Symptom: Arm pain

Introduction: Arm pain

Arm pain: Pain or discomfort of one or both arms. See free access online books about Arm pain below. See detailed information below for a list of 123 causes of Arm pain, including diseases and drug side effect causes.

» Review Causes of Arm pain: full list

Causes of Arm pain:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Arm pain. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Hand pain
• Wrist pain
• Wrist injury - can cause pain in the wrist and forearm
• Arm paresthesias
• Elbow pain
• Muscle fatigue (see Muscle weakness)
• Arm injury
• Forearm injury
• Forearm pain
• Arm trauma (see Arm symptoms)
• Arthritis
• Some causes of upper arm pain:
  • Upper arm injury (type of Arm injury)
  • Bicep injury
  • Bicipital tendinitis
  • Shoulder tendinitis
  • Heart attack - a heat attack can cause not only chest pain, but also pain radiating down an arm (usually the left arm).
• Neck disk prolapse
• Spondylosis
• Syringomyelia
• Fracture dislocation
• Post-herpetic neuralgia
• Radiculitis
• Paralytic radiculitis
• Viral radiculitis
• Neuralgic amyotrophy
• Spinal abscess
• Tuberculous spinal abscess
• Brucella spinal abscess
• Pyogenic spinal abscess

See full list of 123 causes of Arm pain

» Review Causes of Arm pain: full list

Causes of Types of Arm pain:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Arm pain:

• Forearm pain (19 causes)
• Upper arm pain (20 causes)

See full list of 22 types for Arm pain

Arm pain: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Arm pain, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Arm pain: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Arm pain and Pain (58 causes)
• Arm pain and Nerve symptoms (57 causes)
• Arm pain and Sensations (57 causes)
• Arm pain and Arm symptoms (44 causes)
• Arm pain and Limb symptoms (44 causes)
• Arm pain and Weakness (30 causes)
• Arm pain and Swelling symptoms (28 causes)
• Arm pain and Movement symptoms (26 causes)
• Arm pain and Paresthesias (24 causes)
• Arm pain and Numbness (22 causes)
• Arm pain and Muscle weakness (21 causes)
• Arm pain and Head symptoms (21 causes)
• Arm pain and Muscle symptoms (20 causes)
• Arm pain and Leg pain (19 causes)
• Arm pain and Digestive symptoms (18 causes)
• Arm pain and Leg symptoms (18 causes)
• Arm pain and Shoulder pain (17 causes)
• Arm pain and Fever (17 causes)
• Arm pain and Stiffness (16 causes)
• Arm pain and Back symptoms (15 causes)

See full list of 710 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Arm pain

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Pain (3014 causes)
• Arm symptoms (1076 causes)
• Sensations (3186 causes)
• Nerve symptoms (3495 causes)
• Common symptoms (4555 causes)
• Limb symptoms (1032 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Arm pain

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Arm pain:

• Arm symptoms (1076 causes)
• Wrist symptoms (29 causes)
• Hand symptoms (861 causes)
• Wrist pain (34 causes)
• Hand pain (58 causes)
• Elbow pain (32 causes)
• Swollen arm (25 causes)
• Arm numbness (58 causes)
• Elbow symptoms (52 causes)
• Wrist symptoms (29 causes)
• Arm pain (123 causes)
• Upper arm pain (20 causes)
• Forearm pain (19 causes)
• Finger pain (39 causes)
• Arm injury
• Arm tingling (58 causes)
• Finger symptoms (770 causes)
• Forearm symptoms
• Upper arm symptoms

Diagnostic Guides for Arm pain

Medical Books Excerpts Read excerpts from published book sections related to Arm pain from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Arm pain. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Arm pain

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Misdiagnosis and Arm pain

Leg cramps at night a classic sign: The symptom of having leg muscle cramps, particularly at night, is a classic sign of undiagnosed diabetes. However, there are also various other causes. See causes of leg cramps or misdiagnosis of diabetes....read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis)....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Arm pain

Diagnostic tests for Arm pain:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Arm pain. Some of these are listed below :

• General appearance - looking for bruising, deformity of arm, swelling of the arm, abnormal posture of body, muscle wasting, abnormal arm movements.
• Physical examination
  • May be necessary to examine a variety of joints including the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow , wrists and the various joints of the hand
  • Test muscle tone, power, reflexes and co-ordination of upper limbs
  • Test sensation of upper limbs ( including pain , touch , temperature and vibration sensation)

