My arms fall asleep at night as if the circulation has been cut off. What could be causing this?

Treloar Physiotherapy Clinic: Vancouver Physiotherapy

Arms ‘falling asleep’, can result from any irritant (pressure/stretch) to an area that contains either nerves or blood vessels.  This certainly sounds like something we would call ‘numbness’.

We would want to determine a few things including:

  1. What is the pattern of the ‘falling asleep’ symptoms (does it come and go with certain movements/positions or is it constant?)
  2. What position do you typically sleep in?
  3. Where exactly have you experienced the numbness?
  4. Do you have any history of shoulder/neck or upper back pain?

This is definitely something one of our physiotherapists could assess and then suggest a suitable treatment program for.  Treatments typically could include manual therapy (hands-on mobilization of joints in the upper back, shoulder and neck), dry-needling (intramuscular stimulation) and restorative mobility exercises for both nerve tissue and joints in the neck/shoulder and upper back area.

Feel free to contact us at either clinic if you have any further questions or would like to book an initial assessment with one of our skilled physiotherapists.