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Neurology (Expert Forum)
right arm & leg pain
Answered by
Lama Chahine, MD - Neurology
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland - OH
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury.
right arm & leg pain
by nizar460, Dec 05, 2008 09:13AM
I am suffering from slight pain in my right leg & right arm. I don't smoke but i chew tobaccos.
Doctor's Answer
by Lama Chahine, MD, Dec 07, 2008 10:28AM
, Dec 07, 2008 10:28AM
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 your doctor.
Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information. Slight right arm and right leg pain may not be neurologic, and it is hard for me to think of causes based on the description you provide.
Neurologic causes of one sided body pain (meaning your whole right side is hurting, not just your arm) are not common and usually cause relatively severe constant pain. These would include a small lesion in an area of the brain called the thalamus (this lesion could be a small stroke, a tumor, a small vascular malformation such as a cavernoma etc), or other areas of the brain due to stroke, multiple sclerosis etc. A problem in the cervical spinal cord could potentially cause one sided body pain as well.
If your pain is predominantly in your right arm, rather than being in the whole right side of your body, the cause could be a radiculopathy. The spinal cord is encased by bones called vertebra. Nerves start to form as they come off the spinal cord and exit through holes formed between the vertebra. If a nerve is compressed on as it exits through these holes, particularly in an area called the nerve root, a radiculopathy results. The compression could be due to arthritis of the spine or due to a herniated disc or other lesions.
It is difficult to provide you with more specific information based on your description but I recommend that you be evaluated by a general practioner/primary care doctor. After he/she examines you and obtains a history, it can be determined whether or not the cause of your pain is muscular, neurologic, or otherwise, what further testing is indicated, and whether or not you need referral to a neurologist.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information. Slight right arm and right leg pain may not be neurologic, and it is hard for me to think of causes based on the description you provide.
Neurologic causes of one sided body pain (meaning your whole right side is hurting, not just your arm) are not common and usually cause relatively severe constant pain. These would include a small lesion in an area of the brain called the thalamus (this lesion could be a small stroke, a tumor, a small vascular malformation such as a cavernoma etc), or other areas of the brain due to stroke, multiple sclerosis etc. A problem in the cervical spinal cord could potentially cause one sided body pain as well.
If your pain is predominantly in your right arm, rather than being in the whole right side of your body, the cause could be a radiculopathy. The spinal cord is encased by bones called vertebra. Nerves start to form as they come off the spinal cord and exit through holes formed between the vertebra. If a nerve is compressed on as it exits through these holes, particularly in an area called the nerve root, a radiculopathy results. The compression could be due to arthritis of the spine or due to a herniated disc or other lesions.
It is difficult to provide you with more specific information based on your description but I recommend that you be evaluated by a general practioner/primary care doctor. After he/she examines you and obtains a history, it can be determined whether or not the cause of your pain is muscular, neurologic, or otherwise, what further testing is indicated, and whether or not you need referral to a neurologist.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