See full list of 22 diagnostic tests for Arm pain

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Arm pain. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you noticed pain in your arm? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• What area(s) of the arm is affected by the pain? - To determine if local or generalized pain and to determine if arm joints may be involved.
• Is the hand also affected by the pain?
• Are both arms affected and is it symmetrical? - helps determine which nerves may be affected e.g. painful peripheral neuropathy is symmetrical compared with individual nerve or nerve root disease which should be suspected if pain is asymmetrical or confined to one limb.
• Is there a time of day when arm pain is worse? - can help determine the cause of arm pain e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome wakes the person in the middle of the night ; cervical spondylitis wakes the person with pain and stiffness that persists well into the day; people with thoracic outlet syndrome find it difficult to fall asleep due to pain.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Arm pain (47 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Arm pain) may include:

• Arm paresthesia? - if also paresthesia in the involved extremity this usually suggests herniated cervical disc , spinal cord tumor or cervical spondylosis. Other conditions to consider are brachial plexus neuropathy, thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical rib, Pancoast's tumor, Raynaud's disease, sympathetic dystrophy or various entrapment syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow.
• Arm weakness?
• Neck pain? - pain originating from disorders from the neck can transmit to distal parts of the arm.
• Shoulder pain? - pain originating from disorders form the shoulder joint do not usually extend below the elbow.
• Chest pain? - angina or heart attack must be considered as a cause of arm pain , especially for pain experienced down the inner left arm.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Arm pain (47 listings)

Stories from Users for Arm pain

Real-life user stories relating to Arm pain:

• arm pain after sneezing
• Palpitations, inner left arm pain
• Joint Pain plus red lumps / bumps / spots on my legs and arms...getting worse!
• Severe Arm Pain in Both Arms
• Help: Young but Hurting
• severe forearm pain & spasms right arm
• headaches, back pain, red spots on hands and arms
• weird feeling
• does anyone feel the way i do?
• Arm pit lumph
• really hurting.
• Hurting real Bad.
• Arm Pain
• Is this how everyone feels?
• Right shoulder pain (+ arm, wrist, neck)
• An Uneasy Feeling..
• Pain mainly in left arm
• Severe shoulder pain, arm weakness
• is back or neck pain causing this horrible arm pain/numbness?
• Severe Arm Pain!

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Arm pain or relevant symptoms:

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (171)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Hand numbness
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • Anxiety and high BP
  • More user stories
• Musculoskeletal (Muscles, joints and bones) (405)
  • Joint and muscular pain after taking chantix
  • Arm pain after sneezing
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Joint swelling, stiffness, severe foot pain
  • Muscle twitches/spasms
  • More user stories
• Neurological (Nerves) (357)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Tingling/numbness in arms/hands/legs/face/head [more symptoms]
  • Eye twitch
  • Essential tremor
  • More user stories
• Allergic/Immunologic (88)
  • Chronic hives
  • Spontaneous flushing and redness of face and body.
  • Non-stop itching, no rash
  • Swelling & itching
  • Problems with my scalp can anyone help me
  • More user stories

Videos for Arm pain

Patient Surveys for Arm pain

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Medications or substances causing Arm pain:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Arm pain as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Thalidomide
• Thalomid
• Tamsulosin
• Flomax
• Stavudine

See full list of 29 medications causing Arm pain

Organs affected by Arm pain:

The list of organs typically affected by Arm pain may include, but is not limited to:

• Arm
• Arm muscles
• Arm nerves
• Bone

Detailed list of causes of Arm pain

The list below shows some of the causes of Arm pain mentioned in various sources:

• Acute intermittent porphyria - arm pain
• Algodystrophy
• Angina - pain extends down left arm
• Arm fracture - arm pain
• Arm injury

See full list of 123 causes of Arm pain

How Common are these Causes of Arm pain?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Arm pain. Of the 123 causes of Arm pain that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 1 causes are "very common" diseases
• 9 causes are "common" diseases
• 0 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 0 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 117 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 123 causes of Arm pain

Conditions listing symptoms: Arm pain:

The following list of conditions have 'Arm pain' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Arm pain Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Arm pain based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: