Right forearm pain
introduction
The causes of forearm pain can be diverse be, but are in most cases on one Incorrect or overloading attributed to the muscles. The pain is mostly caused by manual workers or athletes Consequence of mechanical stress of hands or forearms. It is not uncommon for chronic pain to make it difficult or even impossible to practice a profession or pursue sporting goals.
Please also read the following article: Torn muscle fiber of the forearm
A thorough diagnosis and adherence to the therapy plan, which in some cases also includes complete protection of the extremities, are at the center of successful therapy. Often arise exercise-related pain the forearms on the side that puts more stress on the individual, i.e. on the right side for right-handers and on the left for left-handers.
In this chapter we want to focus on right forearm pain. Something less common than the overuse of the forearm can Diseases of the shoulder joint, of the Cervical spine or even the internal organs Cause pain in the right forearm. When diagnosing a disease is also from the rheumatic Take shape circle into consideration.
Overview of possible diseases
We start with the stress-related diseases of the right forearm, which of course are more common in right-handers than left-handers.
A well-known disease that causes pain in the forearm is tendinitis, known as tendovaginitis in medical terminology. A tendon sheath is the sheath that surrounds a tendon, gives it gliding ability and guarantees wear-free work. However, the protection system does not work properly under all conditions and is sometimes overburdened in the case of high and non-physiological loads. In particular, prolonged use of computers or tools, but also during certain types of sport or extensive playing of musical instruments, can lead to inflammation of the tendon sheaths and thus movement-dependent pain in the forearm and local swelling and redness.
The cause of tendinitis is usually a long-lasting and previously unfamiliar stress, such as occurs when starting a new sport or learning a new musical instrument. In times of intensive use of smartphones, a clinical picture, the so-called SMS thumb, which is an inflammation of the first tendon compartment, occurs particularly frequently.
Other stress-related diseases that can be accompanied by pain in the forearm are tennis elbow and golfer's elbow as well as olecranon bursitis. In these diseases, the pain radiates from the elbow to the forearm. The mentioned clinical pictures will be discussed in more detail later.
As you get older, you are more likely to have another form of exercise-related pain, called osteoarthritis. This is a condition characterized by excessive wear and tear on the joint surfaces, which is accompanied by symptoms of joint pain, swelling and stiffness. The wear and tear is favored by persistent and intensive stress on a joint, incorrect posture and misalignments, such as those that occur after healed bone fractures.
Inflammatory processes in the context of chronic joint inflammation are called arthritis. Joint inflammation, as it occurs in rheumatoid arthritis, a disease from the rheumatic group, can affect almost every joint in the body and cause pain in the forearm. Rheumatoid arthritis should be considered if, in addition to the joints of the forearm, other joints are affected and redness and swelling of the affected parts of the body occur.
If pain in the forearm occurs as a result of strong forces, a fracture of one of the two forearm bones ulna and radius or the wrist should be considered. Since bone fractures are usually associated with severe pain and bruises as well as significant restrictions on movement, it is at least easy to suspect a fracture. It must be followed up promptly with suitable radiological imaging.
The most common broken bone in humans is the fracture of the radius near the wrist. It occurs especially when falling on the stretched hand. The radial head fracture, another common fracture, is mostly the result of catching a fall with an outstretched elbow. This breaks the radial head, that is, the part of the spoke near the elbow that is involved in the formation of the elbow joint.
Read more about this under Radial head fracture
Fractions of middle part of the forearm are less common and usually occur in the event of massive violence, for example in the context of a traffic accident. In the so-called Parrying fracture it is such a fracture of the middle forearm. Here the ulna and radius are often involved at the same time. The parrying fracture is a defensive injury and occurs when defending against impacts from, for example, baseball bats or the like.
Read about this too Forearm fracture
Other injuries that can cause pain after applying force to the forearm are Strains the forearm muscles, Bruises or Sprains of the joints involved (wrist, elbow joint).
Read about this too Muscle strain, contusion, sprain
Organ diseases are rarely the cause of pain in the right arm. This point will be explained in more detail below.
Pain after localization
Outside pain - tennis elbow
Pain on the outside of the right forearm comes primarily from three muscle groups that are responsible for the movement of the hand and elbow. These are the long extensor muscles of the wrist and the fingers, as well as the flexor muscles of the elbow. These muscle parts run on the outside of the forearm and can cause discomfort when overloaded, which can be aggravated by certain movements such as rotating the wrist or forearm, flexing the fingers and stretching the elbow joint.
