What could I do about a swollen /tight arm?

Question:

For the last 2 days my left arm has felt swolen/tight all the way down to my fingers. It comes and goes. I am 27 with no health problems. When i lean on it for even 30-45 sec it gets tight. I have a little baby and holding her in my left arm makes it tight and hard to hold her. What might be causing something like this?

Answers:
I am not sure why this is happening. Here is a couple of possibilities. Are you holding your baby a lot? If its your first baby and you are holding it (him/her) for a long amount of time everyday you can be straining your muscles. You haven't held anything like this for long periods before. Your body has to get used to it. You might want to try stretching both of your arms a few times a day. Drink a lot of water too (to flush out your muscles).

You also might be a little stressed and this can make your muscles tighten up. If they stay tight for a while, your arm can become swollen. After stretching rest your arm on pillows above your heart. Also, you can use ice packs to reduce the swelling.

If this doesn't help at all please see a doctor. Congrats on the new baby!

What could I do about a swollen /tight arm?

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