Arm Pain

Why does my arm hurt?

Arm pain can be a very mild experience or an extremely painful one. Arm pain can even be life-threatening as it can be associated with symptoms of a heart attack (myocardial infarction). In instances of a heart attack, other symptoms other than arm pain may be difficulty breathing, pressure on or around the chest area, and nausea. More often, arm pain is caused by an injury to the skin, muscles, joints, or bones in the arm. Arm injuries can happen from playing sports, performing manual labor duties, repetitive overuse, trauma, and improper exercise technique. The symptoms that can accompany arm pain will depend on the cause.

Possible symptoms for arm pain:

• arm redness
• stiffness in the arm
• swelling in the arm
• swollen lymph nodes under the arm
• tingling in the arm
• numbness in the arm
• sharp pain in the arm
• arm muscle weakness
• pain with gripping / grasping

Other instances of arm pain can be a result of any number of factors including skin injuries, muscle strain, nerve injuries, nerve damage, joint injuries or fractures or injury of the skin, nerves, bones, joints, blood vessels, and soft tissues of the arm.

Possible reasons for arm pain:

• Skin injury on the arm
• Pinched nerves in the arm
• Nerve damage in the arm
• Arm sprains
• Elbow tendonitis
• Wrist Tendonitis
• Rotator cuff injury
• Broken bones in the arm
• Rheumatoid arthritis in the arm joints
• Angina
• Torn tendon in the arm or bicep
• Ruptured bicep tendon
• Growth plate inflammation
• Golfer’s elbow
• Tennis elbow
• Little League Elbow

Schedule your arm physical therapy appointment today with a physical therapist at an Ivy Rehab clinic near you! Learn more about stretching exercises and soft tissue massage techniques that will help speed up your recovery.