# What's making my arms raise?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 8, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378 "2003-10-08T23:44:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/1 "2003-10-08T23:44:32Z")

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This is something I’ve wanted to know for a long time, but I’ve never found an explaination of why this happens.

If you’ve never done this before, go do it now:

-Stand in a doorway with your arms at your side

-Hold out your arms so that the backs of your hands are pressing against the doorframe and your elbows are straight

-Push against frame as hard as you can (don’t hurt yourself) for about 30 seconds

-Step away from the door frame and relax your arms  
What happens? Yours arms lift up, all by themselves! It’s the strangest thing. I’m sure there’s got to be a medical reason why this happens. Anybody have an explaination?

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**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/2 "2003-10-08T23:55:13Z")

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i made a thread about this a while back. let me try to find it.

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**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/3 "2003-10-08T23:56:56Z")

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It’s a bit of a basic explaination, but [here](http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p1917.htm)

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**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/4 "2003-10-08T23:59:21Z")

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[here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208204&highlight=arms)’s my thread.

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**Author:** ![ronbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@ronbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ronbo)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/5 "2003-10-09T00:52:11Z")

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When you contract muscles, neurotransmitters are released between the nerve cells. Eventually, there are extra neurotransmitters in the synapses ( the gaps between nerve). When you relax, those neurotransmitters continue to fire the nerve and your muscles continue to contract, until they are finally depleted.

sorry, I don’t have a cite.

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/6 "2003-10-09T04:01:42Z")

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in the same Vein 😉 why when you touch a wall with finger tips, then rub your elbow, does the arm “shrink” ?

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**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-making-my-arms-raise/206378/7 "2003-10-09T05:34:47Z")

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Somebody scored a touchdown?