• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
Doctor issues warning to anyone who wakes up in middle of night with numb arm

Home> Life

Published 17:20 6 Dec 2024 GMT

Doctor issues warning to anyone who wakes up in middle of night with numb arm

Doctor Dan Ginader has a solution to your numb arm problem

Britt Jones

Britt Jones

Do you get tingling or numb arms when you fall asleep on it? Something might be going on.

Sleeping doesn’t always happen in the most comfortable position.

Sometimes you’re in the foetal position, sprawled across the bed, sitting slumped in a chair, leaning on your desk or even standing up.

No word of a lie, my brother once fell asleep standing in the shower, so I know it can be done.

Advert

But normally, you’ll wake up with a few aches and pains which disappear over the course of the day.

Sometimes, you might even get a painful and stiff neck for more than a day, but it’s nothing to be worried about.

If your arm is numb, it could be an issue (getty stock images)
If your arm is numb, it could be an issue (getty stock images)

However, if you find that your arm is often numb or tingling when you sleep on it, you might have some troubles in your body.

Advert

According to Dan Ginader, a Sports and Dance focused Doctor of Physical Therapy with Mims Method PT, it could be an issue with your thoracic outlet.

Before you freak out, it’s nothing crazy.

According to the doc, the thoracic is a ‘superhighway’ of veins, arteries and nerves in the body which is located between the shoulder and the neck.

It’s where your arm connects to your torso, so there’s a lot going on in that region.

Advert

Ginader shared that if you’re having a numb arm due to sleeping, typing at your desk or even scrolling on your phone, it could be a sign that there’s a problem with the outlet.

However, it’s an easy fix.

It could be your thoracic outlet (getty stock images)
It could be your thoracic outlet (getty stock images)

He shared on Instagram that compression caused by the scalene muscle, your first rib and your pec minor muscle, can lead to frequent numbness.

Advert

To ease it, there are a few exercises you can do it release the compression.

If the cause is any of the first culprits, you can use a towel and wrap it around your shoulder, as close to the neck as possible and hold it tight as you sit up straight and move your ear towards your shoulder and then in the opposite direction.

Repeat this between 10 and 15 times.

Next, you could stand in a doorway with one hand on the inside of the wall and your other placed on your chest as you stretch and turn your head away from the side where your hand is.

Advert

This is for your pec minor and if you repeat it three times and hold it for 20 seconds each.


According to John Hopkins Medicine: “The thoracic outlet is the ring formed by the top ribs, just below the collarbone. Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) occurs when nerves or blood vessels are compressed by the rib, collarbone or neck muscles at the top of the outlet.”

Now, the symptoms of Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome include pain or weakness in the shoulder and arm, tingling or discomfort in the fingers, an arm that tires quickly or atrophy which is the shrinking and weakness of the pad of the thumb, or the muscle of the palm that leads to the thumb.

While ‘symptoms may come and go’ they can be made worse when ‘arms are held up’.

If it’s happening often and the exercises aren’t helping, it’s best to see a professional.

Featured Image Credit: getty stock images

Topics: Sleep, Health

Britt Jones
Britt Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
10 hours ago
13 hours ago
a day ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Ozempic user shocked to learn what 'symptom jump' is after no one warned them of bizarre weight loss drug side effect

    The drug is traditionally prescribed to help sufferers of Type-2 diabetes

    Life
  • 10 hours ago

    Dark history behind dangerous war weapon that’s now used by millions of cancer patients

    The clue was hidden among the battlefields of World War One for decades

    Life
  • 13 hours ago

    24-year-old vape addict issues terrifying warning after suffering heart attack

    Jacob Temple told his terrifying vaping story through a series of TikTok videos

    Life
  • a day ago

    Doctors issue plea as common menopause treatment is linked to increased risk of cancers that affect only women

    The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) believe it's vital not to spread misinformation about the link between the two

    Life
  • Doctor issues warning to anyone who's been having vivid dreams recently
  • Doctor issues grim bed sheets warning saying 'you’re never sleeping alone'
  • Doctor warns anyone who sleeps in specific position could have ‘hidden’ deadly health condition
  • Doctor has worrying message for anyone who thinks their snoring is normal