NERVE IMPINGEMENT/LACK OF ARM DEVELOPEMENT

[Benjifornothing]

any one here ever had any impinging nerves in their neck? ive had one for aprox 2yrs now. my body has shot up from a skinny fat 150lbs 3yrs ago to 210lbs where i am now but my arms have only come up 2in. with that! my delts and chest are horrible overpowering my bis and tris making me look extremely unproportioned. i went in for an MRI and found no disc herniations. so i went to a chiro that was ART certified and his methods were pathetic. i need to fix this problem. the rest of me is still growing and growing but my arms are seriously pathetic. its not my training, not my form, not my diet! ive tweaked everything for over 2 yrs consistantly ever 4-8 weeks. i record everything from poundages, to reps to calories. i need to know what kind of doc or specialist i need to see to have this issue fixed! PLS IM BEGGING FOR ADVICE!

[maldorf]

Originally Posted by Benjifornothing

any one here ever had any impinging nerves in their neck? ive had one for aprox 2yrs now. my body has shot up from a skinny fat 150lbs 3yrs ago to 210lbs where i am now but my arms have only come up 2in. with that! my delts and chest are horrible overpowering my bis and tris making me look extremely unproportioned. i went in for an MRI and found no disc herniations. so i went to a chiro that was ART certified and his methods were pathetic. i need to fix this problem. the rest of me is still growing and growing but my arms are seriously pathetic. its not my training, not my form, not my diet! ive tweaked everything for over 2 yrs consistantly ever 4-8 weeks. i record everything from poundages, to reps to calories. i need to know what kind of doc or specialist i need to see to have this issue fixed! PLS IM BEGGING FOR ADVICE!

First of all, what evidence do you have that you have suffered injury to the nerves in your neck? Do you suffer from pain? It sounds like you are assuming since your arms lack development that it must be a nerve issue? You cannot make these assumptions. Any problems would have showed up in that MRI. If it came back with no problems, then I would believe the medical experts. If you had impingement, youll usually have significat pain.

It just sounds like you might need to tweak your training some and that you probably just dont have great genetics for arms. Most people have some weakness in their build. For a lot of guys it is calves. Some its arms. etc. Everyone is different. For me, chest never responded well and my legs never got a good sweep.

The truth of the matter is that there is only so much you can do to change the proportions of your bodyparts, and you are pretty much stuck with the overall shape that you were born with. As you have seen, the more your arms grow, the more the rest of your body grows and so they never catch up.

One thing that i changed that helped me was cutting back on the volume of sets for arms. I was overtraining them, and once I stopped that they caught up some. I got my arms up to a lean 19 inches or a bit more by doing that. Take a look at your training or maybe post it up in this thread and get some opinions.

[testopung]

How is your strength level for isolation arm movements? Please post what you use for curls and extensions versus what you bench, row, deadlift, squat etc.

What are your arm vs. chest measurements? crappy genetic shape of the bis and tris can make them appear smaller. A friend of mine's arms are roughly the same size in inches as mine, but I swear they look at least 2 inches bigger because he has really long muscle bellies.

I have always had really lagging arms, in strength also, and I still haven't gotten them to catch up, so I know how much it sucks.

I have recently had some deep fascial tissue therapy done, for my aching chest and shoulders. It's called "Rolfing" and it's made a huge difference in those areas. Though he hasn't worked on my arms yet, I believe that could possibly help and I'm gonna ask him to try it next time.

best of luck!

[juicin]

What do your arms measure flexed (no pump) and what does your chest measure flexed with no pump? You may not be as unporportioned as you think..

[Amazon Doll]

Nerve impingement usually only effects one side, so one arm stays smaller than the other and there is a lot of pain. I know because my left arm is 14" and my right arm is 15.5" after I injured my neck grappling. The pain was unbearable for 2 months.

Both branches of the nerve rarely get compressed on both sides without major spinal cord injury at the same time.

If you got an MRI and the Doc saw nothing and you didn't have pain, I doubt impingement is your problem.

[bigboy05]

I could give you a long drawn out story about neck/nerve impingment and how I suffered though it...both shoulder developed AC joint issues. PM me if you want to hear my experience, too long for a post. But, to answer your question, yes there is a good possibility your problems are stemming from neck issues. When the spinal column doesn't have the correct amount of arch, too much arch, side shift, or from an injury etc. it will pull on the spinal cord and cause nerve issues at the point of impact which in turn radiate out to whatever part of the body they feed. Your best bet is to see a GOOD sports chiro who is up on the proper treatment methods for these conditions. Don't waste your time with the chiro down the street, you will need a specialist. There was a post not long ago in the powerlifting section with some good info regarding your condition. I'll see if I can find it and post it up.

[knucklehed]

Ultimately my problems is from a 5mm disc protrusion c5-c6. Only affects me on one side. I have avoided surgery and am doing very well now, but I never know when it may falir up.
When things get bad: Tractions, Ice, NSAI's like ibuprofin, ultrasound, massage, and a few rounds of predisome + 8-12 weeks and back to rormal.

good luck with that

[yankee14]

Originally Posted by testopung

How is your strength level for isolation arm movements? Please post what you use for curls and extensions versus what you bench, row, deadlift, squat etc.

