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Thread: Arms fall asleep

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    67

    Default Arms fall asleep

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    Hi again Coach,

    Wondering if you have had experience with trainees who had their arms fall asleep on them at night while sleeping.

    I notice that it starts whenever I start doing flat bench pressing on a regular basis.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    My hands do that due to a little carpal tunnel constriction, but not my whole arm. How far up does the numbness go?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    172

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    I have had this problem in a big way since starting SS. My arms both fall asleep every night, and often have cramps in the morning. I'm glad someone brought this up.

  4. #4
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    May 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    My hands do that due to a little carpal tunnel constriction, but not my whole arm. How far up does the numbness go?
    Well, actually last night it was just my hands, primarily my right hand.. and I'm right handed..

    But in the past I have woken up with essentially a dead arm, and when I stopped benching it went away, although my weight was dropping (and now I'm gaining) so it could be related to those sorts of body comp changes too..

    I'll try some heat on it tonight and have my wife (chiropractor) work on it some.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    38

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    My hand goes numb rarely, but when it does it stays numb for at least two weeks. This could be due to the ganglion cyst in my wrist, perhaps the cyst is restricting normal blood flow.

    Coach, do you have any experience with ganglion cysts? I find it odd that when I stop exercising for up to two weeks, my cyst gets larger and starts becoming a problem. But when I am constantly exercising, it diminishes in size and becomes unnoticeable.

  6. #6
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    Jul 2007
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    starting strength coach development program
    Numbness has nothing to do with blood flow; it's not "cut-off circulation" as we were told when we were kids. It is a conduction block of some type affecting the nerve supply to the numb area. A whole arm asleep implies something in the shoulder, possibly a brachial plexus issue. If a ganglion cyst on the wrist is big enough and you sleep with your hand in a position in which the cyst presses against the nerve for an extended period, it might very well be damaged enough to take a couple of weeks to heal.

    Ganglion cysts are easy. I had a guy here several years ago that had one surgically removed, and when it came back he got pissed and whacked it against the door jam. It ruptured and never came back. This is commonly advised for ganglion cysts.

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