How to treat a sore arm: Arm Pain Causes and Relief

23.07.202317.06.2023 by alexxlab

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Arm Pain Causes and Relief

Causes of Arm Pain

What can cause chronic arm pain and how can you find relief? The answer depends on the underlying condition. Causes of severe arm pain can include conditions, such as:

Exercise or overuse (muscle aches)
Repetitive joint use (bursitis or joint inflammation)
Bone fractures
Joint dislocations
Peripheral vascular disease
Muscle, ligament or tendon strains (tendinitis) or sprains
Fibromyalgia
Skeletal structure irregularities
Arthritis
Cardiac disorders or heart attack (angina)
Angina pectoris that radiates to the arm
Nerve damage
Spine conditions such as cervical disk herniation
Diabetic neuropathy
Osteoporosis
Infection
Carpel tunnel syndrome
Rotator cuff injury
Other underlying conditions

It is important that you find out what causes your arms to ache, as there are many reasons for arm pain. At The Pain Center, we can help diagnose the cause to help you find relief.

Arm Pain Symptoms and Diagnosis

Be sure to inform your doctor of all your symptoms. Arm pain symptoms may include:

Pain in the wrist, elbow or shoulder
Arm weakness
Pain in one or both arms
Upper arm pain
Sudden arm pain in the right arm
Redness or discoloration of the skin on the arm
Swelling of the arm, wrist, or elbow
Stiffness in the joints
Arm skin that is warm to the touch
Itching or throbbing skin
Pain that worsens when exercising
Numbness or tingling
Muscle pain / muscle aches
Tenderness
Reduced range of motion
Muscle cramps / sore arm

To diagnose the cause of your pain, your doctor will ask you questions about your health and family history, and do a physical examination. Other tests that can help diagnose the source of your pain include X-rays, MRI scan, CT scan, EMG/Nerve conduction studyand blood tests. It is important that your condition is properly diagnosed so that you can receive the most effective treatment.

How to Treat Arm Pain

How can you ease the discomfort of arm pain symptoms? Your treatment options depend on the underlying cause and severity of your arm pain.

Treatment may start with conservative therapies, such as over-the-counter aspirin, acetaminophen or ibuprofen. These nonprescription medications can be effective for certain types of arm pain when taken according to instructions. You may also consider home care such as drinking plenty of water to reduce muscle cramps. Stretching and massage can help. You may also try using heating or cold packs, taking warm baths or showers, and resting your arms. Elevate your arm(s) when you lie down. Compression bandaging can help reduce swelling.

The pain management specialists at The Pain Center may also recommend the following interventional pain therapies to reduce your arm pain:

Prescription medications / medication management
Topical agents (creams)
Injections such as steroid medications
Spinal Cord Stimulator
Physical therapy (can include exercises, heat and cold therapy, and electrical nerve stimulation-TENS unit)
Alternative treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and/or massage

Some of the interventional medical therapies we provide at The Pain Center include:

Medication Management

Our pain specialists can prescribe and regulate medication that you use to help control your pain. The pain management specialists will provide you with the knowledge you need to take your medications properly.

The Pain Center takes a conservative approach with medication management. We try to limit prescription medications to help avoid dependence.

Steroid Injections

One option for treating pain is injection of a steroid that can help reduce pain and inflammation. This can be very effective for arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.

Nerve Blocks

A nerve block is an injection therapy that reduces pain caused by nerves. This can help treat arm pain, radicular pain and/or peripheral neuropathy. This procedure injects a combination of local anesthetic agents around the peripheral nerve branches for optimal pain relief. Peripheral nerve blocks provide relief that lasts from a few weeks to a few months, depending upon the patient’s condition.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation is an FDA-approved, minimally invasive procedure that requires the implantation of a nerve stimulation device. This treatment delivers low-voltage electrical currents to areas of the spine, ultimately reducing pain signals caused by chronic pain in the arm(s). Patients living with chronic pain, who have not responded to conservative treatments for at least six months, may be candidates for this procedure. A trial device is implanted before a permanent device is considered.

Contact The Pain Center today to learn more about how we can help you effectively manage your arm pain.

When Further Arm Pain Treatment is Required

Based on the underlying condition, further treatments may be required. If there is something that can be addressed by another type of specialist, we will refer you to the appropriate specialty doctor.

Commonly Asked Questions about Arm Pain

What causes arm pain?

Because arm pain has a number of causes, from muscle strains to traumatic injury or underlying conditions such as arthritis, it is important to get an accurate diagnosis upfront. Your doctor or pain specialist will help to diagnose and assess the cause of your arm pain to determine the most effective course of treatment for you.

