What Causes Swelling On The Left Arm?

Posted on Sat, 10 Sep 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 10 Sep 2016 Answered on

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My left arm is noticeably bigger than my right arm. There is pain in the upper forearm, lower bicep and shoulder, especially when there is weight applied. I use it everyday so it's definitely not an issue of just not using it. I have neck and lower back pain everyday, more so when I'm at work. plus I have the "slumped shoulder" posture. Any suggestions as to what exactly is causing the possible atrophy in my right arm??

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Cervical prolapsed discs/ canal stenosis.

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thanks for your query.
To recapitulate: male/32 - atrophy in right arm - pain as described - neck, upper forearm, lower biceps, shoulder, lower back - more so when at work - slumped shoulder posture - wants to know cause ...
With the history you have provided, the obvious cause is related to the cervical spine like:
Cervical prolapsed disc/s
Canal stenosis

This can be diagnosed by:
- Clinical evaluation and examination.
- MRI of the cervical spine

I hope this answers your query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar