Arm Pain

[jbaisch08]

My friend fell on my arm two years ago and since then I have had persisting elbow pain. I also have mess severe wrist pain and about a year after the incident my shoulder started hurting too. I have had cortisone injections, x-rays, MRI's, nerve conduction test, bone scan, and took gabbapentin with no help. All test have come back normal and the doctor's still have no idea what is wrong even though I have been to arm specialists. Ice/heat and ibuprofen don't help. Do you have any insight on what could be wrong?

[jbaisch08]

Thank you very much... I will check and see if we have any of those... I am scheduling an appointment with my new doctor soon, I hope something will be found then.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Joseph,

I am sorry you are having so much pain in your arm. Pain can be so life altering and you are so young to have such horrid pain.

An MRI most certainly will diagnosis a tendon or a ligament injury. I am at a loss as to what could have happened when your friend fell on your arm. It sounds like your physicians have performed all the diagnostic procedures that should have revealed an injury to your arm. Trauma to an arm will normally result in with a sprain, strain or fracture. These can usually be diagnosed without a lot of difficulty.

You could be have suffered a severe sprain and they can take a long time to heal. On occasion a sprain can have other complications. However these are usually seen on an MRI. An arm sprain occurs when the ligaments are stretched or sometimes torn. Ligaments are strong fibrous bands that hold the bones in place during movement. Sprains occur when the joint moves beyond the normal range of motion. But again this should be healed after two years.

Your pain is now considered chronic and should be evaulated in depth. So I think your condition may require some thinking out of the box. Arm pain, strangely enough, is sometimes not a symptom of something wrong with the arm, but a problem in the cervical spine (neck). Neck problems can affect the shoulders, arms, and even hands. These problems can be caused by wear and tear over the years, trauma, or simply "over-doing-it" one weekend. It is possible that when your friend fell on your arm you experienced a cervical injury without knowing it. And I could be 100% wrong.

There are a multitude of possibilities. I don't know the laws in your state. In my state I would recommend that you request a referral to a Pain Management Clinic.They do a multi-disciplinary team approach and conduct thorough examinations. It's usually completed over an entire day. If your state has these type of clinic I highly suggest that you make an appointment asap. If your state does not have these type of clinics that I suggest you seek out the best ortho in your area. Usually clinics attached to large teaching hospitals will have  some of the best diagnosticians.  

Best of luck to you. I will be very interested in learning how you are progressing. Please keep in touch and I'll look forward to your updates. Take Care, Tuck

[jbaisch08]

Yeah, I was being looked at for that kind of damage earlier on, but they didn't find anything. Thank you so much for your insight. I am going to be talking to a new doctor soon.
Have a jolly season!
Joseph

[Mollyrae]

Hello jbaisch and welcome to the Pain Forum:

Sorry to hear of the constant pain your suffering with. There are no Doctors in the pain forum, only others who suffer from chronic pain like myself who give advise. It sounds like you've had all the tests that one could have. I would suggest a fresh set of eyes. Find another Doctor who isn't familiar with you...sometimes it takes an entirely different Doc to diagnose a problem. You might want to have your tests repeated. It is also possible that you have ligament or tendon damage. This kind of damage is not seen on x-rays, MRI's or any imaging the Doc might do. Has the Doctor ever mentioned damage like I have mentioned here?
I'm sorry that I don't have much advise for you. Just keep at the Doc's...Please take care and have a wonderful holiday season.
Mollyrae