Cold sweat and pain in left shoulder. How to recognize a heart attack?

Pain is one of the symptoms of a disease, an unpleasant sensation with which the body signals the development of a pathological process. When pain appears in the left shoulder joint, there can be various reasons - pain can occur immediately after an injury or some time after it, as a result of the development of an infectious lesion of organs or tissues, or an inflammatory process. The pain can be aching, sharp, constant or intermittent. Depending on the pain syndrome, certain symptoms, changes in blood counts, the disease is diagnosed based on ultrasound, CT, and MRI studies.

In the therapeutic department of the Yusupov Hospital, joint diseases are diagnosed using modern medical equipment. Rheumatologists use modern techniques and innovative drugs to restore joint function. Treatment of diseases of the right and left shoulder joint is carried out with the help of hormonal therapy, physiotherapeutic procedures, massage, drug therapy, and in severe cases, surgical assistance is provided. Rehabilitation of patients is carried out in the rehabilitation center of the hospital.

Causes of pain: from tumors to injuries

As in most other cases of painful sensations in various organs of the musculoskeletal system, only a specialist can answer the question of why the arm hurts from the shoulder to the elbow. Causes include various diseases and injuries. Discomfort may occur due to the following reasons:

1. Organ damage due to trauma.
2. Diseases of the shoulder joint of various origins.
3. Abnormalities of the spinal column.
4. Accumulation of anaerobic metabolism products in muscle tissue.
5. Osteoporosis and its consequences.
6. Neuralgia of the brachial and other nerves.
7. Connective tissue diseases.
8. Tumor diseases.
9. Consequences of infections.

Injuries are often a consequence of athletes' passion for sports or professional activities. Also, many traumatic situations arise due to extreme entertainment.

How to treat hand joints?

All existing treatment methods, both ultra-new and traditional, which the Alan Clinic Center for Neurology and Orthopedics uses in its work, are the safest and exclude surgical intervention.

The treatment process is always a comprehensive program with an individual approach to each of our patients. These treatment methods, consisting mainly of non-drug methods, are available not only to ordinary patients, but are acceptable for the treatment of infants, pregnant and lactating mothers.

We have at our disposal the following methods:

• Manual therapy
• Osteopathy is treatment done by a doctor, with a gentle effect on the musculoskeletal system, nervous and vascular systems, and internal organs.
• Medical massage
• Acupuncture - exposure to biologically active points with microneedles.
• Laser reflexology is a painless effect on reflexogenic zones and points.
• Tsubotherapy is a gentle effect on the reflex points of the body.
• Pharmacopuncture is the introduction of medicinal drugs of natural origin to the source of the problem.
• Plasma therapy is the introduction of the patient’s own purified blood into the site of the disease.
• Isometric kinesiotherapy - individual gymnastic techniques/exercises, according to indications, with elements of joint massage.
• Kinesiotherapy using the Exart installation
• Kinesio taping
• Ozone therapy is treatment with active oxygen.
• Physiotherapy
• Physiotherapy with enzyme preparations
• Medical droppers
• Hirudotherapy - treatment with leeches.
• Botulinum therapy is treatment with botulinum toxin.
• Intra-articular injection of synovial fluid endoprostheses
• Intra-articular blockades

All methods are recognized by official medicine, and doctors using them have appropriate certificates. The decision on the need to use certain medications during the course of treatment is made by the doctor, based on the complexity and severity of the disease, concomitant diseases, as well as the diagnosis.

Arm pain: similarities and differences

Patients presenting with pain in the arm may describe completely different symptoms due to differences in the causes of the disease. But at the same time, there are often similarities in complaints. So, the muscles of the arm from the shoulder to the elbow hurt, combined with numbness due to nerve compression, and this, in turn, can be a consequence of both inflammation of the joints and dislocation. Referral of pain to the arm is observed with angina pectoris, colic, cholecystitis, and stomach ulcers.

