Can't you raise your hand? Do you experience severe pain and discomfort when rotating your shoulder? Is the problem negatively affecting your quality of life? There is no need to endure all these symptoms, especially since modern medicine can effectively treat the existing illness.
Medical specialists will conduct diagnostics and make an accurate diagnosis, prescribe a course of treatment and prevention for your speedy full recovery.
Frozen shoulder syndrome, or capsulitis, is a limitation of the mobility of the glenohumeral joint that occurs due to damage to the capsule. The capsule becomes denser, its cavity becomes inflamed, and the synovial membrane stretches and becomes thicker. In this regard, the patient feels restrictions when raising the arm frontally, as well as when abducting it to the sides.
Causes of Frozen Shoulder Syndrome
- mechanical injuries;
- uneven load on the shoulder;
- genetic predisposition;
- viral infection;
- hypothermia;
- metabolic disorders due to certain diseases (diabetes mellitus, tumor processes, etc.).
There are also factors that increase the risk of frozen shoulder syndrome: bad habits, poor diet, and inactive lifestyle.
Depending on the causes, two forms of pathology are distinguished: adhesive (when the joint capsule decreases in volume, the disease occurs against the background of a certain disease) and post-traumatic (provoked by mechanical damage to the shoulder or incorrect surgical intervention).
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Causes of heaviness in the hands
Physiological factors
The symptom is usually observed after prolonged use of the arms: carrying and loading objects, carrying heavy bags, sports exercises for the muscles of the shoulder girdle and upper limbs. It is difficult for a person to raise his arms; when trying to make active movements, pain and weakness occur. The duration of the discomfort period ranges from several hours to several days, depending on the degree of fatigue.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system
An unpleasant feeling of heaviness and awkwardness in the hands develops in the initial stages of arthrosis, which damages the joints of the wrist or fingers. Patients feel moderate pain when performing movements, gradually the intensity and duration of the pain syndrome increases. In addition to heaviness, a person is bothered by tingling and numbness in the distal parts of the upper extremities; in advanced cases, bone deformities form.
Heaviness in the arms is often detected in patients with osteochondrosis, which affects the upper thoracic vertebrae. The person experiences awkwardness when moving, weakness, and difficulty lifting heavy objects and bags. The discomfort is combined with a feeling of tingling or numbness, periodic pain that radiates from the back to the shoulder and arm. Symptoms intensify with sudden bending and turning of the body.
Heaviness in the hands
Dermatomyositis
The disease is accompanied by damage to the striated muscles of the arms, which is why patients experience heaviness and weakness in the upper limbs. At the initial stage, there is slight discomfort; the hands get tired faster when doing physical work. As dermatomyositis progresses, weakness reaches such a degree that the patient cannot comb his hair independently (“comb symptom”), brush his teeth, or hold a spoon.
Vein thrombosis
If the thrombus is localized in the vessels of the upper extremities, venous stagnation and edema develop distal to its location. Patients complain of excruciating heaviness and distension, which intensify when lowering the arm down. The skin becomes purple-bluish and dense, and when you feel the affected area, the unpleasant sensations intensify. Sometimes sensitivity is impaired, numbness and paresthesia are noted.
Lymphedema
Swelling of the arm due to lymphostasis most often appears in women after an extended mastectomy performed for breast cancer. Less commonly, symptoms are observed against the background of axillary lymphadenitis. A person suffers from heaviness, dull pain in the affected limb, which worsens in the evening and after physical activity. The skin is pasty, pale, and when pressed, a pit is formed that does not straighten out for a long time.
Professional neurosis
Heaviness in the hands occurs in people who are forced to constantly work with their hands - musicians, artists, typists and those who often write a lot (doctors, teachers). People complain that it becomes more difficult for them to do their usual work, and they feel that their fingers “do not obey well.” Symptoms include tingling, numbness and occasional soreness.
Treatment of frozen shoulder syndrome
To get rid of the condition when the hand cannot be raised, experts recommend:
- undergo a course of physiotherapy;
- massotherapy;
- kinesiotherapy;
- to relieve pain - drug therapy.
It is important! Without proper treatment, the limb may atrophy. That is why it is worth contacting specialists as quickly as possible to help restore the functions of the injured shoulder.
Start treatment by making an appointment at Medical, where a team of experts works. You can make an appointment by phone: +7 (495) 212-08-81
Diagnostics
A patient who complains of heaviness in his hands is examined by different specialists: in addition to the therapist, an orthopedic traumatologist, a neurologist, and a vascular surgeon are involved in the diagnostic search. During a physical examination, attention is paid to skin color (pallor or cyanosis), the presence of edema, and deformation of bone structures. For diagnostic purposes, the most informative are:
- Radiography.
An X-ray of the hands in 2 projections helps to detect inflammatory or destructive processes in bone tissue, deformation of bones and joints. To clarify the diagnosis, a highly informative computed tomography scan of the hand is indicated. If you need to study the condition of soft tissues and nerves, an MRI of the hand is performed. - Vascular ultrasound.
Duplex scanning of the veins and arteries of the arms allows you to assess the speed of blood flow, identify blood clots or vasospasm, and visualize the collateral network. To examine in detail the vascular network of the upper extremities, ultrasound is complemented by radiocontrast angiography. - Electrophysiological diagnostics.
ENMG is prescribed if a neuromuscular origin of heaviness in the arms is suspected. During the study, the doctor determines the speed of the nerves’ response to stimuli, determines the localization and extent of the problem, and differentiates nervous and vascular pathology. - Lab tests.
