Arm Pain: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

 

One of the most common symptoms is arm pain. You can experience pain in one or both of your arms. The cause will determine the course of treatment. Mild pain can be managed at home, but more severe, sudden, or long-lasting pain should be treated by a physician.

Arm pain can be caused by a number of things, including minor injuries and pinched nerves. Talk to a medical professional if the pain is persistent or accompanied by other symptoms, although most cases resolve on their own.

Also Read: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

What is pain in the arm?

Arm pain is a frequent symptom that can have many different of causes. From your shoulders to your fingers, you could experience pain, discomfort, or soreness. You can experience pain in one or both of your arms. Additionally, you can feel numb, swollen, or itchy. The onset of arm pain may be abrupt or gradual.

Overuse or normal wear and tear might cause arm pain. Additionally, you can have a pinched nerve or an injury. Arm pain can also be a symptom of several medical diseases, such as arthritis. Numerous body parts that can be linked to the causes of arm pain, including your:

• Bones

•  Muscles

•  Tendons

• Ligaments

• Nerves

• Veins

• Joints, and skin.

Any discomfort or pain felt anywhere down the arm is called arm pain. It may involve shoulder, elbow, and wrist pain.

Numerous factors can contribute to arm pain, with overuse or injury being the most frequent causes. Depending on the cause, the pain may begin suddenly and go away or worsen gradually.

 Symptoms of arm discomfort:

The reason for arm discomfort will determine the symptoms that may accompany it. They could consist of:

• Redness
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm

Causes of arm pain:

There are several causes why people get arm discomfort, ranging from injuries to serious illnesses that need to be treated right once.



Overuse injuries:

Overuse is one of the most frequent causes of arm pain. Overuse situations come in a variety of forms, such as:

• The illness known as bursitis is brought on by swelling of the bursae, which are fluid-filled sacs that act as cushions between your muscles, bones, and tissues.
• Rotator cuff tear: A rotator cuff tear is an excruciating injury to the muscles and tendons that support your shoulder joint. Shoulder pain and even the inability to use your arm are caused by this type of injury.

• Tendonitis: Also known as tendinitis, tendinitis is a painful condition that arises from inflammation of the tendons that connect your muscles and bones. This can occur in many different sites, such as your wrist (wrist tendonitis or de Quervain's tendonitis) and biceps (biceps tendonitis).

• Overloading the tendons in your elbow can result in either golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) or tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). Tearing, degradation, and inflammation are possible outcomes of the disorder.

Traumatic wounds:

Traumas such as falls or auto accidents can cause traumatic injuries to your arm.

• A humerus fracture occurs when the humerus, the upper arm bone, is broken. You may require surgery and experience upper arm pain if you break your humerus.
• Scaphoid fracture: One type of wrist break is a scaphoid fracture. It happens when the scaphoid bone, a little bone close to the base of your thumb, is broken.
• Smith fracture: Another type of wrist break is a Smith fracture. When your wrist is turned inward toward your body, it may fall on you.
• One type of hand fracture is called a boxer's fracture. It happens when the fifth metacarpal bone, which joins your pinky finger to your wrist, breaks its neck.

Other injuries:

There are other different ways to hurt your arm, such as:

• Compressing the median nerve in your wrist can result in carpal tunnel syndrome, a disorder that can cause pain and numbness throughout your hand.
• Sprains: Sprains are injuries that happen when a ligament surrounding a joint is torn or stretched. A ligament in your wrist, elbow, or shoulder may sprain.
• Brachial plexus injury: This type of injury happens when your brachial plexus, a network of nerves that runs from your neck's spinal cord through your arms, sustains unexpected damage.

The condition of arthritis:

The painful condition known as arthritis makes your joints stiff and swollen. Numerous forms of arthritis, which number over 100, might impact your hands, wrists, and arms.

• Osteoarthritis: This kind of arthritis is brought on by the degeneration of the cartilage lining your joints, which makes your bones rub against one another.

• Rheumatoid arthritis: this kind of arthritis is brought on by an immune system attack on the tissues that line your joints. Your hands, wrists, and fingers are usually affected.

• An example of an inflammatory arthritis is psoriatic arthritis. It is connected to psoriasis, a skin disorder.