Overloading of the outer forearm muscles occurs in right-handed people mostly in the right arm and is favored, for example, by static holding work, as occurs when carrying heavy weights such as boxes or filled buckets and cans.
Furthermore, incorrect posture on the computer keyboard can lead to pain on the outside of the forearm. If the position of the keyboard is set too high compared to the height of the body, the wrists kink and as a result an unnaturally cramped posture of the same, which strains the extensor muscles of the wrist.
When cycling, the wrists can be held in a similar unphysiological, i.e. unnatural position. The saddle position must be adjusted here if necessary.
Pain radiating from the outer side of the elbow into the forearm can indicate a so-called tennis elbow
Read more about this under Tennis elbow
Pain on the inside
Pain on the inside of the right forearm is often due to three other muscle groups: The Finger flexors, the Wrist flexors and the Turning muscles of the forearm, also called rotators. Tense finger flexors hurt especially when stretching the fingers.
Overloading this muscle group is mostly the result of a long grip, as is the case with Carrying heavy suitcases or bags, when doing housework or during long and strenuous work with the computer mouse. The wrist flexors are used primarily with static holding work as it is done with biceps curls in the gym on dumbbells and bars. Carrying heavy weights and working with flexed wrists also put a strain on the wrist flexors.
Overstrained muscles hurt when stretching the wrist. The rotators of the forearm are used for turning movements. This includes working with the Screwdriving, and turning on threads or taps. Tense rotators hurt when turning the forearm.
If the inside of the forearm hurts when the thumb is stretched, a so-called Mobile phone- or SMS thumb be the cause. The long extensor muscle of the thumb is used when typing on the keyboard or touchscreen and can overload if the cell phone is used excessively.
At Right handedwho do a lot of work with their stronger hand, discomfort occurs accordingly on the right side more often.
Pain on top
Pain on the top of the forearm is usually caused by the muscle groups that are in the section outside / outside were dealt with. Please read the relevant section for this (see above: Pain on the outside)
Pain in the elbow
The tennis elbow is a chronic inflammatory condition of the insertion of the forearm muscles on the lateral humeral epicondyle, the lateral humerus, which is a few centimeters outside of the elbow.
In golfers' elbows, the place of inflammation is the epicondyle medialis humeri, the middle humerus bone a few centimeters above the elbow on the inside. With both diseases, there is sometimes severe pressure pain in the affected region, often radiating into the forearm, which can be increased by activating the forearm muscles, for example, when closing or opening a fist.
It is assumed that an overload of the forearm muscles, as occurs, for example, when incorrectly practicing punch sports (tennis, golf) or when using computers or carving tools, is responsible for the development of the diseases.
Read more about the following articles:
- Tennis elbow
and - Golfer's elbow
Olecranial bursitis, an inflammation of the elbow bursa, was sometimes called student elbow in the past, because it is promoted by supporting the elbow, as occurs when writing on a desk pad. Here, too, overloading parts of the arm leads to pain in the elbow area, which can radiate far into the forearm. All of the diseases mentioned here are more likely to occur in the arm that is subject to greater stress in the activities listed. For the right-hander, this means that tennis and golfer's elbows as well as olecranon bursitis tend to occur on the right side.
Forearm pain as a symptom of a heart attack
A life threatening condition that can cause arm pain is the Heart attack. One speaks of a heart attack when it is Occlusion of one of the coronary vessels to a Undersupply of the heart muscles with blood and thus with oxygen comes. The consequence is a restricted pumping function of the heart muscle combined with the great risk of sudden cardiac arrest. The main symptoms of a heart attack are sudden and severe chest pain radiate into the left arm, plus dizziness, nausea, sweats and fear of death.
However, these symptoms do not have to occur in every case. Even large heart attacks can only express themselves through a number of other, sometimes much less pronounced symptoms. These include pain in the lower jaw, upper abdominal pain, back pain or shoulder pain. There is pain in the right forearm as part of a heart attack rather Rare. The heart attack, however, is a chimera: as made clear above, the most varied of complaints can occur with highly variable intensity. Even if the radiation of pain to the right arm is rather untypical, severe, sudden pain that radiates over the entire right arm into the forearm should be carried out immediately consulted a doctor become.
Please also read the article on the topic Heart attack
Another disease of the internal organs, the pain of which can radiate into the right arm, is Biliary colic. This disorder usually goes with intense, cramping pain of the right upper abdomen, as well as nausea and vomiting.
Please also read the article on the topic Gallstone disease
