Brief Answer:
Muscle strains take time to heal

Detailed Answer:
Good morning. My name is Dr. Saghafi and I am a neurologist. I will address these questions for you and hopefully give you some additional information that will help you improve your condition.

As a pall bearer and by using your left side which is not your best side you likely placed a lot of stress that your back and neck are not using to experiencing. The neck would've become involved in this case because you were lifting with the left arm. This extended or pulled on the shoulder which in all likelihood stretched the elements of the brachial plexus through the neck region. This would explain the vibratory sensation and pain as you caused a type of stretch injury to occur.

The muscle spasm in the biceps brachii muscle is easy to understand since it was the biceps muscle you were recruiting mostly into action in order to stabilize the weight of the coffin and keep yourself balanced. I don't know how much the weight was but from your description of things it would seem that it was much more weight and probably for longer periods of time than you are typically used to doing with that arm. Who knows? Perhaps, if it would've been your stronger side (the right) perhaps there would've been less chance of injury.

What you may been then, is to see a specialist (such as a neurologist) who can do a full examination including neurological workup to see if there is any evidence of either what is called a neuropathy, plexopathy, or radiculopathy in either neck or the lower back. They may wish to do an electrical study known as an EMG/NCV to see if anything can be detectd abnormal and at what level.

Stretch injuries of this nature usually get better over time with conservative therapy and treatment which would include physical therapy, medication for pain or discomfort, and then, some form of modality treatment such as heat or cold (usually heat). Some practitioners claim that Ultrasound therapy is also beneficial but the data on that is limited.

One would like to think that enough time would've elapsed to complete the course of self healing but on the other hand depending upon the severity and degree of the actual stretching of the fibers it could take as long as 6-12 months to be able to appreciate singificant improvements.

I'd appreciate the favor of your providing a STAR RATING and some brief written feedback if your question has been satisfactorily answered. In addition, CLOSING THE QUERY on your end will also be most helpful.

Don't forget that my webpage to keep me abreast as to how you're doing is:

bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi

All the Best

This query has required a total of 20 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile the return envoy to the patient.

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