What are your arm vs. chest measurements? crappy genetic shape of the bis and tris can make them appear smaller. A friend of mine's arms are roughly the same size in inches as mine, but I swear they look at least 2 inches bigger because he has really long muscle bellies.

I have always had really lagging arms, in strength also, and I still haven't gotten them to catch up, so I know how much it sucks.

I have recently had some deep fascial tissue therapy done, for my aching chest and shoulders. It's called "Rolfing" and it's made a huge difference in those areas. Though he hasn't worked on my arms yet, I believe that could possibly help and I'm gonna ask him to try it next time.

best of luck!

I hear you I also suffer from shitty arm genetics! Muscle shape makes all the difference! O well just gotta keep hit'in them hard!

[SisyphusRocks]

I've had some problems with my c5 c6 - I originally thought I blew out my shoulder since that were I felt the most pain but after a little while my forearm & ring & pinkie fingers would tingle or go numb. I went to the doc and we talked - he xrayed and said degenerated discs. After traction,prednisone,advil, & some time off from the gym and rest I'm back to training and no pain or tingling.

Are both arms the same?
Have you lost strength in your arms?

Maldorf raises a good point about overtraining - anytime you do upper body you are using your shoulders and arms.

[Benjifornothing]

Originally Posted by maldorf

First of all, what evidence do you have that you have suffered injury to the nerves in your neck? Do you suffer from pain? It sounds like you are assuming since your arms lack development that it must be a nerve issue? You cannot make these assumptions. Any problems would have showed up in that MRI. If it came back with no problems, then I would believe the medical experts. If you had impingement, youll usually have significat pain.

It just sounds like you might need to tweak your training some and that you probably just dont have great genetics for arms. Most people have some weakness in their build. For a lot of guys it is calves. Some its arms. etc. Everyone is different. For me, chest never responded well and my legs never got a good sweep.

The truth of the matter is that there is only so much you can do to change the proportions of your bodyparts, and you are pretty much stuck with the overall shape that you were born with. As you have seen, the more your arms grow, the more the rest of your body grows and so they never catch up.

One thing that i changed that helped me was cutting back on the volume of sets for arms. I was overtraining them, and once I stopped that they caught up some. I got my arms up to a lean 19 inches or a bit more by doing that. Take a look at your training or maybe post it up in this thread and get some opinions.

this is what the MRi report shows:

C2-C3: no HNP, canal stenosis or nuero foraminal narrowing
C3-C4: mild annular bulge measuring approx 1mm
C4-C5: bilateral uncinate process hypertrophy causes mild to moderate right/mild left neural foraminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C5-C6: bilater ucinate process hypertrophy cuases mild right/moderate left neural forminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C6-C7: 2.5mm central disk bulge cuases mild left/moderate right neural foraminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C7-T1: no HNP, canal stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing

spinal alignment is satisfactory w/o evidence of compression fracture or subluxation. cranialcervical junction is normal. cervical cord is normal size. no signal of cord myelomalacia. no abnormal edema signal

MODERATE NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING ON THE LEFT AT C5-C6 AND ON THE RIGHT AT C6-C7.

thats directly from my report. for 2yrs ive had hand numbness when i sleep. it recently graduated to pain in my hands. my arms cold/flexed are 16" which is up from 15" 18 months ago. my chest is 56" i had found some goofy formula online that was charles poliquin thing that i put all my measuremnts in once. it showed that compared to all my other measurements my arms "should be" around 18" or something like that. i train on a periodization method 2on, 1off. first 2 weeks are heavy reps 4-6 with slow negatives. 3rd week reps 7-12 explosive reps. 4th week is more volumization reps 12-20 with drops, supers and monster sets. then i repeat. my diet is on, i sleep 7-9 hours depending on the day. but never less than that. my straight bar curls even when using dbol never go up past 135lbs for about 4-6 reps. i never try maxing really. seated d.b. curls are 35lbs for about 10-12 reps, can go up to 45's for about 6-7. d.b. preachers never go past 40lbs for 6-7 reps. flat bench its about 265lbs for 7-9(all reps are slow negs, explo pos). i dunno if all that helps. yeah my poundages arent up there, but i was a really skinny kid. im bigger than i probably should be for my strength. pls no sarcastic remarks. im really bummedout about this shit.

[BillHilton]

Been through this myself. Lost all strength in my right arm, could not even write for a little while. Traction had the biggest part in healing for me,

I have one device that hangs on a door and another portable one that inflates so that you can control how much lift you get. If even suspect that I am headed back down that road, I use one of them immediately.

If you search inflatable traction you should find some.

