definitely improves blood circulation for a moment, which feels good. However, the muscles that are causing pain are inflamed, so pressing on them will only make the inflammation worse. This will cause constant pain, and during the treatment, it will be impossible to tell whether your symptoms are improving or not.
This makes it impossible to tell on the spot whether the symptoms have improved, so we end up saying, "That's all for today. Let's see how it goes for a while," which results in the patient having to come to the clinic more often. This is not desirable as it increases the burden on the customer.
② There is no cause in the area where the pain is occurring
When you have problems with your hands or shoulders, the cause is often far away, in your lower back or legs. Massaging your arms and shoulders may feel good, but it won't fundamentally improve the problem.
Also, the muscles that are causing pain may not be relaxed, and the more treatment you receive, the worse the pain will become.
For these two reasons, even though the patient complains of pain in their hands and shoulders, we do not touch their hands or shoulders from the start.
Treatment details
We will introduce you to the holistic treatment method.
Treatment is also given to the asymptomatic side.
The discomfort does not necessarily affect both arms and legs. However, if only the left hand is weak, we do not treat only the left side of the body. We treat both sides symmetrically in the same way.
This is because when a person moves, the body needs to be able to move equally to the left and right with a sufficient range.
Physical illness begins when our joints are no longer able to move left and right, or forward and backward as they should. If one side is easy to move, or if you can move in both directions but the range of movement is limited in both directions, this condition will eventually affect the entire body, causing symptoms such as pain.
Chiropractic begins by working on the joints of the entire body so that they move equally on both sides.
The patient will then try the movements that were painful during the examination before the treatment. The patient will confirm that the weakness in his hands, which was his biggest concern, has disappeared. He will also have the strength to grip the handlebars of a motorcycle again.
Even though your job requires physical activity, I suggested that you do some daily stretching because you rarely get to do work that requires you to move your whole body. Most of the time, you are required to move your body while maintaining an awkward posture during work.
We will explain the stretching method and then the treatment will be completed.
The neck and shoulders are located at the top of the human body and are often affected by the whole body, making them problematic. We will answer the questions that many people encounter when trying to solve their problems.
To summarize the main points, there are two:
You may experience other symptoms besides stiff shoulders, such as headaches or nausea.
-The cause is not stiff shoulders, but an imbalance in the muscles throughout the body that causes stiff shoulders.
The important thing to remember is that stiff shoulders are only a symptom. They are not a cause of other symptoms in themselves.
Stiff shoulders are a sign of a problem occurring within your body. For example, if poor posture causes your arms to shift out of position, pulling on the muscles in your shoulders, it can cause stiff shoulders and pain. The cause is not in your shoulders.
Therefore, if you leave the overall balance of your body, which has deteriorated to the point where stiff shoulders occur, as it is, I believe that it will lead to other symptoms in addition to stiff shoulders.
Furthermore, because the shoulders are close to the neck, it is said that stiff shoulders can cause symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, depression, numbness in the hands, and difficulty using the hands. However, correcting imbalances found in the legs and hips can sometimes improve these symptoms.
If you are suffering from stiff shoulders, checking your entire body thoroughly to determine what is causing tension in your shoulder muscles will not only solve the underlying problem, but will also help prevent and resolve headaches, dizziness, and other vague symptoms.
The answer to the question, "What happens if you have severe shoulder stiffness?" is, "If your shoulder stiffness gets worse, you may experience symptoms other than just shoulder stiffness." The reason for this is that the cause is not the stiff shoulders themselves, but rather an imbalance in the muscles throughout your body that is causing the stiff shoulders.
Steps to solve the problem holistically
The way we use our bodies, learned from childhood through play, sports, accidents, childbirth and other events, has shaped the physical condition we have today.
If you are experiencing pain, it is simply your body's way of telling you that there is a problem with the way you have been using your body up until now.
The first step to solving the problem is to stop the pain. After identifying the cause through an examination and then performing treatment, the pain will be reduced. Only after the pain has been alleviated will you be ready to learn how to use your body correctly.
The second step is to learn how to use your body correctly. This will change your body and brain so that you don't go back to your old state.
Since physical pain is often caused by lifestyle habits, stretching and exercise are necessary. Just like brushing your teeth, consistent practice is important.
If you want to solve your pain, you need to stop the pain first, then stretching and exercise can come afterwards.