Conditions relating to the heart:

Sometimes heart-related conditions can cause arm pain, particularly in the left arm. These conditions include:

• Angina: Angina occurs when your heart requires more oxygen-rich blood, which causes chest pain. It can indicate heart disease or another heart issue. Angina can cause chest pain that radiates to your arms.
• When a blood clot forms in one of your deep veins, you may develop deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Your blood may not flow properly as a result.
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction): A heart attack happens when your heart's blood supply is reduced or stops altogether. This is a severe medical condition that has to be treated right away.

Other conditions:

Additional conditions that may result in arm pain include:

• A pinched nerve occurs when one of your nerves is compressed by surrounding tissues. It can make your arms, among other parts of your body, numb, tingly, and painful.
• Thoracic outlet syndrome: This condition occurs when the nerves or blood arteries in your upper chest or lower neck are compressed. Upper arm discomfort may result from this radiating to your arms.
• A rupture or leak in one of the disks between your vertebrae is known as a cervical disk herniation. Arm discomfort may result from this when it affects your cervical spine or neck.

• Shoulder impingement syndrome: This condition may be the cause of your shoulder ache as you lift your arm. Your shoulder blade's upper outer edge rubs on your rotator cuff beneath it when you have this issue.

Diagnosing arm pain:

To cure the pain, your doctor must first identify its underlying cause. During the initial history and physical examination, they will ask about your activity level, any injuries, and symptoms. Your doctor may use the following tests to assist diagnose you based on your symptoms:

• To assess your range of motion, your doctor could ask you to raise your arms or perform other easy movements. This can assist them in determining the location and origin of any possible discomfort or damage.

• Blood testing can assist your doctor in identifying certain illnesses that cause joint inflammation or diabetes, which can both cause arm pain.

• Your doctor can diagnose fractured or broken bones with the use of X-rays.

• Your doctor may prescribe tests to assess the function of your heart and the flow of blood through it if they believe that your arm pain is related to possible cardiac problems.

• High-frequency sound waves are used in ultrasounds to create images of the interior of the body. They can assist your physician in identifying issues with tendons, ligaments, and joints.

• To provide a more precise picture of the soft tissues and bones, your doctor might prescribe MRIs and CT scans. This can assist them to detect problems.

Treatment:

How can I relieve pain in my arms?
You can utilize the RICE approach if your arm pain is minimal, such as from overuse. RICE is an acronym for:

• R— Rest: Take as much time as you can to rest your arm.
• I — Ice: For 15 minutes at a time, apply ice to the affected area.
• C— Compression: Apply a bandage to your arm gently.
• E— Elevate your arm above your heart.

You might also want to try massaging and stretching your arm muscles gently. Depending on your condition, you may want to try a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) (Advil®) or an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®).

You might try placing your arm in a splint to keep it still until you get treatment if you believe you may have a fractured arm or wrist. Consult your healthcare physician about different ways to relieve arm pain.
Surgery. Surgery can be necessary for severe arm pain. Broken bones and damaged ligaments are two examples.

Is it possible to prevent arm pain?

Remembering to stretch your arm muscles both before and after engaging in any physical activity will help you avoid some types of arm pain. Additionally, consider varying the type of exercise you get. Your arm muscles may become strained if you repeatedly perform the same movements. Injury is less likely to result with a varied exercise. Additional strategies to avoid some kinds of arm pain include:

• Maintaining good posture: When sitting or standing, avoid hunching your shoulders forward. Your arm and neck muscles may also be impacted by this.

• Taking breaks: To lower your risk of injury, take occasional breaks when engaging in repetitive chores that need your hands, wrists, and arms.

• Relaxing your grip: Avoid gripping a handle, pencil, or other object more forcefully than is required to complete the task.

• Keeping your hands warm: When conducting duties that could endanger your hands, use gloves in cold weather.

• To avoid injury, stretch frequently, especially before working out, and make sure you're completing the exercises correctly.

• When participating in sports, wear protective equipment.

References:

• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Multiple pages reviewed for this article (https://www.orthoinfo.org/). Accessed 2/19/2024.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Heart attack symptoms, risk, and recovery (https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/heart_attack.htm). Last reviewed 1/9/2024. Accessed 2/19/2024.

• Tendonitis/Tendinitis. (n.d.). https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_tendonitis.asp

• American College of Emergency Physicians. Broken Bones (https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/article/know-when-to-go/broken-bones). Accessed 2/19/2024.

• National Health Service (U.K.). Elbow and arm pain (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/elbow-and-arm-pain/). Last reviewed 1/26/2024. Accessed 2/19/2024.