So, based on the nature of the pain, they distinguish:

• acute, starting abruptly, which cannot be tolerated without medication - characteristic of injuries, damage to joints, nerves;
• having a baking character - together with shortness of breath and bluish discoloration of the skin, they are often a companion to myocardial infarction, in which case an ECG is required;
• dull, without strong expression, when the arm aches from shoulder to elbow - characteristic of a bruise, closed fracture, arthrosis, tear of muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Sensory disturbances can cause numbness in the hand, causing painful discomfort. Patients in this case also describe a symptom such as “crawling goosebumps.” Both signs are evidence of the onset of osteochondrosis, which must be treated promptly.

Symptoms - what are they?

Symptomatic manifestations are determined by the specific ailment that led to wrist pain. The most common manifestations include situations when:

• palms and hands become swollen and numb;
• the affected area burns and itches;
• fingers tremble and tingle, there is a sensation of “goosebumps”;
• The pain intensifies at night or is provoked by excessive physical activity;
• fingers turn out to be weak for simple manipulations of grasping a simple, light object;
• limited movement is felt in the wrist area of ​​the hand.

Such manifestations of the disease are more rarely observed when:

• 
  in general, your health worsens and your temperature rises, accompanied by muscle weakness;

• redness of the skin of the hands is observed (mainly observed with injuries);
• the hand is in an unnatural position. The consequence of a dislocation may be the presence of articular instability of the joint;
• subcutaneous hematoma, which is often caused by an open fracture;
• there is severe pain during flexion and extension;
• joint destruction is observed;
• it is impossible to perform simple manipulations with the affected hand;
• there is shortness of breath, pain in the chest and heart, tingling, burning and itching in the arm.

The above manifestations are the most common. They may appear in both acute and chronic pain syndrome of the wrist joint. The exact clinical symptoms are determined by the specific disease causing the pain.

Diagnostic methods for pain in the ulnohumeral region of the arm

A patient who complains of discomfort and pain in the arm from shoulder to elbow is examined. The doctor details the complaints, examines the damage, visually assesses the color scheme and tone of the skin in the area where the pain is localized. By comparing the condition of the joints and studying motor activity, we can make the first assumptions about the presence or absence of damage. In cases where the arm is pulled from the shoulder to the elbow, a flexion resistance test helps.

But, as a rule, an examination cannot give an objective picture of the disease. Therefore, to make an accurate diagnosis, the following research methods are used:

• general (clinical) blood test (CBC);
• blood test for biochemistry;
• X-ray examination;
• CT;
• MRI;
• densitometric study.

The CBC diagnoses inflammation in the body, and a biochemical study clarifies the presence of specific pathological abnormalities. Thus, osteoporosis is characterized by changes in calcium levels.

An x-ray is needed to determine the condition of the bones. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging help to assess the condition of tissues and skeletal components. Densitometry reveals deviations from bone density standards, which is especially important for osteoporosis.

Treatment

Help before diagnosis

If a person feels weakness or discomfort after physical activity, he or she should limit exercises on the arm muscles or change jobs, if possible. You can relax your muscles and eliminate heaviness caused by physiological reasons with a warm bath and light self-massage. It is better to keep the limbs in an elevated position so as not to provoke stagnation of blood and lymph and not to aggravate unpleasant symptoms.

Given the variety of causes of heaviness in the hands, independent treatment of this problem will be ineffective. If symptoms appear regularly, lead to impaired performance or deterioration in quality of life, do not hesitate to visit a doctor. In cases where heaviness in the hands is accompanied by rapid swelling, bluishness of the skin, and severe pain, the patient needs urgent medical care.

Conservative therapy

To eliminate unpleasant symptoms, different approaches are used, taking into account etiological factors. For lesions of the venous or lymphatic vessels, treatment consists of improving the outflow of fluid, for which phlebotonics, angioprotectors, and antispasmodics are prescribed. For hypercoagulability, drugs with anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects are indicated.

In case of osteoarticular pathologies, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are taken to combat discomfort, which quickly relieve pain and heaviness and reduce the activity of inflammation. If NSAIDs are ineffective, corticosteroids are recommended. To relieve severe pain, drug blockades with local anesthetics are used. For writer's cramp and other professional neuroses, botulinum therapy can be performed.

To prevent stagnation in the vascular bed of the hands, physiotherapy methods are used: laser therapy, lymphatic drainage massage, magnetic therapy. Mud therapy and UHF help to reduce pain and discomfort. For neurotic causes of heaviness in the hands, methods of psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioral therapy are offered; professional reorientation becomes a last resort if necessary.

How to treat arm pain from shoulder to elbow

First of all, you need to remember the dangers of self-medication and not to make the disease worse. Only accurate diagnostics carried out in laboratory and outpatient conditions by specialists can identify methods of subsequent therapy. At the initial stage, medications will be prescribed to help relieve pain symptoms. Further, drug and physiotherapeutic treatment of pain in the shoulder and arm is carried out in a complex. Sometimes it is supplemented with herbal medicine.

The following types of medications are usually prescribed:

1. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - to relieve inflammation, bleeding and pain.
2. Hormonal and anti-inflammatory - to support immune resistance.
3. Painkillers.
4. Chondroprotective - for the treatment and restoration of joint functions.
5. Calcium-containing - to accelerate bone healing and relieve osteoporosis symptoms.

Vitamin D is also used to activate healing procedures. A number of drugs have a whole range of side effects. Therefore, when prescribing, specialists are guided by the dynamics of the body’s condition and expediency.

Features of therapeutic actions

A combination of various therapeutic effects and manipulations with the body leads to quick relief from the disease. Treatment is carried out in the following areas:

• Fixation of the affected area;
• Physiotherapeutic methods;
• Therapeutic exercise, massage course;
• Use of medications prescribed by your doctor.

Treatment with drugs is aimed at eliminating pain in the wrist joint. There are a lot of drugs for pain relief, so there is a division into subgroups that alleviate symptoms and those that directly treat.

The first group includes a number of drugs that have an analgesic effect. We are talking about Ketanov, Ketonal and their generics. The second group includes a number of anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ortofen. They are prescribed to patients with osteoarthritis and joint arthritis. The third group includes chondroprotectors. They are used by patients with arthrosis when the goal is to restore the normal structure of the joints. A special group of drugs containing calcium stands out. We are talking about Kalcemin. The last group includes antirheumatic drugs that stop the irreversible consequences of the disease and steroid hormones.

Surgical intervention to treat pain in the left wrist is extremely rarely required - surgery is prescribed in exceptional cases.

How to avoid pain in the humeroulnar area?

Prevention is the best alternative to treatment. This simple truth also applies to cases where the arm hurts above the elbow. Strong, but regular exercise will help strengthen joints and muscles. Atherosclerosis loves people with excess body weight, so you should eat right and move more. Of course, you need to avoid traumatic situations, not get involved in fights and not look for extreme sports where it is unnecessary. Regular medical examinations and timely diagnosis will help to avoid a situation where the arm hurts between the shoulder and elbow.

Prevention in simple algorithms

To prevent wrist pain, you should follow some simple recommendations:

• moderate load and regular strengthening exercises for muscles;
• at the first manifestations of discomfort, you need to reduce the load on the joint;
• when grasping objects, it is recommended to use the entire hand, and not just the fingers;
• when working with vibrating tools, it is necessary to use special vibration-absorbing pads;
• for people who work at a PC for a long time, it is necessary to take regular breaks (every 30 minutes) to change the position of the spine and ensure rest of the hands;
• during sports it is necessary to fix the wrists with the help of special devices;
• hot baths to normalize blood circulation.

Any pain in the wrist of the left hand requires attention, since it can become a kind of warning to the body about the occurrence of any abnormalities. Only timely contact with a specialist will avoid unforeseen consequences.