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Damaged Nerve in upper arm

In september I had slip and fall accident and I hurt my upper left arm.  I had about a 6 inch bruise on the back of my upper left arm.  I went to an orthopedic surgeon and I explained I was having severe pain that would shoot down my arm and then i would get a pins and needles feeling from my upper arm down to my pinky and ring fingers and they would also get numb.  He sent me to physical therapy, and this seemed to aggravate the arm even more. Finely they stopped physical therapy because they said I was not showing improvement and they thought I may have nerve damage. So I was finally sent to get an MRI. They MRI examiner told me she saw lots of black on the MRI scans over the injured area, that I've been complaining about.  What could this "blackness" mean and could this be the reason for the shooting pain, numbness, and tingling. Im so worried this may cause me problems for a long time in the future.
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I experienced a severe horse bite one month ago.  The horse lunged out at me aggressivley and grabbed hold of the back of my upper arm a that sent me reeling.  I experienced major pain and a "pulling" sensation when I moved my arm.  The bruise went away eventually but I still have a large bump where the bite occured that is blindingly painful when touched.  I did not go to the doctors because it is not broken and did not think anything could "fix" it.  I can use the arm and still be active but I am concerned because the pain and bump have not improved.  Before wracking up another medical bill, what are your thoughts?
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Thank you so much for giving me a prompt response.  You did confirm exactly what I thought.  You have a great day.
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Avatar universal
Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
The blackness on MRI could possibly indicate nerve damage. Nerve damage will cause shooting pains along with numbness and tingling. It is important to know the extent of nerve damage as that would affect the chances of recovery. Please continue with your evaluation.
Take care!
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