Why does pain occur in the arm from the shoulder to the elbow?
There are many causes of pain from the elbow to the shoulder: it is not necessarily an inflammatory process.
Based on the nature of the pain syndrome, one can assume the cause of its occurrence: acute pain can indicate a traumatic injury, and weak, periodically intensifying, unpleasant sensations indicate degenerative processes in the muscles and joints.
A nagging or aching pain, especially if it occurs after physical activity, may mean a muscle strain in the arm.
Trapezius muscle treatment
Treatment of the trapezius muscle can be divided into primary and auxiliary. The main thing is gentle manual therapy. It differs radically from conventional manual therapy not only in its softness and safety, but also in its higher efficiency. And this is not surprising, because gentle manual therapy consists of 90% muscle and fascial techniques. Even in the treatment of disc herniation and other diseases of the spine, gentle manual therapy does not act as usual - sharply and with a crunch, straightening the vertebrae, but through the so-called soft muscle “lever”, which completely eliminates any danger.
Auxiliary treatment of the trapezius muscle includes physiotherapy, massage and drug therapy, which, in our opinion, is appropriate only in extreme cases of acute pain. And, to conclude the topic, a few words about prevention.
Perform one preventative session of gentle manual therapy once every 3-6 months, and you will forget how the trapezius muscle hurts.
Causes of pain from shoulder to elbow
Depending on the cause, the doctor’s treatment tactics depend. It is recommended that all people know the causes of pain from the elbow to the shoulder, because this allows them to seek medical help in a timely manner, without expecting that everything will go away on their own.
Diseases of joints and periarticular tissues
Pain syndrome can be caused by inflammatory pathologies. They can occur in a person independently (primary), as well as against the background of an existing pathology (secondary).
Arthritis (inflammation of the joint) is accompanied by hyperemia of the skin, swelling over the affected joint, and increased temperature. The motor function of the hand is impaired: habitual actions can cause severe pain and discomfort in a person.
Chronic pain in the elbow and shoulder is caused by degenerative changes in the joint. There, thinning and destruction of the cartilage tissue occurs: the bone components of the joint begin to come into contact with each other and wear away.
All this leads to pain when moving, function is impaired, and a crunch appears in the joint. Over time, advanced deforming arthrosis leads to disability; in some cases, joint replacement may be required.
Spine pathologies
One of the most common pathologies of the spinal column, which can lead to shoulder pain, is cervical osteochondrosis.
The pain is localized in the upper limb and neck, and osteochondrosis itself contributes to the occurrence of various complications: intervertebral hernia, protrusions, etc.
Due to compression of nerve endings and blood vessels, dystrophic changes occur in the upper limb, numbness and burning occurs.
Neurological disorders
As a result of nerve damage, a person will feel pain. It is caused by several neurological diseases:
- Neuritis is inflammation of the nerve fiber, can be either single or multiple (polyneuritis). One of the manifestations of neuritis is considered to be burning or shooting pain, which is difficult for patients to tolerate. The pain is accompanied by sensory disturbances: numbness of the fingers, burning sensation, and crawling. Neuritis can be caused by trivial hypothermia, viral and bacterial infections, decreased immunity, etc.
- Plexopathy - in this case, the nerve related to the brachial plexus becomes inflamed. Plexopathy (or plexitis) is expressed by a decrease or complete absence of motor function of the hand: fine motor skills are impaired, and it becomes difficult to grasp an object. The pain is localized between the shoulder and elbow, but can also radiate to neighboring areas along the nerve endings.
- Tunnel syndrome - the main cause of its occurrence is prolonged awkward position of the hand. At this time, stagnation occurs in the muscles, they can pinch the nearby median or radial nerve. At this moment, a person begins to experience severe pain from the shoulder to the elbow of an aching nature, a feeling of numbness and a slight tingling occurs.
Myositis
This term refers to muscle inflammation and can occur almost anywhere.
The pain spreads throughout the affected muscle and can radiate to nearby areas. The person will have the following symptoms:
- increased fatigue of arm muscles, decreased endurance;
- violation of muscle contractile function;
- muscle pain;
- signs of inflammation: swelling, hyperemia, increased body temperature;
- dystrophic processes in the muscle, etc.
Myositis on the upper limb occurs under the influence of certain factors: they can be injuries, infectious processes, heavy physical labor, hypothermia, stress, etc.
Other diseases and injuries
There are also less obvious diseases in which a person may feel pain in the upper limb.
For example, pain in the shoulder occurs during myocardial infarction: these are radiating pains. Here it is very important to quickly recognize the cause of unpleasant sensations: any delay during necrosis of the heart muscle can lead to the death of a person.
The limb may react with slight pain to changes in weather: weather-dependent people suffer from this. The cause of pain from the shoulder to the elbow is a change in atmospheric pressure, temperature changes and humidity levels.
