Pain in the left upper arm
introduction
Pain in the upper arms is very common and can be reported by patients different diseases have as the cause.
If the pain affects the left arm, this usually attracts special attention. The reason is that left-sided pain in the area of the upper arm can also be caused by heart involvement.
In the vast majority of cases, however, there is one for this other explanation. Cause particularly often muscular tension discomfort in the area of the upper arm.
Furthermore can also Signs of wear and tear of the shoulder joint be causative.
With the often occurring Osteoarthritis in the shoulder joint pain in the adjacent arm is also reported.
Muscular problems of the left upper arm are relatively easy to diagnose and distinguish from a heart attack as a cause, if direct intense physical exertion before the onset of pain or but Heavy physical work days beforehand was executed.
Especially unusual movements in the upper arm muscles can lead to drawing pain.
Because of this, the survey the timing, duration and origin of the complaints are particularly important. Also always have to Concomitant symptomswho could speak for a heart attack should be clarified.
So interpret symptoms like Shortness of breath, annihilation pain in the chest, palpitations and a drop in performance towards a heart involvement. In any case, a left arm pain should be indicated EKG can be made as primary diagnostics.
Read more about the here Symptoms of a heart attack
You can continue to have pain in your left arm too through bottlenecks arise that either muscular (so-called Myogelosis) or through Bony prominences are conditional.
By anatomical constrictions pressure is exerted on the upper arm pulling annoy exercised, which can lead to a pulling pain in the upper arm.
Bony constrictions can be caused by a X-ray image to be established. Whether a nerve is pinched at the level of the upper arm can be determined by a Measurement of the nerve conduction velocity to be found out at a Narrow point clearly reduced would.
Left arm pain from a heart attack
The heart is one of the main organs of the body. It is the engine that keeps the cycle going. The heart is a muscle and needs to be special well supplied with oxygen in order to be able to provide the highest performance every day.
The oxygen-rich blood reaches the so-called Coronary arteries down to the smallest heart muscle cells. These vessels branch out on the side of the heart and extend deep into it.
It comes through with a lot of people these days genetic components and one unhealthy lifestyle to a Narrowing of these blood vessels.
Read more on the subject at: Causes of Coronary Heart Disease
The connection between left arm pain and a heart attack is not yet fully understood, but it is assumed that a heartache is due to a Undersupply of the heart muscle tissue can be passed on to the left upper arm and cause discomfort there.
When an important coronary artery narrows, but at normal performance still enough blood can be pumped into the heart, notices the person concerned no complaints at rest. The constrictions can become so strong that the Blood flow is no longer sufficient under heavy loadsto reach even the smallest heart muscle cells.
This results in a Feeling of pressure in the chestthat occurs mainly during exercise. One then speaks of one Angina pectoris attackwho absolutely cardiologically clarified should be.
Symptoms like Shortness of breath, Annihilation pain in the chest, Racing heart and Drop in performance indicate cardiac involvement. In any case, a left arm pain should be indicated ECG as the primary diagnosis be made.
If the large blood vessels close completely, there is too little oxygen-rich blood for the heart, which is beating at rest, and it can no longer be adequately supplied.
This results in a Cardiac muscle cell death in the affected area. At this moment of acute occlusion of one or more coronary vessels in connection with the death of heart muscle cells, one speaks of an acute one Heart attack.
Although a heart attack is one of the most common diseases today and can be treated very well even by advanced medicine, an acute heart attack is always one life-threatening condition for many people, any help comes too late.
Due to the initial cardiological measures, however, it is now possible to treat the majority of the early diagnosed heart attacks in such a way that the patients can continue to live without major restrictions. Today in all cardiology centers a Cardiac catheter technology applied to the so-called Stents be placed in the narrowed coronary artery.
It used to be next to the Lysis treatment, in which the clogged vessel was opened again by the administration of blood-thinning medication, including the Bypass surgery everyday treatment measure.
Today, thanks to the stent procedure, bypass surgery is only necessary if no stent can be safely placed in the narrowed vessel.
Illustration causes of pain in the left arm
Left arm pain
- Stair muscle -
M. Scalenus - Arm nerve plexus -
Brachial plexus - Bursa -
Subacromial bursa - Shoulder joint -
Articulatio humeri - Upper arm shaft -
Corpus humeri - Pectoralis major
Pectoralis major muscle - Upper arm artery -
Brachial artery - Two-headed upper arm muscle
(Biceps), short head -
M. biceps brachii, caput breve - Two-headed upper arm muscle
(Biceps), long head -
M. biceps brachii, caput longum - Arm vein - Brachial vein
- Elbow joint - Articulatio cubiti
- Radial artery - Radial artery
- Ulnar artery - Ulnar artery
- Spoke nerve - Radial nerve
- Median arm nerve - Median nerve
- Ellen's nerve - Ulnar nerve
- Collarbone - Clavicle
- Right ventricle -
Ventriculus dexter - Left ventricle -
Ventriculus sinister
causes
A - muscle inflammation
B - entrapment of a nerve
C - bursitis
D - osteoarthritis
(Joint disease, joint wear and tear)
E - thrombosis
(Formation of a blood clot)
F - inflammation of the superficial
Veins
G - heart attack (myocardial infarction)
You can find an overview of all Dr-Gumpert images at: medical illustrations
Pain in the upper arm on the left outside
Pain that radiates outward into the left upper arm or is localized there at certain points can theoretically be caused by an occluded coronary artery.
