Arm Pain

[ledish53]

I have pain in the middle outer portion of my right arm. It causes limited mobility and the pain seems to be in my muscle. It hurts if my arm is in one position for any period of time, ie..driving and arm is on arm rest, or at the movies. The pain will go all the way down to my wrist at times. I had xrays done and they don't show anything. The pain has been going for about 7-8 months. I can rotate my arm and feel a popping inside and it is painful. I can only lift my arm breast high.

[freddy911]

You might need to look for a very good chiropractor.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
What you have is probably Scalene Myofascial Pain Syndrome. When scalene muscle is the cause of pain, the pain is referred to (either all or a combination of) chest, inner lining of scapula (shoulder bone), shoulder, posterior and lateral sides of the arm right up to the thumb and index finger. When this muscle shortens, this can press on brachial plexus (bundle of nerves and blood vessels in the armpit) and the subclavian artery and can compress or irritate these structures and cause symptoms such as abnormal sensation, cold extremity, spasms of pain, and lymphedema (swelling of lymph channels causing swelling of arm or leg) in the involved extremity. Other than this it can be inflammation of veins or phlebitis, inflammation of lymph channels or lymphangitis, deep vein thrombosis or compartment syndrome. It can also be due to muscle injury.
Please consult your PCP for primary examination followed by proper referral.
Take care!

[mklarson]

Most likely you are having "referred" pain in you arm. In other words, the actual damage is either your rotator cuff or AC joint (acromioclavicular joint) yet the pain presents in the upper arm.  This is very common, and your comment about the pain while driving with you arm is indicative of this type of injury.  The x-rays you had done typically will not show the injury, but an MRI will.  I don't know your situation regarding medical coverage but here is the normal protocol for these types of injuries; first level is anti-inflammatory meds like Advil (ibuprofen) @ 600 to 800mg every 6 hours as needed. Second level is to add physical therapy, third level might be surgery of either a rotator cuff repair, or distal-clavicle resection. If you want to start with Advil (since you can buy it over the counter for ~10 dollars) be sure to take it with so food to avoid an upset stomach or irritating the stomach lining.  Using Tylenol (acetaminophen) does not work as well as Advil because it does not have the anti-inflammatory effect.  

The bad news is that this tends to be a progressive problem over time so if you have the ability to take care of it now, I strongly advise you to do so.  Google "rotator cuff exercises"  for some helpful tips
Best of luck!