[venom0706]

I am 22 year old student. Height 176 cm and weight 94 kg.

Around 3 weeks ago, I started to have numbness in my left arm, in the area between the elbow and the shoulder. The feeling occurs ONLY when I am sitting at the bus to uni - around 5 minutes of staying still, I start feeling the numbness. The problem disappears when I change my posture or move my arm. However, 5 minutes later the discomfort starts again. The problem happens only when I am at the bus and reading a book there, doesn't occur when I am sitting at a table and having dinner or laying on my bed.

In addition, around 2 months ago I noticed that when I move my neck ONLY to the left, I felt some weird discomfort in my chest area. However, this problem recently disappeared. Just mentioning this, don't know if it is related to my main problem.

If this will make a difference, 3 years ago I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, but the doctor said that this isn't lethal and shouldn't worry about it.

Yesterday I started digging information in the internet regarding the numbness and nearly fainted when I read that I might have degenerative disc decease or a pinched nerve. I am 22, young and healthy and the thought that I might have something as serious as this scared me out. I really don't want to visit the doctor (as I always visit them about something but they tell me I am fine) and really hope that the problem will soon disappear by itself. What do you think? I soon have important exams at university and don't want this problem to stress me out before taking these exams... I decided to stop checking websites, because they make me feel even more stressed about this issue. I hope that you can give me an advice. Thank you and appreciated.

[venom0706]

P.S The discomfort appears between the elbow and shoulder, but on the inner part of my left arm (just slightly above the armpit).

[Skeezyks]

Hello venom0706: I suspect that the reason you have not received any replies to this post is that no one could really give you much in the way of useful suggestions with regard to this. It is really something only a medical professional could address. Something related to the discs in your neck sounds to me like a good guess... but that's all it is. And while degenerative disc disease or a pinched nerve sounds bad, the fact is that nearly everyone has these sorts of things to one degree or another. Problems with the spine are the price we humans pay for our ability to stand & walk erect.

There are medical interventions that can help. Some people benefit from chiropractic treatments. But the best remedy is often exercise geared toward strengthening the muscles within the area surrounding the problem. I have a ruptured disc in my lumbosacral spine. But I walk every day & it really helps. So if the problem you're experiencing continues to trouble you, what might be helpful at least initially, would be to get instruction from a physical therapist. Good luck!