Tri this weekend. But, I'm having shoulder and arm pain

[Iris616]

My second tri is this Saturday, and I'm really excited. Unfortunately, I threw my back and neck out this past Sunday. I've been icing, and went to the Chiropractor for an adjustment. My back and neck are almost at 100% now. But, my left arm feels tired, and sometimes numb. Even at rest, it feels like I just swam 1000 yards.

The swim is 1/3 mile. I'm pretty sure I can still do it, but I might have to do the side stroke for some of it. That's okay, because I'm a slow swimmer on my best days. So, I don't have a whole lot of expectations to begin with.

Any suggestions for what to do between now and Saturday? Should I get in the pool today for one last workout?
Any suggestions for how to get through the swim?
Thanks.

[tribogota]

I guess I don't have any "real" suggestions, but I always seem to injure myself right before a tri and then worry about it endlessly, mentalize myself to not finish if the pain is too great, etc. etc.......then I do the tri and don't feel pain while I am doing it at all....psychological....so maybe just go with the flow and you'll find yourself fine during the race.

[OakLeaf]

Did the weakness and numbness start after your adjustment, or was it there before? What did the chiro advise? Can you tell whether it's coming from your neck or more from the shoulder joint/thoracic outlet? Does stretching help? Pinched nerves are tricky...

I guess if it was me I'd talk to the chiro, maybe get in for a massage at their office, do a little VERY LIGHT activity through a full range of motion to see what happens, and go from there. I'd include a little perch on the bike - which can stress the thoracic outlet - as well as a bit of a swim. If either one of those seemed to aggravate the problem, I'd probably pass on the tri. You definitely don't want to bruise the nerve, because that can take months to heal.

But that's just what I would do, NOT medical advice...

Anyway, if you feel you can do the tri without injuring it further, good luck!

[Iris616]

Thanks. I ended up at the Drs today, because numbness, swelling, dead weight was getting progressivley worse. The did an MRI. Results were that the arthritis in my neck (which I forgot I'd been diagnosed with) has progressed to "severe".
I'll call the chiro tomorrow and get his opinion about this.

[spindizzy]

Excuse my ignorance but why would you see a chiropractor for severe arthritis in your neck?

[KnottedYet]

Especially when it sounds like he fragmented a protruding disc and now a piece is sitting on the nerve to your arm.

Arthritis doesn't do dramatic changes. Arthritis doesn't change in a day or two or in one manipulation. Big changes like that come from discs or alignment. Something went out of place on Sunday. The arthritis is just background noise. (you had arthritis just as bad on Saturday, but you didn't hurt)

Some DCs will deliberately pinch off (fragment) a bulge if there is no other way to relieve the spinal pain. That gets the bulging piece out from between the vertebrae and relieves that source of discomfort. It floats around loose in the neighborhood and eventually the body resorbs it. But that is not a technique to be used on the first visit of a recent problem, and certainly not on someone about to do a tri.

ETA: he may have accidentally torn the disc wall so it is leaking disc goo onto the nearby nerve (like a leaky waterballoon). The goo in the disc is caustic, and when it touches the nerve root it can mimic a compression effect. That wouldn't show up on an MRI. But most good DCs know how to avoid "cracking the egg" like that.