Numbness/heaviness in upper limbs, neck and back

[DellaPearl]

I have a feeling of heaviness/numbness in upper back, neck and shoulder area acoompanied with intermittent pain and weakness in my arms, hands and legs.  My pcp, because I am under a lot of stress, indicates it may be some sort of panic disorder although he ran no tests and only talked with me in his office and told me to learn to deal with the stress in my life.  The symptoms are worsening and sometimes when I walk I feel like I am walking through a tub of oatmeal with weights on my legs.  Prior to the numbness (like your on novacaine) I get the pins and needles all over.  These feelings do scare me.  If I stand for long periods of time, I literally can't feel my legs.  Turning my neck is an issue as well - as the muscles are very tight in the shoulder neck area.   Could this be something more than stress?  TOS Syndrome possibly?  

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
Your symptoms are indicative of nerve compression. There is a possibility of nerve compression in the neck region since you have pain and stiffness in the neck and weakness and numbness in the arms and legs.
The possibility of TOS also cannot be ruled out. TOS is characterized by numbness, weakness and heaviness in the upper extremities. Although swelling and color changes of the upper arm are also seen.
I would suggest you to apply alternate heat and ice therapy to your neck and do some neck exercises. If symptoms do not improve please consult a neurologist. Take care!

[tellybee]

I fell down the stairs with my son in Oct.  I went backwards so my son would not fall forward.  I hurt my back.  I have not been the same since.  I have wierd headaches, numbness, tingling in my hands and legs, heaviness in my arms, forgetfullness, dizziness and hard time concentrating.  I have diffrent symptoms everyday.  I finally went to a neurologist in May and she did a MRI to rule out MS, Tumor, Bloodclot.  I had none of these but, I do have Chiari 1 Malformation.  When I found this out I started to research.  I found out it can cause all these symptoms and that its very rare and alot of Dr.s don't know much about it.  I went through 2 neurologist and 1 neosurgeon.  They all did not know much about it.  I just had another type of MRI and another appointment with a neurosurgeon at University of Michigan.  It sounds like I am going to get somewhere.  I advise you to go to a neurosurgeon and get a MRI of the Brain and Spine to rule out these things.  Also, go the Chiari Forum and search more about Chiari.