Left arm pain can range from a mild ache to severe, sudden discomfort. While often due to less serious issues like muscle strain, it can also signal significant health concerns, including cardiac events. Understanding its diverse origins and recognizing accompanying symptoms is important for appropriate evaluation and timely care.
Cardiac Causes
Left arm pain is a common symptom of cardiac conditions, often due to referred pain. This occurs when nerve fibers from the heart and arm converge at the same spinal cord segments, causing the brain to interpret cardiac discomfort as originating in the arm.
Angina, a type of chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart, can cause left arm discomfort. This pain is often described as pressure, heaviness, or squeezing in the chest, which may spread to the left arm, jaw, neck, back, or abdomen. A heart attack involves a sudden blockage of blood supply to the heart, causing muscle damage. Arm pain from a heart attack may be accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, dizziness, or anxiety.
Musculoskeletal Issues
Musculoskeletal problems frequently cause left arm pain, often from injury, overuse, or degenerative changes in muscles, bones, and joints. A muscle strain or sprain can cause pain, swelling, and bruising in the arm. These conditions usually improve with rest and self-care.
Tendinitis, an inflammation of tendons, can lead to pain radiating down the arm, especially when lifting or moving it. Bursitis, an inflammation of fluid-filled sacs that cushion joints, also causes shoulder and arm pain, often worsening with movement or pressure. Fractures in the arm cause immediate severe pain, swelling, bruising, and difficulty moving the limb. Arthritis can affect joints in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, causing pain, stiffness, and swelling that limits arm movement.
Nerve Related Conditions
Pain in the left arm can also arise from conditions affecting the nerves that extend from the neck and spinal cord into the arm. A pinched nerve, medically termed nerve compression or nerve entrapment, occurs when surrounding tissues like bone, muscle, or cartilage put pressure on a nerve. This compression can disrupt nerve signals, leading to tingling, numbness, burning sensations, or muscle weakness in the affected arm.
Cervical radiculopathy involves a pinched nerve in the neck, where a nerve root branching from the spinal cord becomes compressed or irritated. This condition often causes pain that radiates from the neck into the shoulder and down the arm, accompanied by tingling, numbness, or weakness in the arm or hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause pain, numbness, or tingling that extends up the forearm and into the arm. Thoracic outlet syndrome involves compression of nerves or blood vessels between the collarbone and first rib, potentially leading to pain, numbness, or tingling in the arm and hand.
Other Medical Conditions
Beyond common cardiac, musculoskeletal, and nerve-related causes, other medical conditions can also manifest as left arm pain. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the arm, a blood clot in a deep vein, can cause swelling, pain, warmth, and discoloration. If untreated, a DVT can lead to serious complications if the clot travels to the lungs.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the arms involves narrowed or blocked arteries, reducing blood flow to the limb. Symptoms may include pain, cramping, or heaviness in the arm during activity, which subsides with rest. Infections like cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, can cause pain, redness, swelling, and warmth in the arm, potentially with fever and chills. Shingles, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, can result in a painful rash, including on the arm. Fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, can cause persistent aching and tenderness in the arm muscles.
When to Seek Medical Help
Recognizing when left arm pain warrants medical attention is important for appropriate and timely care. Immediate medical help is necessary if left arm pain is sudden and severe, or if it occurs alongside symptoms like chest pressure or squeezing, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold sweats, or nausea, as these can indicate a heart attack. Any sudden injury to the arm resulting in severe pain, swelling, an unusual angle, or visible bone also requires emergency care.
For arm pain that is not an immediate emergency, consult a healthcare provider if the pain does not improve with home care, including rest and over-the-counter pain relievers, within a few days. Persistent pain, worsening redness or swelling, unresolved numbness or tingling, or difficulty moving the arm normally are all reasons to seek professional medical evaluation. These symptoms suggest an underlying issue that may require specific diagnosis and treatment.