My hand is tingling!

Hey everyone!
So, a few months back, my left arm started acting up. It gets this intense numbness paired with some pretty gnarly pain. It’s honestly such an uncomfortable sensation, and most nights it hits me so hard it actually wakes me up from sleep... I do a lot of rock climbing, and I've noticed it usually flares up after a heavy training session, but sometimes my arm just goes numb even if I'm just chatting on my phone for a few minutes or keeping it totally still. Do you think this could be a pinched nerve or maybe some kind of muscle injury?

Benjamin Cruz86 said:Hey everyone!
So, a few months back, my left arm started acting up. It gets this intense numbness paired with some pretty gnarly pain. It’s honestly such an uncomfortable sensation, and most nights it hits me so hard it actually wakes me up from sleep... I do a lot of rock climbing, and I've noticed it usually flares up after a heavy training session, but sometimes my arm just goes numb even if I'm just chatting on my phone for a few minutes or keeping it totally still. Do you think this could be a pinched nerve or maybe some kind of muscle injury?

Are we talking the hand or the whole arm?
If it's just the hand getting numb at night, making it hard to grip things or relax, that can be one of those early warning signs for degenerative issues like osteoarthritis.

My whole arm goes numb in the middle of the night, and my hand just feels totally lifeless... I’ve got a feeling my circulation might be a bit off, at least when it comes to my arms. This numbness in my limbs keeps happening.
How would I go about getting this checked out?

Benjamin Cruz86 said:My whole arm goes numb in the middle of the night, and my hand just feels totally lifeless... I’ve got a feeling my circulation might be a bit off, at least when it comes to my arms. This numbness in my limbs keeps happening.
How would I go about getting this checked out?

Look, since you’re into rock climbing, certain muscle groups are taking way more of a beating than others. It’s entirely possible you’ve developed myofascial trigger points—basically those hard, knotty lumps in the muscle that pop or click when you massage them—somewhere in your back, probably near the shoulder blades. If one of those knots is pressing against a nerve, it’ll send that numbness straight down your arm. It sounds like you aren't finishing your sessions with enough massage work or gradual stretching, which is why those knots are forming. A few months ago, a girl on this forum posted about waking up one morning with her entire arm completely paralyzed😲—you can imagine how much she panicked—only to find out it was just a stupid muscle knot pinching a nerve. She ended up getting an ultrasound and some physical therapy to break it up.
Go see a doctor, get an MRI of your spine, and ask for a referral to a physical therapist.

Are we talking about those little knots, you know, like lactic acid buildup in the muscle? (Sorry if I’m totally off base here)🤷?
Does this mean I finally have a legitimate excuse to demand a daily massage from my girlfriend?

Benjamin Cruz86 said:Are we talking about those little knots, you know, like lactic acid buildup in the muscle? (Sorry if I’m totally off base here)🤷?
Does this mean I finally have a legitimate excuse to demand a daily massage from my girlfriend?

Exactly.🙂

Myogelosis involves a vertical thickening within the muscle tissue that can occur due to things like overuse or specific muscle contractions. These areas are usually painful and become particularly problematic when they sit right above a bone, causing pressure and discomfort—like when you have issues near the sacrum, the shoulder blade, and so on. We're looking at irreversible changes where the muscle shifts from a fluid state into a gel-like consistency (hence the term myogelosis). While you can't revert it back to its original state, certain physical therapies can alleviate the symptoms and kill the pain; ultrasound therapy is extremely effective for this type of tissue, a process known as gelotripsy.
Applying heat to these muscles is also an option.

Porter Perić, M.D., PhD
Physiatry & Rheumatology Specialist

You've got enough there to guilt-trip your girl into massaging you👍, but honestly, you need someone who actually knows the fundamentals of medical massage to really work those spots out. You could even take it a step further and nag the club manager to hire a professional masseuse for the group.
Regardless, go see a doctor, because your assumption might be off. A physiatrist will give you a proper exam and prescribe the right treatment to get you sorted.

thanks!

A friend of mine had a frightening experience where he woke up and couldn't move his arms at all for about a minute because they were completely numb.
His doctor explained that it was caused by high cholesterol levels, which are clogging his arteries and making blood flow much more difficult.
Essentially, it’s time for a strict diet!

I don't even need to be on a diet—weight isn't the issue here. It's just that the pain kicks in exclusively after I push myself physically...