Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with arms

It felt great until the tingly.

The Biggest Dreamer — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:11:41 -0800

After ~20 minutes in a hot tub, I get an intensely uncomfortable tingling feeling in my arms and my face and feel very... woozy and unbalanced. What is going on, and is this normal? After I surfaced and enjoyed some cooler air for a bit I felt better. Strangely enough, I'd felt this exact same feeling in one other situation- while having sex with someone. I thought maybe I was just hyperventilating then? lol, young inexperienced people. I kind of felt like I was going to pass out, but I've never passed out before so I don't know if that's actually what was happening. I don't know what exactly my body is doing. And I'd really like to know.

Am a young female with normally lowish blood pressure but in good health.

carpal tunnel and tendonitis and what to do?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:16:12 -0800

Arm/wrist problems and no health insurance: what to do? John got (diagnosed) tendonitis last summer. It was a work related injury and he received workers comp for it (including doctors visits and physical therapy). It slowly got better. In December/January John was spending too much time typing and got (diagnosed) carpal tunnel. He was in a country with public health insurance then so was able to see a doctor. He got some sort of injections in his wrists/arms (not cortisone injections), which didn't really seem to help.

Returning to the USA, John stopped having any sort of health insurance (and has a part-time job, which does not offer him health insurance but pays enough that it disqualifies him from Medicare), but went to several free clinics asking what he should do. They told him to take NSAIDs and wear wrist braces all the time. John has been doing this for the last three weeks, but the wrist braces have aggravated the previously-mentioned tendonitis in his elbows.

Right now he has weak and tingling wrists and hands, opening jars and turning on sticky faucets causes pain and tingling. In the winter (when it was really cold), his fingers were going numbish/turning white. After wearing wrist braces for over an hour, his elbows start feeling like they did back when he first got tendonitis (pain near funny bone, pain down forearm).

He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to make either of his arm injuries worse, he doesn't want to ruin his arms for life, he does not have savings or enough money to be in a position to negotiate a flat rate with a doctor. Right now he is doing yoga, has just started taking vitamin B-6 (thanks to advice from the internet), isn't typing or using a computer, but is at a loss as to what his other options are (other than living with weak and tingling and weird-feeling arms for the rest of his life).

What should he do? What can he do? What are his options? (Also, this is being typed by his girlfriend Jane, who would also like advice on how she can best be supportive and help John feel better during this.) If it matters, we are in the central New York area.

How does selling weapons promote peace?

knapah — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:06:44 -0800

How do its proponents argue that the arms trade contributes to peace/stability? I'm pretty conscious of the arguments against the arms trade, and I understand the general economic arguments about maintaining a national defence industrial base (and how it keeps workers in jobs etc). But I have heard it claimed that the arms trade contributes to peace and stability which I am struggling to get my head around.

If you have recommendations of websites or articles (I have wide journal access through my university) that deal with this subject I'd love to know about them.

Umerus virga, maybe?

evidenceofabsence — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:28:00 -0800

I'm looking for a dermatological term for what I can only describe as "arm stripes." (Photo link inside.) I was recently reading about Blaschko's lines (because, hey, neat!), and decided to do a Google image search. One of the photos that popped up seems to have been miscategorized. Instead of depicting the typical mosaic pattern of Blaschko's lines, it shows an arm that has darker pigmentation on the outside, with a pretty distinct line occurring between this darker pigmentation, and lighter pigmentation on the inside of the arm.

You know, arm stripes.

I have exactly this pattern of pigmentation on my arms, and am curious if it has a name. I've always assumed it was the result of my having olive skin that tans at the drop of a hat, resulting in my outer arms being permanently darker than my inner arms.

To be clear, I am in no way concerned about this (thankfully, I am now of an age where older women do see fit to spit on their fingers to wipe the "schmutz" off of my outer arm). I'd just love to know if there's a fancy medical term I can use to describe my pigmentation. Other than, um, "arm stripes."

Im getting acne(?) on my arms, whats wrong!

freddymetz — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:36:56 -0800

Im getting acne(?) on my arms, whats wrong! Im 17 years old, and zits on the face aren't a big deal for me. But over the last year or so theyve started spreading out just under my neck, on my shoulders and upper arms (i included a pic to be helpful and more precise :p)

My main question is, what caused this? Im probably looking for a cause like wearing sweaty t shirts or the sort. Could something like that have caused it? Or not enough oxygen to the arms?
I THINK it gets worse in summer but im really not sure.

