numb arm and shoulder

[gina180]

I often, sometimes daily have a stiff left shoulder muscle and then after a short while I get shooting pains down my arm that make my arm numb and then my hand numb?  Does anyone know why or what I can do?

[Tuckamore]

Hi Gina,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum of MedHelp. I am sorry your arm is so painful. As Mollyrae said there are a multitude of conditions this could be related to.

She mentioned cardiac and certainly that would be the most serious and requires immediate attention. If you are having any other cardiac symptoms such as extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, perspiring or chest fullness you should seek medical evaluation immediately.

Your shoulder could be responding to a nasty carpel tunnel. I had shoulder pain and stiffness along with numbness and tingling from my shoulder to my fingers when I had carpel tunnel. You could also have a Synovitis,Tendinitis, Arthritis, Bursitis or a minor dislocation, an Impingement Syndrome, a Torn Rotator Cuff or other such shoulder problems.  There are just so many things this could be that to have it properly evaluated you will most likely require a CT or MRI as Mollyrae suggested.

Please let us know how you are doing. We will be watching for your next update. In the mean time I would try rest and ice(alternated with heat) and NSAID's unless contraindicated. I am not a physician this is only my opinion. Good luck to you and as always, Take Care, Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello Gina and welcome to Med Help.

Sorry to hear of this. Stiff sore shoulder can be many things. Have you seen a Doc? This as you know is your first move. I would suspect your experiencing some muscle and nerve issues with your shoulder. Sometimes this can be heart related as well. If you are young then I would not worry so much. Older women should seek care immediatly. I guess my advise is to make an appt. and have some imaging done like x-ray, scan or MRI. Take care and hope you resolve this issue.
Mollyrae