Pain

Published on 23/05/2015 by admin

Filed under Internal Medicine

Last modified 23/05/2015

Print this page

This article have been viewed 960 times

Arm Pain

This section deals with pain in the upper limb unrelated to joint pains. The majority of causes of arm pain are related to either neurological or vascular lesions. Musculoskeletal causes of arm pain are covered in the chapter on Joint Disorders (p. 267).

Causes

Cervical Lesions

• Disc lesion (Fig. 4)

• Cervical spondylosis

• Syringomyelia

• Infection, e.g. osteitis, TB

• Spinal cord

• Vertebral bodies

Figure 4 A trans-axial image showing a right-sided acute disc bulge at C6–C7 level, which is compressing the C7 nerve root in the exit foramen (arrow).
The patient will experience pain in the right arm radiating into the middle finger (dermatomal distribution of C7) and weakness of extension of the elbow (weak triceps-myotomal distribution of C7). There will be a reduced or absent triceps reflex.

Brachial Plexus

• Cervical rib

• Malignant infiltration, e.g. Pancoast’s tumour

• Thoracic inlet syndrome

Vascular Lesions

• Myocardial ischaemia (left arm)

• Axillary venous thrombosis

• Subclavian artery stenosis

• Arterial thrombosis

Others

• Repetitive strain injury

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Peripheral neuropathy

• Bone tumours

Buy Membership for Internal Medicine Category to continue reading. Learn more here

Related

Churchills Pocketbook of Differential Diagnosis