Many people experience excruciating arm pain which begins in the neck or upper shoulder and then proceeds to radiate into the arm, forearm, hand and fingers. They are desperate for radiating arm pain relief. This article will discuss pain that radiates into the arm, it’s causes and treatment options.
Pain that radiates into the arm can be a strong ache, burning pain, numbness or tingling or a variety of other symptoms. The pain can be occasional, fairly frequently or constant. Some people experience minor annoyance, for others it can be all consuming. No matter the intensity or frequency most, if not all, people would prefer to be rid of the discomfort.
The first step in gaining radiating arm pain relief is to determine what is causing the condition.The most frequent reason people get pain radiating into the arm is a pinched nerve from a disc problem in the neck.
Let’s further examine this. We all know that there are bones of the spine in the neck. They are called cervical vertebrae. There are seven cervical vertebrae. Between the cervical vertebrae are intervertebral disc’s which are like pads or shock absorbers. The spinal canal is found within the vertebrae. It is like a tube that transmits nerves that run from the brain to the rest of the body. Between each cervical vertebrae is an opening on the right and left from which spinal nerves exit and travel to the rest of the body. Five sets of spinal nerves exit the lower cervical spine and travel into the arm.
Normally, there is no impingement of these nerves and thus no pain. However, sometimes the disks can become irritated, protruding, bulged or herniated. This is simply some part of the intravertebral disc that comes in contact with a cervical spinal nerve and causes a physical, mechanical contact that irritates the spinal nerve.
When this occurs, it causes pain of varying types, frequency and intensity. A layman’s description of this is to call it a “pinched nerve.”
A very effective treatment for pain that radiates down the arm is through chiropractic care. A 2013 research study involving 50 patients who had radiating arm pain from a cervical disc were treated with chiropractic therapy. At two weeks 50% reported they were “better” or “much better.” After one month 69% reported improvement and that percentage increased to 85% at three months. This study recognizes that most radiating arm pain can be treated successfully through conservative care. Research also indicates chiropractic care for radiating arm pain relief should be tried before surgery.
Chiropractors are healthcare providers, that specialize in relieving spinal neck pain and radiating arm pain. Chiropractors are the only professionals trained to diagnose and treat physical, mechanical alignment problems of spine pain. Most patients who go to chiropractors find that having a chiropractic treatment is a safe, pleasant experience because it relieves pinched nerves by correcting the spinal misalignment of the cervical vertebrae and corrects spinal disc impingement. Chiropractic care is a very safe, gentle method for gaining pain relief.
If someone is having radiating pain that travels from the neck into the arm it would certainly be prudent to visit with a chiropractor to determine if they can achieve radiating arm pain relief.