Right arm pain from below shoulder to hand
- Thread starter Quincy
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Jilly22
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My husband has severe right arm pain from below his shoulder going right down to his hand. He can hardly lift his arm. Can anybody help?. Many thanks.
J
Jilly22
Guest
Hi Feelbad and Quincy. Thank you both very much for your replies. He has no neck symptoms including nurabness, pain or decreased ROM. It will take quite some time to get an MRI of neck and rotator cuff area. He will get them done.
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Jilly22
Guest
Hi quincy. Thank you very much for replying to my post. My husband has no problem in rotating the shoulder. There is no element of repetative strain. He is not a sporty person. He is a teacher. The pain is really bad.
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Jilly22
Guest
Hi Feelback and quincy. Thank you both so much for replying. He does not have any nurabness or pain in the neck and he does not have decreased ROM. It will take some time to get an MRI of the neck and ROM area. He will have them done.
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feelbad
Guest
are they hopefully going to do that MRI on that whole rotator cuff area or possibly do both the c spine AND the rotator too? the one thing about any real rheumy disease issues is they will normally actually tend to present within the actual "joints" within our body and NOT really where your hubby is reporting his pain is, just much further down from that main shoulder joint? i really DO think this DOES have much more underlying issues within that rotator hon,i really do. one of my worst areas i was having pain in was actually NOT within my shoulder joint,tho it did, upon MRI show bone spurring IN it, it was kind of right IN that bicep area where i dealt with this really crazy 'soreness' that really felt like it was actually in my bicep area? this was only (found this out only after my rotator repair) because the rotator DOES have a tendon in there that actually has a very direct connection TO that upper arm/bicep area. and i did have problems there that my ortho corrected for me and post op, that inner soreness was just totally completely GONE.
i don't know whether or not you have just tried to look up "rotator cuff images' yet, but that whole area really IS huge(both front and back) and connects to sooo many muscles ligaments and of course those tendons, i really could not believe just HOW CRITICAL that whole area just was/is as far as movement and dexterity went.
a really good ortho surgeon would be able to pretty much tell right in an initial eval/cvonsult with your hubby and running that shoulder/arm thru particular and very 'key' ROMS that show the most 'impact" problems that you or he may not even be noticing are actually just 'not there" anymore becasue of tearing, esp that very top tendon which just IS the most commonly torn of all the many tendons within that rotator becasue it IS the most used for alot of daily tasks and in alot of more heavy duty movements that can create alot more strain on that tendon(called the supraspinatus) than you would think. and if, as you say, he has been a rather "sporty' person, depending upon what he has been even doing with ANY type of sports, esp things like softball or baseball, or even bowling on a very regular basis too. that top tendon has really taken in alot more overall wear and tear that one would even think. i personally was a very toraboyish female who also played softball for many many years starting in 3rd grade and on thru the next 13 years in school, then just summer park and rec leagues, and also took it back up again after i was married with a regular womans league too? my god, that level of real ongoing wear and tear damage i ended up doing that just showed in my eventual loss of ROM the morning my entire top tendon snapped and i needed that MRI was really crazy in there.
are his meRAB working at all for this pain?
i am just really hoping that at least to start here, that rotator cuff IS what will be MRIed here first. soo many people truely are running around out there with some pretty heavy duty damage going on within certain areas of their rotator and do NOT have a freaking clue. many, like myself, just assumed it was age and allll the many stupid injuries i had done to myself much earlier on i my life that were finally catching up to me. if my top tendon had not just 'snapped' on me that one morning(lifted and it snapped and i immediatedly felt pain and lost that ROM like instantly, but this WAS also a major tendon too), i would still be sitting here with lots of pain, and compensating but not really noticing that to a certain degree, becasue of some very real rotator cuff damage i had that i just did NOT even know i actually had. and becasue, my c spine is such a mess already, would have simply blammed it ALL on that only.
