Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Pain under arm below shoulder above elbow.

Hello. I have this pain for over a year and counting. I started seeing a neurosurgeon. I had an MRI, CT scan with Myelogram and neither test revealed any problems. I was then forwarded to an orthopedic physician. I had another MRI test done. It came back negative. Because of my symptoms I had an arthroscopy of the right rotator cuff. The physician stated I had two bones, one with a fracture, the other a hairline fracture, but neither had blood or oxygen being supplied to the bones. He inserted a hole into both to allow the supply of blood/oxygen. After three months of physical therapy I still had the same pain, right after the procedure & during therapy. I was then referred to a nerve doctor. After performing a EMG test he found nothing. Since that time the nerve doctor had me on the following medications: Gabapentin, Lyrica & Cymbalta. With the side effects I have experience with these medications neither helped my pain. I asked for surgery but the nerve doctor said without knowing which nerve surgery would not be the best option. I do have pain in that area, more considerable at night where I have trouble sleeping and ironically when I pressed down on one particular area underneath my arm, the pain radiates down to my hand. Both physicians are aware of this but yet I am still in pain. If a health care professional should read my article your comments & suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you.




This discussion is related to never ending arm pain.
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
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 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, claudication, and lymphedema (swelling of lymph channels) in the involved extremity. This is a major cause of TOS or thoracic outlet syndrome. This needs to be looked for. Also possibility of persisting poor supply to bone should be checked. Take another opinion from a trauma specialist, a chest specialist and an orthopedic specialist. Take care!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Without a thorough health history, it's hard to even begin to guess what is causing your pain.

Have you been thoroughly tested for Periphernal Nerve disorgers and Central Nerve Disorders?  Multiple Sclerosis comes to mind, but I'm not entirely familiar with the disorder.  What I do know about it, it doesn't seem this falls in line with the symptoms.  Have you had your back checked?  A pinched nerve could do something like this, do you have a slipped disc?

If you had undiagnosed fractures and neither were receiving blood or oxygen for a long period of time, you could have a bone infection or bone necrosis.  That really shouldn't be difficult to diagnose though.  

You say your pain is increasing at night?  Is it increased when you're horizontal?  Like when you lay down? Or is it more painful after a full day of using your arm?  (Compare it... when you lay down to take a nap, does it hurt like when you lay down at night?).

What kind of pain are you trying to describe? Is it a deep ache? Throb? You describe it radiating when pressure is applied... is it sharp? Hot? Shooting?  Stabbing?  Being able to describe the pain with these kind of terms will help your doctor figure out what is actually causing it.  

For instance, a friend was stabbed a long time ago, and has nerve pain because of it. I always though it was a "stabbing" pain, but it was later described to me as being more like a sensation of electricity in the skin. Constant and so bad that feeling air moving across the skin brought my friend to their knees.

Do you have any numbness or tingling in your hands or feet? And doll, do me a favor and make sure you're not doing something with your arm that might be exacerbating pain.  Like using it to lever yourself out of bed in the morning, or shutting a door without using your hand.  It's amazing how many times I've bruised or hurt myself and not even realized it until I caught myself doing something like kicking the door shut and going "OH, so THAT'S why my toe hurts!"  

Tracking what you do in a day, and how it affects you and your pain, may help you identify if there is a particular motion or action that causes it to get worse.  Good luck, and please keep us posted!
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Undiagnosed Symptoms Community

Top General Health Answerers
363281 tn?1643235611
Nelson, New Zealand
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
19694731 tn?1482849837
AL
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.