In order to distinguish whether it is a heart attack or a more muscular problem, the anamnesis is also particularly important here.
Here it is found out whether the patient has accompanying complaints such as shortness of breath or pressure on the chest, whether they have had a heart attack before or whether they or their family are known to have heart diseases.
Finally, the question should not be left out whether he was doing heavy work with his left arm before the symptoms began, or whether the patient was making an unfamiliar movement. This would rather suggest a local cause in the sense of a muscle hardening or strain.
Read more on the subject at: Muscle strain
The deltoid muscle runs on the outside left of the upper arm (Deltoid muscle). This muscle is responsible for the lateral movement of the arm. If this movement was carried out more frequently before the symptoms began, this does not speak in favor of cardiac involvement as the triggering cause.
Nerves that run in the area of the left upper arm can also be compressed by muscles or protruding bones and lead to painful pulling on the left outer upper arm.
The examiner can use relatively simple methods to find out whether the left-sided, external upper arm pain is more of a muscular problem or a heart problem.
First, the patient is asked to move the arm forwards, backwards and to the side independently. If this increases the pain, it suggests a muscular cause. Usually the deltoid is affected here.
In the next step, the examiner will ask the patient to raise the arm sideways against resistance (most of the time the examiner pushes against the hanging arm while the patient tries to raise the arm).
If the patient then reports an increase in pain, it is more likely to be a muscle problem.
Mostly it is a strain or an overload of the deltoid muscle.
Read more on the subject at: Pain in the outer upper arm
Pain in the upper arm on the left inside
Localized pain on the Inside of the upper arm almost always result from muscular problems in this area.
A heart problem would be more like one diffuse appearance into the entire left upper arm.
Parts of the biceps and Triceps also radiate into the left inner side of the upper arm. Heavy physical work combined with lifting or turning movements can lead to a strain in the area of the upper arm. The resulting pain is usually indicated locally on the inside of the left upper arm. A Radiation towards the shoulder or forearm mostly found in this case Not instead of.
A violation of the Triceps muscle can too Pain in the back of the upper arm to lead.
Read more on the subject at: Back upper arm pain
If the examiner lets the arm move against resistance and this can increase the pain, this indicates a muscular problem in the area of the upper arm.
A heart cause would lead to diffuse and radiating pain in the upper arm, but it could not be aggravated by movement.
In any case, it should if the causes of arm pain are unclear, regardless of the location EKG of the heart be carried out to a Heart attack cannot be overlooked.
Pain in the upper arm at night
Nocturnal and sudden shooting pains in the left upper arm, which were previously unknown, are highly suspect and should Medically clarified quickly become.
Especially if there are accompanying complaints, like Shortness of breath, pressure on the chest, racing heart, annihilation pain in the chest and fear of death comes, the cause should be clarified.
Here a heart problem can be the cause and it is not uncommon for a nightly and sudden pain to appear Heart attack out that needs emergency treatment.
Nocturnal pain in the left upper arm is always of a stronger nature, because otherwise the person affected would not be woken up by it.
But you can also continue Sprains, muscular strains and Nerve irritation stuck behind the suddenly shooting upper arm pain.
In deep sleep it can also happen that extremely unnoticed unphysiological positions be taken, which can then lead to a pressure or kinking of the muscular parts of the upper horn.
Also can annoy of the upper arm are squeezed by a certain posture and thus lead to severe pain.
As soon as the person concerned has awakened from the pain on the left side and has resumed their normal position, the pain should go away very quickly. After one or two days at the latest, the person concerned should not notice anything.
If the pain does not decrease significantly or if it even worsens over time, cardiac involvement must be excluded.
To treat muscular problems of the upper arm, a treatment attempt with ice packs or anti-inflammatory pain gels to be undertaken.
It is important, however, that a Heart attack or a Angina pectoris attack (Narrowing of the blood vessels in the heart muscle) has been ruled out medically by an EKG.
If it is not a heart attack and cooling and anti-inflammatory measures do not help, the shoulder should be x-rayed be to a degenerative change of the shoulder bone as a cause.
