Muscle spasm or pinched nerve?

[Nancy T]

(Probably OT, and I'm not diagnosed with anything.)

For weeks I've been greatly annoyed by a crampy feeling with paresthesia in my left upper back--left of midline and kind of near my neck.

It started as merely some mild itching. Maybe a week or two later it added a tingly sensation and then a dull crampy-type ache (though not like those severely painful cramps you get in a calf or arch).

The crampy feeling is there much of the day, sometimes WITH the itching or tingling and sometimes without. It will go away for an hour or two, return, go away, etc. all day.

It only occurs while I'm upright (doesn't bother me at night). Nothing seems to affect it; a change in position or a bit of massage might ease it for a few seconds, but then it comes right back.

What do you think? Does this sound more like a pinched nerve (given the paresthesias that often occur with it), or just a muscle spasm? Can muscle spasms be accompanied by itching or tingling?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Nancy

[Nancy T]

Hi Shell, thanks for the reply! No, there's no pain down my arm. Yes, it does feel like something is "tweaked out," as you say.

In the past I've occasionally gotten a strained muscle in my upper back (from hunching unmoving over my computer for many hours when frantically trying to finish an overdue project); this is somewhat different because it comes and goes, has lasted way longer, and has the accompanying skin sensations.

I'll probably never know... I'll just hope it goes away eventually, as these things tend to do. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be aggravated with activity, so I've continued working.

And just for fun, this morning I have one of those very familiar shocky-tingly paresthesias in the middle of my right calf! Ho-hum...I don't even look for the spider that feels like it's landed there, after ten years I know it's a false alarm! :)

Take care,
Nancy

[sllowe]

Hi Nancy!

This stuff is so hard to explain -isn't it? I'm no pro, but tend to think you have something tweaked out causing the cramping, spasms on that side but like you say, accompanied by parathesias - are they related? I just don't know. Do you have toothached type pain down your arm?

For me, when my neck is tweaked out for one reason or another I don't have parathesia along with it. Parathesis is so aggrevating!

-shell