swelling IS usually created by some level of real imflammation going on with any given body area, but if things really ARE inflammed in someone from rheumy or arthritic issues, you can usually feel at least a good level of at least 'some' heat generation from that area too. arthritis and any real rheumy based types of infllammation also will usually carry/generate heat along with swelling. there just can realistcally be many actual reasons for any swelling to suddenly develop within our bodies tho too. this MRI will show what may or may not actually be impacted in that whole shoulder tho, so thats huge as far as either ruling that area out or in, as the underlying 'culprit. ya just need that 'good look' inside with a good MRI really to fully 'see' that entire very large area that makes up outr entire rotator cuff. so that will be a very good type of actual test for defining the underlying issues there.
as an FYI here? the much more real 'use or even overuse" of our shoulder during our lifetimes esp with playing sports that do involve that shoulder ALOT, the more likely that rotator just is going to become more worn out and damaged too. its just the way things go, esp as we age and tendons and ligaments are not quite as 'pliable" or easy to recover from a rather strenuous type of work out. that damage becomes much more 'cumulative" over the years we continue to do what we did when we were much younger? please DO let us know what pops up on that MRI that gets done. and always, always make darn certain to obtain your very OWN copies of every single testing result report that gets done too. you simply really DO need to have this stuff for your own use/files you keep on yourself at home?and even more crucial here is it also alows any patient to also simply read thru there very own reports to also see if you were even 'told everything" that was found and placed in the "conclusion or summary at the very end of any given rad report too. this is just where ALL the more pertinent info found by the rad who reaRAB the films actually goes. and you just NEED to be able to read thru THAT yourself, trust me.
just please let us know exactly what you find out hon. seeing an ortho for this would not hurt to just obtain THAT level of expertise/eval too? good luck, marcia
i don't know whether or not you have just tried to look up "rotator cuff images' yet, but that whole area really IS huge(both front and back) and connects to sooo many muscles ligaments and of course those tendons, i really could not believe just HOW CRITICAL that whole area just was/is as far as movement and dexterity went.
a really good ortho surgeon would be able to pretty much tell right in an initial eval/cvonsult with your hubby and running that shoulder/arm thru particular and very 'key' ROMS that show the most 'impact" problems that you or he may not even be noticing are actually just 'not there" anymore becasue of tearing, esp that very top tendon which just IS the most commonly torn of all the many tendons within that rotator becasue it IS the most used for alot of daily tasks and in alot of more heavy duty movements that can create alot more strain on that tendon(called the supraspinatus) than you would think. and if, as you say, he has been a rather "sporty' person, depending upon what he has been even doing with ANY type of sports, esp things like softball or baseball, or even bowling on a very regular basis too. that top tendon has really taken in alot more overall wear and tear that one would even think. i personally was a very toraboyish female who also played softball for many many years starting in 3rd grade and on thru the next 13 years in school, then just summer park and rec leagues, and also took it back up again after i was married with a regular womans league too? my god, that level of real ongoing wear and tear damage i ended up doing that just showed in my eventual loss of ROM the morning my entire top tendon snapped and i needed that MRI was really crazy in there.
are his meRAB working at all for this pain?
i am just really hoping that at least to start here, that rotator cuff IS what will be MRIed here first. soo many people truely are running around out there with some pretty heavy duty damage going on within certain areas of their rotator and do NOT have a freaking clue. many, like myself, just assumed it was age and allll the many stupid injuries i had done to myself much earlier on i my life that were finally catching up to me. if my top tendon had not just 'snapped' on me that one morning(lifted and it snapped and i immediatedly felt pain and lost that ROM like instantly, but this WAS also a major tendon too), i would still be sitting here with lots of pain, and compensating but not really noticing that to a certain degree, becasue of some very real rotator cuff damage i had that i just did NOT even know i actually had. and becasue, my c spine is such a mess already, would have simply blammed it ALL on that only.
swelling IS usually created by some level of real imflammation going on with any given body area, but if things really ARE inflammed in someone from rheumy or arthritic issues, you can usually feel at least a good level of at least 'some' heat generation from that area too. arthritis and any real rheumy based types of infllammation also will usually carry/generate heat along with swelling. there just can realistcally be many actual reasons for any swelling to suddenly develop within our bodies tho too. this MRI will show what may or may not actually be impacted in that whole shoulder tho, so thats huge as far as either ruling that area out or in, as the underlying 'culprit. ya just need that 'good look' inside with a good MRI really to fully 'see' that entire very large area that makes up outr entire rotator cuff. so that will be a very good type of actual test for defining the underlying issues there.
