Question: I am 53yrs. old & I have a very bad spine. From the cervical to lumbar. A couple of years ago I was experiencing really bad pain in my arms. I couldn't touch my arm. All I could do was cradle my arm lightly with my arm bent like it would be if in a sling. Then this morning it happened again. It was my left arm & I couldn't rub it or touch it without making the pain even more excruciating. I bend my arm as if it were in a sling because if I let it hang down it hurts worse. I have in the past tried sitting beside my bathtub & just using the shower head to see if that would help. It didn't. This morning I got up, took my dogs out for their walk & my left arm started hurting & as time went by, it hurts worse & worse. All I could do was sit on my couch, cradling my arm lightly, & gently rock back, crying ( and I'm not a cryer normally), praying it would stop soon. After approximately 30 min.'s the pain started to slowly subside. Now an hour & a half later the pain is better except that my left arm is sore & I can't pick anything with it. If I try to raise my arm over my head, my bicep hurts horrible & I can't lift it completely up. About 2 yrs. ago this would happen quite frequently, but it's not happened since until this morning. I have asked my dr. about it & one thinks it may be stemming from my cervical spine because my neck hurts all the time. Along with my thoracic & lumbar spine. I'm scheduled for an MRI on my lumbar spine April 24, this upcoming Fri. I was wondering if maybe I should try to get an MRI on my cervical spine also. I've not had on on my neck in probably 6 yrs. All I know is when this pain starts it is debilitating & hurts worse than most other pains. I always worry about what to do if it were to ever not stop hurting. I would definitely have to go to the ER & I do not like having to do that. Any ideas as to what this pain is & what should I do about it? Should I go to a specialist & if so, what kind? Thank you so much for your time!!
Sincerely, XXXX