Where are these cramps coming from?

In My Humble Opinion
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This morning at work Infound myself engaged in a task that had me alternately pulling
a folded catalog out of a confined space, trying to rim the catalog to shreds using my bare hands, and using an Allen key to painstakingly remove a fastener from a part, also in a confined space, such that I had to lie on my back while working. The task took some ninety minutes, and after I finished I took my meal break for a half hour. Soon after returning from lunch, both my arms began to cramp up, from my elbows to my hands. Massaging them had little to no effect, so I reported to my supervsor’s office and requested to be taken to our worker’s comp medical provider to have this looked into. As I type this on my phone, I am awaiting transport (the cramping is so severe that I doubt my ability to safely drive).

Is there a known cause for something like this following a prolonged session of strenuous pinch-type activity? The term “lactic acid” seems to want to be explored.

TIA. I’ll keep y’all posted.

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You can type on your phone, but not drive?

Were you able to use your hands normally during your meal break? I don’t know if it was lactic acid build up per se, although your arms might cramp up if you used them extensively in unfamiliar ways for an extended period. You mentioned that you were on your back. That would reduce circulation in your arms, since your heart would have to pump blood uphill to your arms more than if you were standing or sitting. I would have expected lactic acid and other metabolites to have more-or-less cleared in half an hour. But muscles fail after a certain point of use, particularly if you are not conditioned to the activity that caused them to fail. You might try gentle stretching and unloaded range of motion to keep the circulation going.

Hope you feel better soon.

Regards,
Shodan

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The OP took half an hour to write. Had to stop a lot.