Joints react to these external changes, causing pain in a person. They usually go away after weather conditions normalize without taking painkillers.
Severe pain from the shoulder to the elbow appears with injuries to this area: they can be anything - bone fractures, sprains, dislocations, bruises, etc.
In addition to pain, there may be swelling in the area of damage, deformation, and with fractures, pathological mobility of the limb appears.
Such injuries occur when falling on a limb, hitting the arm with a heavy object, dislocations occur during sudden movements, or when exercising on the horizontal bar.
Diagnostics
This article does not present the entire spectrum of muscles and diseases of the structures of a given region that can manifest as myalgia. Diagnosis requires a careful individual approach to each patient with this problem. In most cases, it is possible to find the cause of pain based on the collected complaints, medical history and manual muscle testing. In some cases, instrumental diagnostic methods are required, such as radiography and MRI of the shoulder joint, to exclude its involvement in the pathological process. In addition, the pain process itself in the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint can cause inflammatory changes in the joint.
Early contact with a competent specialist will allow you to quickly identify the cause of pain and begin adequate treatment.
Do not engage in self-diagnosis; sometimes it can be difficult even for a specialist to determine the exact cause.
If your shoulder, elbow hurts and your arm goes numb
Pain in the shoulder and elbow may mean that there is an active inflammatory process in the shoulder joint. Painful sensations intensify when a person tries to put his hand behind his neck, when lifting it up.
Signs of inflammation such as swelling, hyperemia and a local increase in temperature can also be found in a patient with damage to the shoulder joint. The pain intensifies at night, which can disturb sleep.
If your elbow or shoulder hurts and your arm goes numb, then this set of symptoms arises due to compression of the nerve: this sign can occur not only when the joint is inflamed, but also when it is dislocated. You also need to move the head into the glenoid cavity as carefully as possible so as not to damage the nerve endings.
If therapeutic measures are not taken in a timely manner, the function of the joint can be significantly impaired: contracture and atrophic changes in the muscles occur.
Shoulder pain radiates to elbow
If pain in the shoulder radiates to the elbow or any other neighboring area, then this indicates damage to the nerve: its inflammation or pinching. It is necessary to clarify the nature of the pain: in this case it will be aching, pulling and sharp.
Usually it is preceded by some kind of traumatic damage to the joints or inflammatory muscle diseases, when the nerve is compressed by neighboring structures.
With such symptoms, you should definitely see a neurologist for further diagnosis, so as not to start the pathological process.
Possible complications
Complications are caused not only by the lack of high-quality, timely assistance in the treatment of pathological processes, but also by self-medication. For example, with long-term use of medications with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, the risk of negative effects on the gastrointestinal tract increases. If recommended therapy is ineffective, patients with gout may develop nephritis, impaired motor activity, chronic renal failure, pyelonephritis, urolithiasis, and renal colic.
Preventing pain from shoulder to elbow
In order to prevent diseases of the upper limb from occurring, you sometimes need to change your lifestyle for the sake of a healthy future.
Prevention measures include:
- adequate and daily physical activity to strengthen the muscles of the arms and back;
- weight loss to prevent atherosclerotic disease;
- avoiding situations in which you can get injured (fights, fights without rules, etc.);
- timely correction of any diseases, rehabilitation of chronic foci of infection;
- proper nutrition: limiting fatty, too salty foods, fast food, adding fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts to the diet.
Prevention
To prevent pain, it is recommended to promptly treat emerging diseases and refrain from self-medication. Moderate physical activity and daily walks in the fresh air are recommended. To prevent inflammatory pathologies, including gout, it is recommended to monitor your daily diet. Avoid excessively fatty, spicy, fried foods, purines, refined foods, and white sugar.
The basis of the diet is whole grains, unrefined foods, legumes, clean drinking water, fiber (greens, fresh vegetables), berries, nuts, seeds. People on any type of diet need to promptly identify and compensate for deficiencies of important micronutrients. Provide sufficient amounts of Omega-3 and Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Hypothermia is avoided; when working sedentarily, it is necessary to do regular warm-up. Timely treatment of infectious and inflammatory processes and adherence to work and rest regimes are indicated. It is recommended to normalize body weight, maintain a drinking regime, exclude large amounts of animal protein in the diet, and give up bad habits.
For patients with pain in the arms from the shoulder to the elbow, it is important to remember that this is not an independent disease, but a symptom that occurs with prolonged progression of the underlying pathology. Symptomatic treatment with medications and diet can reduce warning signs, but does not guarantee complete recovery. The patient is recommended high-quality care and supervision by a qualified orthopedic doctor.
When the pathological process becomes chronic, all conditions are met to put the disease into remission and prevent repeated exacerbations. It is important to promptly treat emerging symptoms and remember to follow a diet and exercise. If there is a hereditary predisposition to the development of the disease, it is necessary to monitor blood counts and the results of other diagnostic methods.