What Causes Intermittent Pain In Right Arm?

Posted on Fri, 23 Jan 2015

Question: I have pain in my right arm, been a few weeks off and on. I'm sure it's from physical labour clearing trees and brush, by hand alot of the time. Now it's constant, bad when I just move my arm, much worse when I lift anything. I'm sure I've torn something and just keep re-injuring it (I'm not very patient with my body aches and pain). My wife says I should see my doctor, but I think she'll just say to rest it until it heals, so DON'T USE IT (my doctor knows me well). Should I see my doctor or just smarten up and rest it; and, what can I do for the pain?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (16 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Muscle sprain or a muscle fibers tear.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for your query.

The pain that you have is likely to be due to a muscle sprain or a muscle fibers tear due to an injury or exertion. Since the pain is persistent for last couple of weeks it needs to be investigated. MRI scan is the investigation of choice to detect any such soft tissue abnormalities. You need to consult your doctor for proper evaluation.

In the meanwhile, for symptomatic relief:
1. Give enough rest to your hand and arm muscle.
2. Take mild pain killers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
3. Stronger prescription NSAIDS with muscle relaxants may help if simple analgesics do not help.
4. Hot compresses to your arm will be useful pain relieving measure. You may apply a local analgesic gel on that area.

I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query.

Take care

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