Severe upper arm pain

Posted , 22 users are following.

Have had Frozen Shoulder now for a few months in my left arm . Anyone else find they had more pain in their upper Arm? . My shoulder was painful in first month but it's more stiff now . It's the pain in my arm around the biceps that especially on movement is severe . Is this normal ? I hear a lot about pain in shoulder but not in arm . 😞😞

3 likes, 39 replies

39 Replies

Next
  • Posted

    Hi Teresa yes that is where the pain transfers to its all in the band from the shoulder to the elbow, ask your physio for an exercise for it, mine gave me one and it works.
    • Posted

      Hi Dee not going to physio till Dec . Do you think this pain will last long . I could cry at times . I wish I hadn't gone to osteopath it's just got worse . I feel like that is all I do is moan these days x😞😞

    • Posted

      Hi Dee. Any chance of sharing the exercise that works for you? If hard to explain maybe a name for it so we can search for a video clip of it. Thanks in advance.

    • Posted

      You need to get to physio or look on line for exercises to do because I truly believe that the more you exercise the quicker the recovery but those exercises should not involve a lot of pain.

      Another thing you can do is find the muscle that is causing the pain and you can feel it go from the top of your shoulder down to your biceps, when you feel the area where the pain is massage it across and not along. This is called cross fibre massage, it may be a bit sore but this pain is ok to feel, do that for about 10 Min then put a heat pack on it. If I can find the exercise that I use to get rid of it I'll let you know.

    • Posted

      I can't find the exercise but basically you use your sore arm and hold it up as far as you can to pretend your showing how big your biceps are like body builders or show off's do, then with your opposite hand you hold the other hand and slowly pull the other arm down from the albow only not the whole arm and keep repeating, you won't feel this in the bicep but in the forearm. I hope I've described it ok 💪 this is how you hold your sore arm but only leaver down from your elbow using your other hand to hold this hand, you will find an even better stretch using the middle finger being pulled down. This has helped me alot. Hope it makes sense

    • Posted

      I've just explained it in this thread I hope it makes sense. The stretch you feel from it is in your forearm but for some reason it helps with the pain in your biceps tendon

    • Posted

      Thanks Dee. That description gave me a good laugh. The "show offs" bit.

      That is a good exercise and I have seen a slight alternative to that for those that find it difficult to raise their arm like the show offs smile

      Lie on your side on a bed or floor with your head supported by a pillow. Lie on your sore shoulder's side. Do the show off thing with your arm so that your arm is flat on the floor, your elbow is level with your shoulder and raise it at 90 degrees so that your hand pointing up to the ceiling. Then grasp your wrist with the other hand and slowly lower your forearm down towards the floor until a stretch is felt at the back of your shoulder and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat about 3 times.

      I hope this helps someone.

  • Posted

    Completely normal. My pain put me in tears. It's the long anchor tendon. You need to get that inflammation down. ICE ICE ICE and ibuprofen. Baby your arm for now but keep stretching the shoulder, very carefully. It will pass.

  • Posted

    Yup af first I had shoulder pain then I had a ton in bicep especially after I had the second cortisone shot which if anything made my pain worse. Even after mua most of pain was upper arm/bicep area. If you start to get muscle spasms you can tAke muscle relaxers. I took them only a short time because they made me very tired and I couldn't function (weirdly I still didn't sleep well at night) but they still helped

    Now four months after mua I am finally almost Pain free and have 75 percent of range of motion back. I am hoping to keep moving forward.

  • Posted

    I agree with the others on here.  I got a dull ache in my shoulder area, but by far the worst pain is in my upper arm / bicep area, extending at times into my elbow, lower arm and hand.  The pain would be a continuous background level, interspersed with really painful spasms, often set off for no apparent reason, even at rest. I have recently had capsular release surgery, and the pain since then, although reducing, has been very similar in nature to that before the op.I guess this will be the case until the muscles and tendons have returned to normal, which may take months.  

    Ibuprofen, paracetamol and ice packs help with me, but we all seem to be different in that respect.  Hope you improve very soon and you can come back here for further advice; I have found the forum very useful.

  • Posted

    Yes you do get upper pain in arm sometimes I got pain in my elbow down to my hand specially when I had to do some pysical therapy. I have had frozen shoulder since March of this year and here we are in October and I still have some pain in my left shoulder. I have alot of range of motion in my left arm. I still have pain when I sleep on my left shoulder and still have a hard time with putting my left arm behind my back with out pain in my arm and shoulder and I am not sure if I will be able to get all of my range of motion back.My physical therapy told me that I might always have pain in my left shoulder where it might never be back to normal.
  • Posted

    I have had frozen shoulder (also in my left) for about 6 months. Unless I move or jar my arm/shoulder (which is horribly painful!) my pain tends to be in my upper arm not directly in my shoulder, just above my bicep and on the outer arm. This pain usually appears when I am sitting around doing nothing and is not movement based. Luckily it is not constant, but it comes and goes. So you are not alone! I also get stiffness and some pain along left side/base of my neck.

    I just started acupuncture for the pain and inflammation today. Some softness and a bit of release I think, but way too early to telll how helpful it will be.

    • Posted

      6 months that must be hard . I have just found over the last few weeks I get days where the pain is bad in my neck , shoulder and arm . Sunday I went out clothes shopping and tried on about 4 dresses. I tried to be careful but the next couple of days the pain got worse especially in my neck . I am normally quite active , I am using ice packs and heat pads and taking paracetamol but it's just at the minute cos it's a constant thing it's really getting me down . The first month was painful but it seems to be getting worse not better. 😞😞

  • Posted

    FS is extremely painful. I couldn't sleep ot life a newspaper. 

    In the US Xiaflex is approved for FS. Xiaflex is a protien that breakers up the collagen in the facia or shoulder capsule. 

     A injection is given in a few days back to the doc for manipulation under local anesthetic for unlocking the joint.

    then a few weeks of therapy.mthat was 8 months ago and have total RAM back can sleep well still just a little pain. 

     

    • Posted

      Night time and first thing in the morning is worse . I have had a steroid injection and made it worse . At the moment I am using lots of ice . 2 months with this and as yet no improvement . I am hoping that the pain will subside soon xxx
    • Posted

      If your in the US Xiaflex is what helped me get back ROM in my shoulder.

      its online if you need more info.

      if not in yhe US you could try manipulation under anesthetic. many have had good results. Then a few weeks of Therapy. 

      Sometimes it's just so miserable it goes on and on until we get to a point where we are willing to do what ever it takes to get back to place with peace and no pain. 

      I sympathize with you it's not a easy decision its the worst pain to cope with and just wears ya out. I remember those little yelps and screams if I zigged  when I should have zagged and boom ! Major pain.

       

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.