To assess general changes indicating inflammation or systemic connective tissue diseases, a hemogram and biochemical blood test are performed. In case of thrombosis, the results of a coagulogram are required. To confirm dermatomyositis, specialists perform a histological examination of muscle biopsies. - Additional methods.
To diagnose diseases of the lymphatic system, X-ray lymphography and lymphoscingyrgaphy are performed. Studies show areas of tortuosity, lymphangiectasia, and valve insufficiency. In case of possible professional neurosis, consultation with a psychiatrist is recommended.
Upper limb massage
Pain in left arm
General information
Pain in the left arm can be caused by various reasons, so it can take different forms. The whole arm or some part of it may hurt. The pain can occur suddenly or develop gradually, be sharp or dull, burning or numbing, shooting or piercing, constant or paroxysmal. Pain in the left arm is often a consequence of the following root causes:
- sprained or torn ligaments;
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- bone fracture;
- injury.
In addition, overstrain of muscle fibers resulting from excessive physical activity or prolonged work in an uncomfortable position can be the cause. In this case, the sore hand should be provided with maximum rest. In some situations, pain in the left hand is one of the symptoms of diseases:
- of cardio-vascular system;
- musculoskeletal system;
- nerve trunks.
Therefore, if discomfort does not go away for a long time or periodically recurs for no apparent reason, you should immediately consult a doctor.
If you suspect a dislocation or fracture, you need to undergo an X-ray examination; if there are no visible external injuries, you need to check the condition of the cervical spine, since the cause of pain may be a protrusion or herniation of the intervertebral disc. If discomfort arises and disappears at rest without any external reasons, the development of an inflammatory process or arthritis cannot be ruled out. It should be remembered that the signs of a bone fracture are not always obvious. In some cases, it occurs after a blow and goes unnoticed, appearing only during serious physical exertion, since the painful sensations are mistaken for signs of a simple bruise. Note that pain in the left hand is not always felt directly at the site of injury ; for example, when the wrist is affected, it often spreads to the forearm area. As a rule, this happens when there is a systematic high load on the joint, due to the characteristics of professional activity.
In this case, the hand does not have time to recover, which leads to a gradual increase in pain. Although the muscles of the upper arm are quite well developed in most people, injury to them can also cause significant discomfort. This also includes inflammation of the biceps tendon, as well as its friction against the bone or rupture. Sometimes pain in the upper arm occurs as a result of heavy lifting, which causes inflammation in the tendons of the shoulder muscles. It is accompanied by a tingling and burning sensation, which often bothers a person at night. Additional discomfort is created by the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. After waking up, a person shakes the limb, which improves microcirculation and brings relief. However, swelling in the hands can also occur due to, for example, pregnancy, so pathology can only be identified through special diagnostic tests. Often a person experiences pain that radiates to one of the arms. If it is the left hand, then the classic symptoms of a heart attack or myocardial infarction are visible . In this case, pain behind the sternum and in the left arm is usually accompanied by:
- Shortness of breath;
- pallor;
- nausea;
- cold sweat;
- an inexplicable feeling of fear.
This situation requires calling emergency medical assistance. The reason to consult a doctor is pain in the left hand that lasts more than two days, intensifies during physical work, or occurs against the background of limited nerve sensitivity. An alarming signal is a change in the shape of the upper limb, the appearance of swelling and stiffness of the joints.
Causes of pain in the left hand
Brachial plexitis is usually caused by mechanical reasons: trauma, dislocation of the head of the humerus, narrowing of the costoclavicular space due to a fracture of the clavicle. A rare variant of brachial plexopathy is Pancoast syndrome, which is based on a tumor of the apex of the lung growing into the brachial plexus. In such cases, pain in the left arm is accompanied by the development of Horner's syndrome (ptosis, miosis, enophthalmos) due to damage to sympathetic fibers. The diagnosis is confirmed by radiographic signs of a tumor at the apex of the lung and destruction of the upper ribs. Neuralgic amyotrophy is manifested by unusually intense pain in the shoulder girdle and left arm, combined with pronounced atrophy of the muscles of the proximal arm. Often this causes paralysis of the serratus anterior muscle, which leads to separation of the medial edge of the scapula, causing it to stand almost perpendicular to the chest. The subacute development of these atrophies distinguishes this variant of plexopathies from radiculopathies and other forms of damage to the brachial plexus. Humeroscapular periarthrosis usually occurs as one of the neurodystrophic syndromes of cervical osteochondrosis , either as an independent disease or a consequence of injury. Pain of varying intensity, reminiscent of radiculopathy or plexalgia; its peculiarity is that the movement of the hand in the sagittal plane is free, but the attempt to move the hand to the side is limited due to muscle contracture and is accompanied by intense pain - the so-called frozen hand.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
This syndrome occurs as a result of compression of the median nerve in the osteofibrous canal with arthritis of the wrist joints, tenosynovitis of the flexor fingers, often against the background of endocrine changes, namely:
- Climax;
- pregnancy;
- diabetes.
Paresthesia and pain are noted in I-III or all five fingers of the hand. The pain intensifies with palpation of the transverse ligament, passive flexion and extension in the wrist joint, when applying a tonometer cuff to the shoulder, and raising the arms in a supine position. If you experience these symptoms, we recommend that you seek help from a traumatologist.