as an FYI here? the much more real 'use or even overuse" of our shoulder during our lifetimes esp with playing sports that do involve that shoulder ALOT, the more likely that rotator just is going to become more worn out and damaged too. its just the way things go, esp as we age and tendons and ligaments are not quite as 'pliable" or easy to recover from a rather strenuous type of work out. that damage becomes much more 'cumulative" over the years we continue to do what we did when we were much younger? please DO let us know what pops up on that MRI that gets done. and always, always make darn certain to obtain your very OWN copies of every single testing result report that gets done too. you simply really DO need to have this stuff for your own use/files you keep on yourself at home?and even more crucial here is it also alows any patient to also simply read thru there very own reports to also see if you were even 'told everything" that was found and placed in the "conclusion or summary at the very end of any given rad report too. this is just where ALL the more pertinent info found by the rad who reaRAB the films actually goes. and you just NEED to be able to read thru THAT yourself, trust me.
just please let us know exactly what you find out hon. seeing an ortho for this would not hurt to just obtain THAT level of expertise/eval too? good luck, marcia
F
feelbad
Guest
while there still "could' p[ossibly be some level of that rotator cuff being involved here only because it just contains soo many different structures like tendons,ligaments and muscle, the other possible coulkd be related to the c spine? has he actually seen a doc for at least a consult and eval on this yet? that is where he simply neeRAB to start and get some testing done to hopefully 'see' the problem with an MRI? getting that c spine MRIed and the rotator cuff as well would rule out or rule in the most common reasons for the type of symptom he is having.
our shoulders/rotators just 'do" sooo many different ROMS that it can be somewhat hard to tell if this is really involved only becasue when one tendon goes down from like a tear or some other issue(the rotator can just have many possible issues happen), the others will kind of 'kick in' a bit more to try and help compensate for the one that is not working? i went thru a rotaor cuff nightmare a few years ago and while i did have 'some' reocurring pain, and i also 'felt my ROMS were just fine when they were not, i had no freaking clue that my very top tendon was in jeopardy(partially torn already) at all til it just snapped in half on me one day when i lifted something, THEN i immediately felt very excruciating pain upon that lift, and also lost ROM asap too.
but the c spine nerves also run very much thru that shoulder area too on down to the hand, so one issue can tend to also mimic the other? is he having ANY other possible saymptoms going on like nurabness or tingling or neck pain? FB
our shoulders/rotators just 'do" sooo many different ROMS that it can be somewhat hard to tell if this is really involved only becasue when one tendon goes down from like a tear or some other issue(the rotator can just have many possible issues happen), the others will kind of 'kick in' a bit more to try and help compensate for the one that is not working? i went thru a rotaor cuff nightmare a few years ago and while i did have 'some' reocurring pain, and i also 'felt my ROMS were just fine when they were not, i had no freaking clue that my very top tendon was in jeopardy(partially torn already) at all til it just snapped in half on me one day when i lifted something, THEN i immediately felt very excruciating pain upon that lift, and also lost ROM asap too.
but the c spine nerves also run very much thru that shoulder area too on down to the hand, so one issue can tend to also mimic the other? is he having ANY other possible saymptoms going on like nurabness or tingling or neck pain? FB
J
Jilly22
Guest
My husband went to see doctor. Waiting for MRI. Dr. said it might be rheumatism. He is taking an Anti Inflammatory once a day and pain killers. The pain in his right arm is terribly and his hand is swollen.
J
Jilly22
Guest
Thank you so very much Marcia for your most detailed and helpful reply. I apologise for not replying before now but our internet was down for several days in our area. Thankfully it is back up again. My husband had the MRI of his rotatory cuff. It did not show any tear. He visited an Ortho who examined him and has upped his anti inflammatory meRAB and changed him pain killers and has started him on an intensive course of physio. The Ortho feels that the problem is basically a form of severe muscular rheumatism - he is unable to put a more accurate label on the condition, at least at present time. He also had a plain x-ray and MRI of the cervical spine which showed minor OA changes which would be unlikely to account for his symptoms.:angel: