I'm Concerned About Some Left Arm And Shoulder Pain .

Posted on Tue, 1 Dec 2020

Question: I'm concerned about some left arm and shoulder pain. Last night (about 14 hours ago) I was taking off my jacket and got sudden and intense pain in my left shoulder. The pain is right along the outside of my lower shoulder blade and wraps around to the front and sometimes shoots down to the elbow or wrist. It hurts more with a deep breath but can be mostly eliminated by lying in certain positions. I'm not sure if I should be concerned about a serious problem or if this is just a muscle issue. I've been using my pulse oximeter and my heart rate and blood oxygen are normal.

Answered by Dr. Heang Chan Raksmey (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Because the pain that you have is not a typical symptom for heart infarction you can try pain killer medicine

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question. Hope I can be of help for you today. Shoulder pain radiation to the elbow and wrist can be caused by a pinched nerve that comes from cervical radiculopathy this may cause you pain that radiates into the shoulder and or arm you may also have muscle weakness and numbness. Tendonitis or impingement syndrome is also common. It is related to shoulder bursitis and rotator cuff tendinitis. You said you got pain after taking off the jacket and it seems that it is caused by the wrong position. Because the pain that you have is not a typical symptom for heart infarction you can try pain killer medicine such as non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs) if not improve you can see a physiotherapist.

I hope that I can help you, and please let me know if you have any clarification or question about that, and I would be welcome to discuss it with you further. I Hope your son has good health.

Best regards,
Dr. Heang Chan Raksmey, General and Family Physician

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T