cant straighten both arms for months?

[mikewaterfall]

Im hoping for some help on my mothers condition, both her arms cant be straightened, they remain bent and when she tries to straighten them she gets shooting pain from her elbows to her thumb. She has had this problem for many months and due to not being able to straighten her arm it looks like her hand and forearm is wasting away slowly. She has not got swollen elbows or bursitis on her elbows. What could it be thats not allowing her to straighten both her arms for 8months?

[Sara_MHModerator]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Thank you for the question and I'm really sorry to hear about your mother.  She most definitely needs to be seen by a doctor.  Has she been evaluated yet or does she have access to healthcare?  Tendonitis in the elbow which is sometimes called tennis elbow can be the cause of this pain sometimes.  And then you can have muscle break down from not using.  It also can be due to muscle fibrosis, tight muscles, short muscles or due to any bone deformity. You can consult an orthopedic specialist  would be who I would suggest to diagnose her. Please let us know how this situation goes as we'd like to stay in the loop and continue to help if we can.