[juicin]

Originally Posted by Benjifornothing

this is what the MRi report shows:

C2-C3: no HNP, canal stenosis or nuero foraminal narrowing
C3-C4: mild annular bulge measuring approx 1mm
C4-C5: bilateral uncinate process hypertrophy causes mild to moderate right/mild left neural foraminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C5-C6: bilater ucinate process hypertrophy cuases mild right/moderate left neural forminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C6-C7: 2.5mm central disk bulge cuases mild left/moderate right neural foraminal narrowing w/o canal stenosis
C7-T1: no HNP, canal stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing

spinal alignment is satisfactory w/o evidence of compression fracture or subluxation. cranialcervical junction is normal. cervical cord is normal size. no signal of cord myelomalacia. no abnormal edema signal

MODERATE NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING ON THE LEFT AT C5-C6 AND ON THE RIGHT AT C6-C7.

thats directly from my report. for 2yrs ive had hand numbness when i sleep. it recently graduated to pain in my hands. my arms cold/flexed are 16" which is up from 15" 18 months ago. my chest is 56" i had found some goofy formula online that was charles poliquin thing that i put all my measuremnts in once. it showed that compared to all my other measurements my arms "should be" around 18" or something like that. i train on a periodization method 2on, 1off. first 2 weeks are heavy reps 4-6 with slow negatives. 3rd week reps 7-12 explosive reps. 4th week is more volumization reps 12-20 with drops, supers and monster sets. then i repeat. my diet is on, i sleep 7-9 hours depending on the day. but never less than that. my straight bar curls even when using dbol never go up past 135lbs for about 4-6 reps. i never try maxing really. seated d.b. curls are 35lbs for about 10-12 reps, can go up to 45's for about 6-7. d.b. preachers never go past 40lbs for 6-7 reps. flat bench its about 265lbs for 7-9(all reps are slow negs, explo pos). i dunno if all that helps. yeah my poundages arent up there, but i was a really skinny kid. im bigger than i probably should be for my strength. pls no sarcastic remarks. im really bummedout about this shit.

A 56" chest is huge, i agree your arms should be bigger than 16". But it seems the strength is definitely there in your biceps. Are you holding a lot of fat in your torso perhaps?

[Benjifornothing]

Originally Posted by juicin

A 56" chest is huge, i agree your arms should be bigger than 16". But it seems the strength is definitely there in your biceps. Are you holding a lot of fat in your torso perhaps?

I store fat like a chick. lower abs, love handles, and ass. I still have deep striations in my chest and delts, still vascular everywhere. bodyfat around 12% higher than i like but im comfortable with it. it actually got that high by eating so much tryin to get my arms to grow!

[juicin]

Originally Posted by Benjifornothing

I store fat like a chick. lower abs, love handles, and ass. I still have deep striations in my chest and delts, still vascular everywhere. bodyfat around 12% higher than i like but im comfortable with it. it actually got that high by eating so much tryin to get my arms to grow!

Ever tryed Syntherol? For some that has helped with arms.

I'm no expert by any means but if your able to curl 135 for reps i wouldnt think its a nerve problem. You could just have shitty genetics for arm development. I have no clue what that report you posted means though

[MR. BMJ]

Originally Posted by Benjifornothing

any one here ever had any impinging nerves in their neck? ive had one for aprox 2yrs now. my body has shot up from a skinny fat 150lbs 3yrs ago to 210lbs where i am now but my arms have only come up 2in. with that! my delts and chest are horrible overpowering my bis and tris making me look extremely unproportioned. i went in for an MRI and found no disc herniations. so i went to a chiro that was ART certified and his methods were pathetic. i need to fix this problem. the rest of me is still growing and growing but my arms are seriously pathetic. its not my training, not my form, not my diet! ive tweaked everything for over 2 yrs consistantly ever 4-8 weeks. i record everything from poundages, to reps to calories. i need to know what kind of doc or specialist i need to see to have this issue fixed! PLS IM BEGGING FOR ADVICE!

Might want to heck out this thread:
Weird bicep problem I am having

Also, contact killer over at AF, he can probably help you as well.


BMJ

[wostok]

How tall are you?

[wostok]

You say you dont store fat on your arms so that means you gained 2 clean inches on your arms. Thats 1 clean inch/30lbs... and how much of the 30 lbs was pure muscle gained? i mean 20-25lbs per inch is pretty normal...


The only thing that doesnt sound good is that you say your arms fall asleep/pain etc...

[Benjifornothing]

Originally Posted by wostok

How tall are you?

5'8"

the numbness happens not only when i sleep, but even randomly if im sitting in a chair, on the floor, laying down. just any point that where ever i have the impingment gets compressed i suppose. after i posted that i could curl 135 for a few reps (personal best a few months back) i went back in over the weekend to try it and could only cheat it up. so now i know somethings really wrong. im getting weaker. ugh

[juicin]

Originally Posted by Benjifornothing

5'8"

the numbness happens not only when i sleep, but even randomly if im sitting in a chair, on the floor, laying down. just any point that where ever i have the impingment gets compressed i suppose. after i posted that i could curl 135 for a few reps (personal best a few months back) i went back in over the weekend to try it and could only cheat it up. so now i know somethings really wrong. im getting weaker. ugh

I think i remember in another post you saying that your on GH right? Numb hands are a common side effect of this.... It wakes me up at night sometimes.

[loganb_football]

What are you taking right now? That could be the source of the numbness, tingling, and pain?