Suggest Treatment For Neck Pain With Shooting Pain In The Hand

Posted on Tue, 12 Jul 2016

Question: I am a 47 yr old female in relatively good health. I have been having pain in my right shoulder, neck, arm, elbow, wrist and hand for about 4 weeks. I thought it was a pulled muscle -- it mainly just ached for the first two weeks, but the symptoms have gotten progressively worse. Now I have numbness in my thumb and first 3 fingers, shooting pain in my wrist and elbow, and a pins and needles sensation in my arm. Also, the muscle ach feeling has not gone away. The pain is getting worse by the day, and is extremely painful at night to the point where I cannot sleep. I have been taking 800 mg of Motrin, applying heat, and manually massaging the arm/wrist/hand. Only temporary and partial relief is achieved; the pain is constant. This is greatly affecting my ability to do my day-to-day work, and is also making me lean toward a depressive state of mind mentally. I had a hemorrhagic stroke on the right side of my brain 10 years ago, but never experienced symptoms like this before. There has been no injury to this arm/wrist/shoulder, so I have no idea why I am experiencing this pain. What could be causing these symptoms? How do I treat it?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (19 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Cervical spondylosis likely.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Stiff neck with shooting pain in shoulder, elbow, wrist with numbness in the fingers is suggestive of a nerve root compression at the cervical vertebral level due to degenerative disc changes or cervical spondylosis. It happens primarily due to degenerative changes secondary to age in the cervical spine. Past neck injury may also contribute to the degeneration.

X-ray of neck in lateral view or MRI will help in the diagnosis.

Treatment includes
1. Use of cervical collar helps in immobilisation and brings relief.
2. Medical drugs like pain killers - acetaminophen/ibuprofen and muscle relaxants might be helpful.
3. Methylcobalamin supplements are also recommended for nerve compression symptoms.
4. Cervical isometric exercises are beneficial to maintain the strength of the neck muscles. Neck and upper back stretching exercises, as well as light aerobic activities, also are recommended under the guidance of a physical therapist.
5. Hot fomentation helps in relieving acute symptoms.
6. You can avoid using a pillow.

As you try these measures, I also encourage you to consult an orthopedician for both evaluation and to avail stronger prescription medications (if over the counter medications are not helpful).
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

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

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