shoulder pain

[t1one]

about five days ago after a trip to the districts  I noticed a pain,well more like a sensation that radiated from my shoulder down the back of my right arm to my fingers from the little finger going in.the next day the feeling was the same but now had moved to the other fingers and now its moved back away from my fingers but still along my arm and up to my shoulder please help as sleeping is now very uncomfortable

[t1one]

thank you for the reply i saw a specialist and was put on a machine which he said was a stimulator for half an hour,what else can i do besides using this stimulator?

[Jeffrey Kim, M.D.]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I cannot tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Pain descriptions can vary widely according to the individual, however it is possible that you may be suffering from neuropathic pain.  Neuropathic pain can have many different causes.  Among these are a group of disorders called entrapment neuropathies.  As your nerves travel along the length of your arm, they are vulnerable to injury at specific sites where normal ligamentous and bony structures are predisposed to compression.  Common sites of compression include the wrist for the median nerve (carpal tunnel), and the elbow for the ulnar nerve (cubital tunnel).  There can also be compression of the nerves at the level of the spine, for example with disc herniation.  Symptoms that may point in the direction of a neuropathic disorder include numbness/tingling, and muscle weakness.  

I would recommend seeing your primary care physician for an evaluation.  They may be able to help determine if there is any musculoskeletal cause for your pain.  If he feels that there is a nerve problem, he may refer you to a neurologist for an evaluation.  Part of the neurologist’s work-up may involve an electromyogram (EMG) which measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction, and nerve conduction studies (NCS) which measures how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.