What is the best treatment for upper arm pain symptoms?

The best treatment for you will depend upon your health situation and the cause of your pain. Your pain specialist will work with you to create a custom set of treatments to help you get relief from your pain and get back to your normal routine of activities. Your pain specialist will give you the information you need to understand and manage your condition.

How can the cause of my arm pain be diagnosed?

The Pain Center will work to diagnose your pain, or work with another specialist to help, if necessary. We will do an examination and ask you about your health and family history, and can provide additional tests such as blood tests or medical imaging (such as MRI or CT scans).

What can I do at home to help ease my discomfort?

There are many therapies you can use at home to help with arm pain, such as over-the-counter pain relievers (use as directed), rest, massage, elevation of the arm(s), cold or hot packs, and careful stretching.

I have been having neck problems. Could my arm pain be related to my neck?

It is possible for neck problems to cause pain in the arms. Sometimes, disc protrusion/herniation or degenerative changes in the cervical spine can cause pain that radiates out to the arm or hand.

I don’t have underlying conditions that could cause arm pain. What else could cause my symptoms?

Arm pain can be caused by overuse, anatomic abnormalities, or traumatic injuries such as falls. Your pain specialist can help determine the cause of your arm pain.

Arm Pain | Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

If nagging arm pain has left you with reduced range of motion and struggling to perform basic tasks, you may be dealing with an underlying injury. Join Airrosti’s Brooke Green, DC, as she explains the common causes and injuries associated with arm pain. She also covers traditional treatment methods and how Airrosti can help you find arm pain relief.

what is arm pain?

Arm pain can present itself in various sections of the arm. You may experience pain in the rotator cuff or shoulder, elbow pain, wrist pain, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Arm pain is often caused by a sports or activity-related injury, but can also be caused by soft tissue imbalance, a joint injury, a pinched nerve, or restricted blood flow.

WHAT CAUSES ARM PAIN?

While we usually think of an arm injury as something that happens during activity, it can also occur over a long period of time. Because of our reliance on our arms to complete everyday tasks, they can easily become overworked. Overuse injuries involving the arm can develop if the arm is used to compensate for weakness in other muscles, like the shoulders, neck, or back.

Identifying the specific location of your pain can often help determine the type of injury involved. A muscle strain in your bicep or tricep will most likely be felt in the upper arm. Injuries like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome will likely manifest pain in the forearm and wrist.

Common causes of arm pain include:

Tennis Elbow
Golfer’s Elbow
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Rotator Cuff Pain
Bicep/Tricep Tendonitis
Shoulder Pain
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

SYMPTOMS OF AN ARM INJURY

Symptoms of arm pain may vary based on the location of the injury. In some cases, arm pain can be a symptom of a problem in other parts of the body, like your neck or shoulder joint.

Potential signs of an arm injury include:

Tenderness
Redness
Joint pain
Numbness or tingling
Reduced range of motion
Swelling in the affected area of the arm or joints

Severe traumatic injuries like fractures may feature additional symptoms like bruising and difficulty moving your arm. Depending on the cause, pain can start suddenly or develop over time.

Pain in the left arm, combined with excessive sweating, nausea, difficulty breathing, palpitations, fainting, or chest pain can be signs of a heart attack. Please call 911 if you think you might be having a heart attack.

ARM INJURY RISK FACTORS

Older adults have a greater chance of having arm problems because they lose muscle mass as they age. Children may have arm problems because of overuse injuries. Injuries in children occur more often because their bones have not fully developed. Individuals who exercise with improper form, or try to exercise beyond their limits, are also more likely to sustain an arm injury.

ARM PAIN TREATMENT OPTIONS

The treatment for arm pain depends on the underlying cause. For pain due to overuse injuries, the treatment typically includes rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

If the pain is more severe, a splint or sling, or anti-inflammatory medications for pain may be prescribed. For more severe injuries, like fractures or complete muscle tears, surgery may be recommended.

HOW AIRROSTI CAN HELP: ARM PAIN DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND PAIN RELIEF

At Airrosti, our providers will conduct a thorough evaluation of your pain and develop a personalized treatment plan for your specific injury. In addition, we also provide tools and resources that can boost your recovery and help you avoid future pain..

Don’t let chronic arm pain hold you back. schedule an appointment with an Airrosti provider today and get back to doing the things you love most, pain free.

We offer convenient remote telehealth options in addition to in-office visits. Call us today at (800) 404-6050 to learn more about treatment at Airrosti or find a provider near you.

Reviewed by Casey Crisp, Doctor of Chiropractic

Disclaimer: Always consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program. If you experience any numbness, tingling or reproduction of your symptoms, please contact your doctor.