Embiggen My Puny Arms!

turgid dahlia — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:59:10 -0800

What are, say, the 5 key dumbbell exercises for arm strongening? So I’m a fair-sized lad with pretty broad shoulders, strong legs and a some excess pudding around the abdomen. For overall health I am going to resume my daily walking and yoga routine, which I have been criminally neglecting these past few months, as well as cut back on booze (boo!) and carbohydrates in general. I’m also quitting smoking (just like the seven other times I’ve done it). But one thing I’d really like to focus on is my puny arms.

With this in mind, I am going to purchase a pair (or is “set” the correct nomenclature?) of dumbbells today, likely 10kg jobs. What are, say, the 5 key dumbbell exercises for arm strongening? I don’t want to go around looking like I’ve got a pair of condoms packed with walnuts attached to the sides of my torso, but I’d also like to not go around looking like those same condoms are filled with gravy and whipped cream.

Bonus question: Is there a pull-up “corollary” I can perform with these dumbbells? I read in another AskMe that pull-ups are one of the best exercises to perform for arm enhancements, but I have nothing to pull up on, which leaves me stymied.

Help me fix my Popeye arms

penciltopper — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:19:39 -0800

Standard adult male body, but I have skinny upper arms. Suggestions for a workout to add some mass, specifically from elbows up? I'm generally OK with my physique as it is - everything's the size and shape it should be for a mid-30's male, if a little soft from a sedentary lifestyle - except for these "Popeye arms" of mine (somehow, my forearms seem bigger than my biceps, etc. - it's like I got the upper arms from someone else's smaller body).

I'm going to start a regular cardio & toning routine to tighten things up and get some more energy, but I'd like to target this area for build-up, without getting too crazy about bodybuilding.

I figure if I could shift the couple extra inches from my waistline to my upper arms, I'd be happy.
How to do?

Killer arms

barrakuda — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:48:56 -0800

How do I add tone and definition to my upper arms? I want my upper arms to look nice and toned this summer. I am a girl, petite, not overweight and with little exposure to sports. I recently started going to the gym and I want to do something about my flabby upper arms. So... What are the best exercises I could do to tone them up? How often should I do them, with how many repetitions? Should I change my diet at all? Eat less? more? more specific foods? For the record, I do not want superscary muscles a la Madonna but rather a nice, toned look. Thanks.

What do I do with my arms and hands?

HotPatatta — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:09:56 -0800

I don't know what to do with my arms and hands when I'm nervous. They just feel awkward, like big old sausage links hanging there. I don't want to cross my arms because it makes me look aloof and apathetic. What do I do? This happens when I'm in front of people or even one-on-one with someone--even with friends sometimes.

Why do my ice cubes grow arms?

AlisonM — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:12:22 -0800

Why do my ice cubes grow arms? So, whenever I make ice cubes, at least one or two grow what I call an "arm". See the picture here, where its happened to three! Why would this happen? This only seems to happen when I make them (not my roommate), but I think that's because I tend to fill the tray up to the top with water, and she doesn't.

Does it have something to do with the way ths cold air is blowing over the surface of the water? See here - the air comes out of that vent and blows across the top of the ice. Usually, the arms get broken off when I put another tray on top of it (they're not stackable, so the ones that aren't frozen yet can't have anything on top of it).

Science peeps, please help me solve this mystery! Are my ice cubes trying to escape? (ha) Its been bugging me since I moved in to this apartment 1.5 years ago.

Weight of body parts

Hogshead — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:19:37 -0800

How much does a typical human adult male (a) arm (b) leg weigh? I don't have any scales handy.

Arm Stubble?

bonheur — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 18:45:14 -0800

Ladies, do you shave your arms? I've noticed several young women in my college classes visible stubble on their forearms. They are not competitive swimmers, it seems to be an aesthetic choice. Is this common? Getting commoner? Why?

How Do Human Cannons Work?

everichon — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 08:49:05 -0800

How do the cannons that shoot human cannon balls work? I'm guessing it's different than the way real cannons work. This page says it's a trade secret. Now I must know!