Left arm/elbow pain and facial tingling

[Jodi711]

Hello,

I know i am not in the correct section of this website however the forum i wanted to post in was full.  I am a 30 year old female in good shape.  About 5 months ago i started experiencing a dull, aching pain on the opposite side of my left elbow (the underneath side).  The tendon in that area was swollen and tender to the touch.  I do not recall injuring myself in any way.  I have seen a General Practitioner about it and he prescribed me Piroxicam (20mg) and said that taking an anti-inflammitory would bring the swelling down.  Since then, the pain has not subsided and has spread to other places within my left arm (underside of the forearm, wrist and bicep/tricep area of the upper arm).  I went to see an Orthopedic Surgeon who said he had no idea what the problem was.  I passed the few tests he did on me moving my wrist and certain directions.  He also told me he was sure that nothing would show up if they did an MRI.  I have taken regular Xrays on my entire arm and everything has come up normal.  I have no tingling sensations in my hands or arm.  However, in the past few days i have started to feel tingling right above my mouth on the left side of my face...near the cheek.  The tingling comes and goes throughout the day.  I wuold like to know if it's possible these issues could be related.  At first when it was just the arm pain i thought it may be possible that i had carpal tunnel syndrome or a similar issue from working at a computer all day but of course i'm not a doctor and unfortunately the ones i've seen have been very little help in diagnosing any of my symptoms.  Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[Shore Guy]

I have exact same issue, but also added ear pain moving into left jaw on occassions. Had a MRI done and was told had a moderate to severe restriction in C7 I believe it was. Being 43 neurosurgeon told me risks outweighed any benefit I would receive. I have pain flowing into my back from this as well. Worrisome sometimes due to lack of discussion as to what this restriction would cause. In a pain management clinic now relieves some of the pain but does nothing to stop symptoms. Sit on toilet my left arm goes numb, fully extend arm, left elbow feels like I have a bone spur when fully straightened and pain in wrist and fingers and shoulder hurts once it is lifted or rotated.

[Prem Pillay, MD]

I have seen patients like you with a tennis elbow and tendinitis in the hand who also have cervcial disc disease with pinched nerves in the neck.
There is a link between these problems in my experience. I suspect that the pinched nerves cause muscle imbalance that leaves that person more prone to the tendon injury or tendinitis problems.
You may wish to seek an opinion from a neurosurgery and get an MRI of your neck.