Patient Testimonials

I’m so glad I went back to Dr. Tong. Years ago, she helped my hip pain from giving birth. This time I had numbness and tingling in my arm for over a week and it scared me. I thought it wasn’t something I could wait to be over, but then I remembered her and made an appointment via Airrosti. She instantly diagnosed the site and the cause of the injury and created a treatment plan for me. With an exercise coaching program on their app, I quickly shook off the symptoms in a few appointments. I believe Dr. Tong is on top of her profession. She is very knowledgeable, and I trust her 100%. Making an appointment is quick and easy, and all pre-appt questionnaires are paperless and done over the app/web. The location is also easy to find and e…+ show moreasily accessible. There is no waiting at check-in. I would recommend her and Airrosti highly!

by Karen Wang

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Patients with pathology of the shoulder joint often come to me at an orthopedic appointment with complaints of pain during movement, at rest, night pain (it hurts like a “bad tooth”), limited range of motion in the shoulder or a feeling of instability, “laxity” and an occasional feeling of numbness in hand. Many in the past had an injury, a fall on the elbow, shoulder, the dog pulled on the leash, the patient abruptly lifted a heavy object or unloaded a lot of weights, there was a dislocation of the shoulder, playing sports with loads on the arms (volleyball, throwing objects, martial arts with punches, bench press lying bars). Some people don’t remember the injury. In the last century, they were given a thoughtful diagnosis of “shoulder-shoulder periarteritis” – which literally means “inflammation somewhere in the area of the shoulder and shoulder blades”, they were treated for many months by a neurologist without a significant positive result, pricked by a surgeon or rheumatologist “blockade” with hormonal drugs . In fact, these complaints are associated with damage or inflammation of the ligaments of the shoulder joint, the tendons around it, the joint capsule, they are different in volume, size, quantity, which affects the clinical picture.

More often, the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle is damaged, when it falls on the arm, it is partially or completely cut on the acromial process of the scapula, less often the tendons of the infraspinatus and subscapular muscles, a fracture of the large tubercle of the shoulder, to which the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle is attached, causes similar symptoms. These injuries are accompanied by pain in the shoulder joint and shoulder, night pains like a toothache, there were patients who could only sleep while sitting, holding a sick hand with a healthy hand. Also, the range of motion in the shoulder is often reduced, the person cannot raise his arm, comb his hair, but if the tendon is not completely torn, the range of motion in the shoulder can be maintained in sufficient volume.

Most of these problems are solved in an operative way. Modern endoscopic equipment makes it possible to perform such operations with little trauma, quickly, with a short stay in the hospital, good functional and cosmetic results, many of them are simply impossible to perform in the classical surgical way using incisions. Treatment with injections and pills does not eliminate the problem, it simply masks it, and, especially after the use of hormonal injections, often makes it completely unsolvable.

Pain in the shoulder area is an unfavorable fact, which indicates that pathology occurs in soft tissues or in bone. Somewhat less often, the cause of pain in the shoulder may lie in the cervical spine, in the internal organs. According to its manifestation, pain can be constant, acute, subacute, pressing, dull. There is a close relationship with movement in the shoulder joint. Most often, pain symptoms can increase with movement, and at rest, on the contrary, decrease somewhat. To understand the causes of such adverse symptoms, diagnostics are carried out. The doctor first interviews the patient, conducts an examination, then decides to carry out auxiliary diagnostic methods. Before clarifying all the circumstances of pain symptoms in the shoulder, it is recommended to create peace, and, with the permission of the doctor, the use of painkillers.

Trauma is one of the common causes of shoulder pain. Doctors note in most cases a shoulder bruise, as a result of a fall or blow to this area. As a result, pain symptoms occur, but over time, discomfort disappears. In half of the cases, in addition to pain, there is a slight swelling, sometimes bruising. On medical examination, the patient’s upper limb function was preserved. If the degree of injury is serious, then there is a restriction of movement in the shoulder joint.

If the pain is due to palpation of the biceps brachii, it can be assumed that the patient has tendinitis. The pain is not pronounced and may increase somewhat with the movements of the limb. Upon receipt of additional traumatization, excessive overloads of the muscles of the shoulder, shoulder-scapular periarthritis may occur. The patient notes gross pain symptoms, which no longer have a clear localization, but radiates to neighboring areas. It can be the cervical region, hand, forearm, torso. Usually such patients practically cannot sleep, constantly avoid any movements, try to spare the hand, pressing it to the body. In most cases, a patient with such a problem is diagnosed with subfebrile temperature and general malaise.

Shoulder-shoulder periarthrosis means that the soft tissues around the shoulder joint and scapula are primarily affected. From the pattern loads, they are in round-the-clock tension, the blood flow gradually worsens, which in the long term leads to the development of dystrophic (dys – disturbance, trophism – nutrition) changes and in the joint itself – the development of arthrosis is provoked. The quality of the muscles attached to the upper surface of the shoulder joint and the scapula will be that they start from the vertebrae of the cervical region and the base of the occipital bone.

Muscles from stereotyped, non-optimal loads go into a multi-vector “tear”, breaking the joint-forming surfaces. The spherical head of the humerus is slightly displaced relative to the glenoid cavity of the scapula. That is, the key in the lock does not reach its legal groove in the well a little. And at the same time, we are forced to regularly make movements, even if they are everyday household ones. Thus, constantly injuring the articulating surfaces. This leads to a tear of the tendons of the supraspinatus / infraspinatus muscle, reactive (reciprocal – natural) edema of injured tissues, subacromial bursitis, and other complications.

Swollen muscle-tendon portions, when trying to move the arm to the side / put the arm behind the back, cannot slip into the small physiological tunnels provided for them by nature. Movement is pretty limited. Traditionally, it is customary to extinguish this reactive inflammation with nonsteroidal drugs, hormonal blockades, use a scarf bandage or orthoses, fixing the arm. But this is the way to the transformation of swollen, inflamed tissues into a lifeless cicatricial process. Dead tissue does not hurt. True, the problem with such tactics moves to neighboring ones. A symmetrical joint begins to suffer, or a herniated disc in the cervical region breaks out, or a “vertebral artery syndrome” / panic attacks unfolds. In this case, the priority in solving this problem is the relief of the myofascial component of pain. That is, identifying all the accumulated triggers (no matter how strange it may seem, the most significant of them can hide along the back of the legs / deep in the stomach), their elimination; stretching of shortened muscle chains by the hands of an exercise therapy instructor to the physiological norm.

Plus: capillary therapy, because without putting the capillaries into operation it is not possible to solve the problem of dystrophic diseases, which include humeroscapular periarthrosis in combination with cervical osteochondrosis. What is really important in this disease: compliance with the water-drinking regimen (we are dealing with the “drought” disease), the exclusion of sugar in all its manifestations, even with fruits – be careful.

Usually the doctor interviews the patient. Complaints should be clarified, when they arose, and under what circumstances. Next, the doctor examines the patient, palpation of the body. The doctor necessarily conducts trauma tests on the shoulder joint, checks the range of motion. Only then can you decide on treatment tactics. You also need to palpate the muscles around the shoulder joint for the presence of pathological tension in them, since such muscles will be a “vice” for the joint, aggravating blood circulation and increasing degenerative changes.

If there is a suspicion of a fracture, then it is urgent to give the limb rest. You can use a scarf bandage. If the fracture is confirmed, then it is necessary to fix the limb with a plaster splint, and give the patient an anesthetic. In no case should you self-medicate, that is, try to set bone fragments on your own. To do this, in a medical institution, specialists under X-ray control will choose the tactics of treating a fracture. It can be done conservatively or surgically. Pain in the left shoulder, must always be differentiated from diseases of the cardiovascular system

If a patient has humeroscapular periatrosis, then all efforts must be directed to solving the cause of the disease. Almost always, the cause of this condition is a long-term spasm of the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint. The longer you do not take any therapeutic measures, the further the pathological process goes, up to arthrosis of the shoulder joint itself. Considering this condition as a consequence of chronic muscle tension, treatment will be aimed at eliminating this very tension. Unfortunately, there are no effective drugs, so the treatment uses a complex of deep myofascial massage of the muscles involved, individual kinesiotherapy and physiotherapy to stimulate capillary blood flow.

Conservative treatment is carried out by closed reduction of fragments under general anesthesia, and under radiographic control. Next, a plaster splint is applied to give rest to the limb and the possibility of bone fusion. If for certain reasons it is not possible, or it is impossible to treat the fracture conservatively, then an open reposition of the fragments is performed. The fracture is fixed with metal structures.

How to treat a sore arm: Arm Pain Causes and Relief

Arm Pain Causes and Relief

Causes of Arm Pain

Arm Pain Symptoms and Diagnosis

How to Treat Arm Pain

When Further Arm Pain Treatment is Required

Commonly Asked Questions about Arm Pain

Arm Pain | Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

what is arm pain?

WHAT CAUSES ARM PAIN?

SYMPTOMS OF AN ARM INJURY

ARM INJURY RISK FACTORS

ARM PAIN TREATMENT OPTIONS

HOW AIRROSTI CAN HELP: ARM PAIN DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND PAIN RELIEF

Patient Testimonials

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