I have this problem that has bothered me for some time. The story is little bit long so please bear with me 
Last spring around end of April and beginning of May I started to feel some paresthesia (tingling feeling like when you arm starts to go numb or recovers from the numbness), tiredness, tenderness and weak dull pain in my left arm (upper arm, forearm and fingers). In my opinion my left arm was also little bit bluer than my right arm. Symptoms were not constant as they were increasing and decreasing. It guess they kind of crept in gradually because I can't remember the exact time it started, but it was definitely there at the beginning of May.
Feeling was I thought similar to the symptoms of DCS I had read from the literature. I was little bit worried because I had been diving but I rationalized that there had been so long period from my last dives that it couldn't have been that (later I have read that in one case somebody developed similar symptoms after 22 days).
My previous dives had been one dive at 20. March (19,1m/63ft 18min) and two dives at 27. March (29,5m/97ft 23min and 9,4m/31ft 21min, SI 2h). All the dive times are total dive times including ascent and safety stop (during the last dive we didn't have safety stop and it had also some yo-yoing from 6m/20ft to surface and also accidental ascent speed violation). During all those dives I was quite cold, especially first and last (water temperature was around 5-6C/42F and the exhaust valve at the left arm of my rental dry suit leaked).
Later couple of other thing that could have caused the symptoms in my arm came to my mind. One was that I had been playing electric bass first time for years during the winter and it was hard for my arms and hands. We had also three gigs during April. As I tried to find information about my condition from the web I found some mentions that similar neural symptoms are not so uncommon among musicians (especially, guitarists and violin players). Other was that I had been swimming actively for a first time in my life during the winter and it also stresses arms and shoulders. In addition I have loose shoulder joint in my left arm.
Condition in my left arm persisted. My arm also got easily tired when I went to swimming. I did three short equipment check dives to 3m/10ft and one deeper dive (21m/69ft 22min, incl safety stop, square profile) during June and four dives at the beginning of the July (20,7m/68ft 30min, 9,1m 41min SI 3:51 and 9,4m 39min SI 4:28 and 22,2m/73ft 31min next day, deeper dives with multi-level profiles). Dives didn't seem to have much effect to the arm except maybe made it little bit more tired and I had couple of twinges at the elbow but they didn't resist..
After that I went to see orthopedic and he suspected that it might be pinched nerve at the elbow. The twinges I described earlier were actually near the cubital channel and the ulnar nerve goes trough that channel. Muscle strenght and movements were constant between my both hands. After the doctor visit the symptoms seemed to subsidy a bit.
Next time I went diving at the end of the July and did seven dives max 2 dives per day. The hardest one was probably the only dive of the last day (24,7m/81ft 37min SI 15:49). Arm still had the symptoms but they didn't seem to get any worse.
Then I went diving at the end of the August. Two dives at Saturday (17,4m/57ft 46min and 18,3m/60ft 40min SI 1:55). First dive had some see-sawing in the profile (from 15m/49ft to 5m/16ft and back to 10m/33ft) and second had average depth around 7m/23m but then we made quick plunge at the end of the dive to 18m/60f, no ascent rate (10m/33f/min) violations. I remembered having more intensified tingling at my arm after the first dive. I was also little dehydrated and felt nauseated before the dives because the boat was rocking on quite strong waves (nausea went away under the surface). After the dives I felt quite tired whole evening, but I thought it was because of dehydration and nausea. I started to worry next day when I was still tired whole day right after waking up. Also the feelings in my arm felt noticeably stronger, but otherwise they were still similar as earlier. I had made diving doctors check-up appointment at next Thursday and I decided to ask from him about my situation.
Thursday came and doctor suspected that I might have had DCS hit. All neuro check results were ok. I went to chamber for 6h and for 1,5h next day. When I was in the chamber the doctor asked if the re compression had any effect to my arm. It was kind of hard to tell because the feelings (like the tingling) seem to normally come and go and many times in rest they disappear. In that time the arm felt little bit better so I said same to the doctor. After the treatments some of the tingling and tiredness was still there but the doctor said that it is normal. When I went gym some time after the chamber rides those muscles that felt tired became sore (in a way muscles do when you go the gym for first time for a while).
I had six weeks break in diving. At the sixth week I remember noticing that the left arm felt ok and wondered if the chamber treatment had had some effect after all. I went swimming the same week and some of the feelings in my arm came back.
Next week I went diving (18,3m/60ft 43min, quite square profile). It was a night dive from shore and we had to make quite long (around 150m/500ft) walk (including a hill) with our gear on before and after the dive. Also rocky shore made it quite laborious. I had had some of the feelings already before the dive (started after the previous weeks swimming) and after the dive the tingling came back in my arm.
After that I have made six dives and they didn't seem to have any effect to the symptoms in my arm. I'm have time reserved for neural conductivity test (ENMG) where they are trying to locate the possible pinch of the nerve. All my current symptoms fit to some ulnar nerve problem (like the tingling is only in my pinky and ring finger), but the origin of the problem is not clear.
So after this long story the question is what do you think are these problems in my arm due some DCS related injury or do they originate form some musculoskeletal issue (like thoracic outlet syndrome or pinched nerve)?
Last spring around end of April and beginning of May I started to feel some paresthesia (tingling feeling like when you arm starts to go numb or recovers from the numbness), tiredness, tenderness and weak dull pain in my left arm (upper arm, forearm and fingers). In my opinion my left arm was also little bit bluer than my right arm. Symptoms were not constant as they were increasing and decreasing. It guess they kind of crept in gradually because I can't remember the exact time it started, but it was definitely there at the beginning of May.
Feeling was I thought similar to the symptoms of DCS I had read from the literature. I was little bit worried because I had been diving but I rationalized that there had been so long period from my last dives that it couldn't have been that (later I have read that in one case somebody developed similar symptoms after 22 days).
My previous dives had been one dive at 20. March (19,1m/63ft 18min) and two dives at 27. March (29,5m/97ft 23min and 9,4m/31ft 21min, SI 2h). All the dive times are total dive times including ascent and safety stop (during the last dive we didn't have safety stop and it had also some yo-yoing from 6m/20ft to surface and also accidental ascent speed violation). During all those dives I was quite cold, especially first and last (water temperature was around 5-6C/42F and the exhaust valve at the left arm of my rental dry suit leaked).
Later couple of other thing that could have caused the symptoms in my arm came to my mind. One was that I had been playing electric bass first time for years during the winter and it was hard for my arms and hands. We had also three gigs during April. As I tried to find information about my condition from the web I found some mentions that similar neural symptoms are not so uncommon among musicians (especially, guitarists and violin players). Other was that I had been swimming actively for a first time in my life during the winter and it also stresses arms and shoulders. In addition I have loose shoulder joint in my left arm.
Condition in my left arm persisted. My arm also got easily tired when I went to swimming. I did three short equipment check dives to 3m/10ft and one deeper dive (21m/69ft 22min, incl safety stop, square profile) during June and four dives at the beginning of the July (20,7m/68ft 30min, 9,1m 41min SI 3:51 and 9,4m 39min SI 4:28 and 22,2m/73ft 31min next day, deeper dives with multi-level profiles). Dives didn't seem to have much effect to the arm except maybe made it little bit more tired and I had couple of twinges at the elbow but they didn't resist..
After that I went to see orthopedic and he suspected that it might be pinched nerve at the elbow. The twinges I described earlier were actually near the cubital channel and the ulnar nerve goes trough that channel. Muscle strenght and movements were constant between my both hands. After the doctor visit the symptoms seemed to subsidy a bit.
Next time I went diving at the end of the July and did seven dives max 2 dives per day. The hardest one was probably the only dive of the last day (24,7m/81ft 37min SI 15:49). Arm still had the symptoms but they didn't seem to get any worse.
Then I went diving at the end of the August. Two dives at Saturday (17,4m/57ft 46min and 18,3m/60ft 40min SI 1:55). First dive had some see-sawing in the profile (from 15m/49ft to 5m/16ft and back to 10m/33ft) and second had average depth around 7m/23m but then we made quick plunge at the end of the dive to 18m/60f, no ascent rate (10m/33f/min) violations. I remembered having more intensified tingling at my arm after the first dive. I was also little dehydrated and felt nauseated before the dives because the boat was rocking on quite strong waves (nausea went away under the surface). After the dives I felt quite tired whole evening, but I thought it was because of dehydration and nausea. I started to worry next day when I was still tired whole day right after waking up. Also the feelings in my arm felt noticeably stronger, but otherwise they were still similar as earlier. I had made diving doctors check-up appointment at next Thursday and I decided to ask from him about my situation.
Thursday came and doctor suspected that I might have had DCS hit. All neuro check results were ok. I went to chamber for 6h and for 1,5h next day. When I was in the chamber the doctor asked if the re compression had any effect to my arm. It was kind of hard to tell because the feelings (like the tingling) seem to normally come and go and many times in rest they disappear. In that time the arm felt little bit better so I said same to the doctor. After the treatments some of the tingling and tiredness was still there but the doctor said that it is normal. When I went gym some time after the chamber rides those muscles that felt tired became sore (in a way muscles do when you go the gym for first time for a while).
I had six weeks break in diving. At the sixth week I remember noticing that the left arm felt ok and wondered if the chamber treatment had had some effect after all. I went swimming the same week and some of the feelings in my arm came back.
Next week I went diving (18,3m/60ft 43min, quite square profile). It was a night dive from shore and we had to make quite long (around 150m/500ft) walk (including a hill) with our gear on before and after the dive. Also rocky shore made it quite laborious. I had had some of the feelings already before the dive (started after the previous weeks swimming) and after the dive the tingling came back in my arm.
After that I have made six dives and they didn't seem to have any effect to the symptoms in my arm. I'm have time reserved for neural conductivity test (ENMG) where they are trying to locate the possible pinch of the nerve. All my current symptoms fit to some ulnar nerve problem (like the tingling is only in my pinky and ring finger), but the origin of the problem is not clear.
So after this long story the question is what do you think are these problems in my arm due some DCS related injury or do they originate form some musculoskeletal issue (like thoracic outlet syndrome or pinched nerve)?
