Wasting triceps & pectoral, loss of strength

[tjb113]

Reading through this thread has been great and has at least helped me appreciate that there are others out there that have had similar issues to myself.

As a history, back in 2016 I had a run in with severe back pain and muscle spasms that impacted my upper right back and shoulder area, as well as going down my right arm. This pain was severe and it lasted months but eventually subsided. I never did strength tests at the time and was not actively training or anything so I can't if there were any muscle issues. I did have an MRI at that time which showed minor narrowing of the spinal canal at C5/C6 and a bulging disc with moderate stenosis at C6/C7. An EMG was done as well which seemed to show abnormal readings that coincided with the MRI's evaluation. This is what was explained as the cause of my issues and I went through PT and regular McKenzie stretches to improve the situation. Eventually things improved and I went back to life as normal.

Fast forward to just before New Years this past December and I just went to lie down one night and as I laid down for no reason that I can tell my right shoulder and upper back pain just lit up like mad. I could barely even sleep that night the pain was so bad and I could only get even the slightest relief by stacking 2 pillows to elevate my head and then turn my head left and down so my chin was tucked against my shoulder. Maintaining that position was the only way I could reduce the pain whatsoever even with naproxen. I went to the doctor and was given a course of Prednisolone oral steroids and some Tizanidine to calm the muscles. Over a few weeks the pain steadily moved from the shoulder down the arm and the eventually subsided to the point I can I only trigger it with specific neck movements (looking far to the right or with McKenzie chin tucks).

However, this is when I started to notice the tricep weakness in my right arm. If I flex the tricep it clearly does not flex fully and is still somewhat soft as opposed to my left arm that flexes fully and easily. I also attempted to do some hammer tricep extensions with some dumbbells I have (5, 10 and 15) only to find that while my left arm can easily do them with even the 15, the right arm struggles with anything more than the 5. Now, I'm not a regular at the gym even though I should be (I do have a membership), so I'm not in the greatest shape in my life. However, I know I should be able to handle hammer extensions with the tricep over 5 pounds so there is definitely muscle weakness present this time around.

I'm not sure exactly why this chose now to flare up but I do have a few ideas. In early November I did get a flu shot and even though they say the shots are generally safe it has definitely been pointed out both here and elsewhere that the immune systems response can sometimes go overboard and cause attack the nerves. The flu shot is specifically a risk for this as it is not a vaccine in the same way the other vaccinations you receive in life are and as such it is prone to causing such issues. There's also the fact that over the course of September to November I removed the siding, soffits and fascia from my home and completely resided the house. In the course of doing this early in the process while removing siding I was standing on the top of a stepladder (I know, I know, you're not supposed to stand on the very top) when I shuffled my weight which caused the leg one of the legs to sink in to a mole tunnel that was apparently there. This caused that leg to buckle and fold and the ladder kicked out and away from underneath me causing me to fall backwards and land flat on my back. I remember specifically landing on the back first which then caused my head to snap back and smack against the ground which caused my vision to flash white briefly. The incident completely winded me for several minutes and I spend about 5 minutes sitting and recovering my breath. However, after I did recover my breath I seemed to be fine and wasn't exhibiting any symptoms of anything being broken or injured. It is possible, however, that the impact did cause damage that simply didn't immediately appear as it is no uncommon for spinal injuries to take months and even years before you start to suffer problems.

Regardless of what the cause is this has seriously been freaking me out so it has been great to read through this thread and see people discussing their cases that sound so similar to my own, though with obviously higher scaling on the weights since many here are no doubt in better physical shape than myself. I think a lot of people forget how important it is to hear and talk to people who are going through what you're going through to keep your thoughts grounded and stop anxiety from running away with your thoughts. At this point I'm probably going to have another MRI done to confirm the spinal issues seen 3 and a half years ago are still present and are flaring up again. The first visit the doctor seemed convinced it was a trapezius issue as the pain hadn't entered the arm yet and I hadn't noticed the weakness at that time. I have since messaged her updating her on the situation and I imagine the next step will be imaging again. Personally I believe it is likely related to the neck issues again since, as I have mentioned, certain head movements can trigger the right shoulder pain and sometimes even down the arm if I hold it long enough.

I really want to thank all of you though for your stories as it really has helped me put this in perspective and settle my thoughts on the matter.

[tjb113]

So I had my MRI done and the result was not at all unsurprising. Compared to the MRI from 2016 it definitely was showing a progression in the disc issue and stenosis on the C7 which was described as "mild to moderate" in 2016 but is now marked as "moderate to severe" on the right and "mild to moderate" on the left. There was no stenosis on the left previously. The MRI also showed issues developing at C5-C6 and C3-C4, all on the right side which seems indicative the general cause is likely postural with the C7 issue likely worsened by the previously mentioned fall.

The C6-C7 is likely the root cause of all the issues I'm experiencing from the right shoulder and upper back pain, tricep spasms and weakness and pain or tingling at the elbow that can also radiate down in to the middle finger and inner sides of the adjacent fingers. I've also had back spasms for a long time and I've been told that this is also likely caused by the C6-C7 nerve issue since the latissimus dorsi also heavily relies on innervation from the C7 nerve root. Apparently the focus is often on the tricep because it's usually the more obvious and is more easily tested, but your lats can also suffer from a C7 nerve impingement which I was previously not aware of. A weakened lat can also create a cycle as it will cause someones posture to worsen without knowing it and that shifted posture can, in turn, worsen the impingement that's causing the problem in the first place. Anyway, thought I'd share that information since it was new information for me.

Anyways, I now have an appointment tomorrow with a "specialist", although I'm not thrilled with it. They set it up with a clinic that specializes in "conservative non-surgical care" which I'm not sold on because we did PT and an injection last time and now here I am 3 and a half years later with the same thing, only worse. So many times I've read about people who just went in and got a discectomy to resolve the bulging discs and were better in a short span of time but yet it seems even with my stenosis and bulge considered "severe" and with muscle weakening they still won't even talk about that option. I've heard horror stories of people who had similar issues and the clinics would only do PT who got worse and worse and when the doctors finally decided surgery might be a good idea the degradation was so severe they had to have a more substantial surgery done and some of the impact of the spinal issues were permanent. I'm going to make it clear to them when I talk with them that I don't want anything off the table because I'm sick of dealing with it and so far PT has not worked.

[droopypec]

I wanted to post another follow up. It's been over two years since the onset of my initial symptoms.
I was diagnosed with a syrinx in my neck, and a smaller one in my lower back.

The good:
My body has adapted the best it can to the new circumstances. The soft flabby pectoral and tricep on my right side are better, and flexing them no longer results in immediate cramping. I look and feel more symmetrical and when flexing my right pec it now behaves almost the same as the left. I'm able to do in the neighborhood of 50 pushups and 20 pull-ups, which is almost back to where I was before this all began. I know the problem is still there, but other muscles must be compensating and filling in, because it has improved which was initially diagnosed as impossible.

The bad:
If I push it hard with weights, about 24 hours later I will have an unnatural feeling severe headache which will last a day or two. Bodyweight exercises are fine, but heavy bar weights will set it off.

I think I was born with the syrinxes in my neck and back they've just grown over time. The only other contributing factors may have been several neck whiplash car accidents growing up. (Nothing drastic, just some neck pain for a few days afterwards.) I also have arched my back when bench pressing for many many years when maxing out.

I hope that anyone reading this still suffering does not lose hope. I didn't. I've been doing P90X continuously for the past year and pushed it as hard as I can with bodyweight exercises and calorie counting. It has gotten better for me and I hope it does for you too.