What Causes Pain And Restriction In Movement Of Left Hand?

Posted on Tue, 10 Feb 2015

Question: Hello, I'm having pains on left chest that spreads to my shoulder and back since yesterday evening. I can hardly make use of my left hand because it's quite uncomfortable. What could this be? I'm 4 weeks postpartum by the way.

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Thromboembolia to be ruled out as following...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I am sorry for the situation you are in.

The pain and limitation in movement of your left hand are related to possible muscular skeletal issues.

However, as you are 4 weeks postpartum, pulmonary thromboembolism is to excluded first. Postpartumis a condition with a high risk of developing trombosis and pulmonary embolism should be ruled out.

If you were my patient i would recommend to go on emergency department. Pulmonary embolism should be excluded by:
- ECG
- chest X-ray?
- D-dimer test

You can take:
- acetaminophen for the pain
- apply warm compresses to the pain-area
- apply local analgesics

Hope it was of help!
Dr.Benard

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

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