Self Care Articles

Is this your symptom?

• Pain in the arm (shoulder to fingers)
• Includes minor muscle strains from hard work or sports (overuse)
• If pain was caused by an injury, see the Arm Injury care guide

Causes of Arm Pain

• Muscle Overuse(strained muscles). Arm pains are often from hard muscle work or sports. Examples are too much throwing or swimming. They are most common in the shoulder. This type of pain can last from hours up to 7 days.
• Muscle Cramps. Brief pains that last 1 to 15 minutes are often due to muscle cramps. These can also occur in the hand after too much writing or typing.
• Trapped Nerves. The nerves in the neck or arm can become trapped or squeezed where they pass through narrow spaces in the arm. This causes pain, numbness or tingling.
  • Nerves trapped in the neck can cause severe pain and loss of movement in the shoulder and arm.
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome is from pressure on a nerve at the wrist. It causes tingling, pain and/or weakness in the fingers and hand.
• Viral Illness. Mild muscle aches and joint pain in the arms also occur with many viral illnesses.
• Shingles. The zoster virus can cause arm pain in which the skin may be very sensitive or painful before a rash (shingles rash) appears.
• Joint Inflammation. Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. Some, like gout, may affect just one joint. Others affect multiple joints at the same time. Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear on the joints. It can cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the same joint(s) on both sides of the body. Early treatment may help prevent long-term damage to the joints involved.
• Septic Arthritis (serious). This is a bacterial infection of a joint space. Main symptoms are fever and severe pain with movement of the joint. You may not be able to move the joint at all. This needs care right away.
• Tendinitis is inflammation of tendons where they attach to the bone, caused by overuse. This causes tenderness in the area and pain when the limb is used. Often needs a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. A steroid shot may be needed to reduce the pain.
• Impingement Syndrome may happen when the tendons of the shoulder muscles get pinched in between the bones in the shoulder. This causes pain and swelling. It may limit movement when lifting your arm above your head.
• Bursitis. Many joints are covered by fluid-filled sacs called bursae. They help the joint move smoothly. These bursae can get inflamed or infected, causing pain and swelling. The area may look red and feel warm to touch. See your doctor right away if you have these symptoms.
• Referred Pain. Pain is sometimes felt in an area when there is not actually a problem. This is called referred pain. For example, gall bladder, heart and some abdominal problems may cause pain to be felt in the shoulder. An exam is needed right away for shoulder pain that starts suddenly without a clear reason.

Pain Scale

• Mild: you feel some pain, but it does not keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
• Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
• Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.