Stabbing bicep pain when I lift my arm

[Nilda]

For the last 3 months (since April 2005), I've developed a stabbing pain in my left bicep when my arm is in certain positions.  The pain is located deep within my arm in the center of my upper arm and is very intense (i.e., level 8-10) as if a knife was plunged into the center of my bicep.  When the pain happens, I have to use my right arm to pick up the left arm and move it into a neutral position down and in front of me.  Depending on how intense the episode was, it can take anywhere from 5-10 seconds for the pain to subside and disappear completely.

The pain happens when I lift my arm into certain positions (i.e., overhead presses especially when my arm lifts next to my head or behind my head).  I am no longer able to put a bar behind my neck and grip it from behind.  The motion of bringing my arm up and back to grasp the bar is excrutiating.  It doesn't matter if I'm lifting weights or not -- I experience the pain in my everyday life too whenever my arm is raised, bent at the elbow, and moved backward.  Note, I am able to do bicep curls or hammer curls with 5# weights without pain so any bicep-related activity in front of my body is pain free.  Tricep kick backs and tricep "push ups" are also pain free.

I have been active, including aerobics, biking, skiing, lifting weights (5# or less), on and off all my life and 3-4 times a week since late last year and consider myself in excellent shape and am of a normal weight for my height and age (45).

Note, I broke my ankle in June so didn't exercise much at all for 2 months but the arm pain is still there.

[Swiiila]

I do this same thing with my left hand when I am on the computer and I have pain in my left upper arm, biceps muscle.  I am going to try to stop doing this, take anti-inflammatory meds for a while and see if it goes away.

[Dee1956]

Hello, I am now suffering with my second frozen shoulder. These videos really helped my shoulder/bicep pain, thank you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH3hILhe-bg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dasv9_-8eWw

[thunderseed]

This sounds like a rotator cuff injury, deltoid, shoulder, ect.
It radiates down the bicep but it actually comes from muscles in the shoulder.
It's because the rotator cuff muscles are very, very tiny and are easily torn. Hopefully this isn't a tear and it is just sprained, because tears will take quite awhile to heal.
Stay away from doing lateral arm raises, front arm raises, pushups, tricep dips and anything else that bothers your shoulders/arms.
Do not stretch your shoulders.
You can try out shoulder somatics (google it) it will help relax the muscles from any tension, help it to heal faster.
Also, try to strengthen your shoulder muscles. This is what helps heal injuries. Lifting heavy weights with biceps and triceps shouldn't effect your shoulders but Do NOT lift heavy weights while doing deltoid lifts, start with nothing but a band for resistance first, then you can try to lift 3-5 pounds. You want to do lateral arm raises, front arm raises to work your deltoids, and also the flyes to work the back of the shoulders too. Once these start becoming easily, very carefully up the weights. No one should ever lift more than 15 pounds for deltoids, to be safe. After awhile you should be able to start doing pushups, just be careful. I was able to do pushups after a month or so of strengthening up my shoulders after rotator cuff injury, I just couldn't do many for the longest time. Once you have a shoulder injury, you may always have to be very careful with your shoulders. Never try to lift anything heavy with your shoulder muscles, they are very small. Rotator cuff injuries are super painful! I know that sharp knife pain very well!

[DaphneC]

I have had the same pain as everyone else here. I have been in and out of so many doctors offices, I have had x-rays, and MRI scans done. I went to three different Orthopedic specialists. I've had 3 corticosteroid  injections in my shoulder (that did nothing for the pain in my arm). On June 2, 2014 I had shoulder surgery to clean up the capsular area of the shoulder, remove some bone spurs and bursitis. He checked my rotator cuff and bicep tendons while he was in there, but they looked fine. After the surgery I  started back with physical therapy and my range of motion has improved in my shoulder and I have no pain in my shoulder, but the surgery has done nothing for the arm pain. It is still as sharp and strong as before I started treatment. My physical therapist says it should get better as I strengthen my shoulder muscles, but I am really not sure about that. I will be talking more about it with him on my next appointment and when I see my Orthopedic Doc again in October, I will be asking him about it as well. This injury seems to be very common, as I know of three other friends that are having the same issue right now. I don't understand why doctors don't know what to do about it or what it might be. All it seems they are telling their patients is to ice it and take Aleve. Both of which don't help or make the pain worse. Even rest really doesn't help.

[montrealien42]

Same problem here.  The pain is deep within the arm and it seems impossible to pinpoint its actual location, but I lost a lot of sleep over this.  In my case I suspect that I have developed chronic trigger points (a.k.a. muscle knots) in the shoulder area, mainly due to posture and working habits, and those knots have worsened to a point where they end up pinching arm nerves that go through the shoulder, which then causes havoc in my bicep and elbow areas.  What has helped me the most so far is to perform what is known as a "pectoral stretch" by placing one arm up along a wall and stretching forward until I feel tightness in my shoulder, and massage the tender spots in front and on the side of my shoulder with my other hand.  Sleeping on my side while having my arm fully extended and stretched behind me (same position as pectoral stretch) also helped me.

[scarletscarletscarlet]

i have the same feeling of a knife stabbing my right bicep. i am right handed and cannot even move my right arm, it is in a sling, so typing with left hand. the pain is so bad i have thrown up from it, been in the hospital twice in last few days, had ex rays and ultrasound, and diagnosed with calcific tendinitis. am on oxycotin, but it really doesn't help. my arm and hand got very swollen, got naproxen to take swelling away. now the skin has turned red; the doctor told me to go back to the hospital if this happens, so back i go, this is the worst thing ever