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The forearm is the part of the upper limb that consists of the ulna and radius. Thus, the forearm is a section of the arm, starting from the hand and ending with the elbow. Pain in this area worries people often. Nerve endings are located throughout the area of the forearm, so ligaments, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, bones and joints can hurt.
The causes of pain vary widely. These can be disorders of a nervous nature, vascular damage, infectious diseases, disruptions in metabolic processes.
Causes of pain in the forearm
Acute pain in the forearm often occurs against the background of diseases such as:
Osteochondrosis.
Arthritis.
Osteoarthritis.
Injuries to bones and joints.
Neuritis.
If pain occurs during movement of the elbow or shoulder, then it indicates dislocations or sprains. Chronic pain can occur with bursitis, tendinitis, or tendon rupture.
Aching pain may be the result of myalgia, periarthrosis and cardiological diseases.
The listed reasons do not cover the entire list of factors that can cause pain in the forearm. To find out the etiology of pain, you need to rely on the features of its occurrence.
Muscle damage
Damage to the muscles of the forearm, which causes pain, can be caused by such reasons as:
Myositis. Myositis pain is burning. If a person is left-handed, then the pain occurs in his right hand and vice versa. The more intensely a person moves a limb, the stronger the pain will be. Often movements in the elbow joint are difficult. The tissues in the area of inflammation turn red. The pains subside when the person stops moving the arm, but they do not go away completely. Increased discomfort during weather changes.
Convulsions. A person cannot control them by force of will. The pain against the background of a spasm is cramping, quite intense. The causes of its occurrence are overwork, circulatory disorders, failure of metabolic processes in the forearm.
Crick. This cause of pain is traumatic. The rupture can be caused by sudden hand movements, such as during sports. The pain will bother for several days, and sometimes weeks. After that, she starts to subside. Often, edema is formed at the site of the rupture, the forearm swells.
Muscle tear. The cause of the injury is a sharp flexion or extension of the wrist joint. Most often, large areas of muscle are not affected, but in severe cases, they can completely move away from the tendon. A person experiences a sharp pain, the tissues of the forearm swell, the mobility of the arm is limited.
Crush syndrome or muscle squeezing syndrome. This is a serious injury that occurs against the background of prolonged pressure on the forearm. Such a violation leads to internal hemorrhage. The formed hematoma, in turn, also continues to put pressure on the nerve fibers and blood vessels. The affected tissues swell, the body temperature at the local level rises. If the patient is not treated in time, the tissues may undergo necrosis. In the future, limb movements will become impossible.
Spontaneous hematomasnot preceded by trauma. These subcutaneous hemorrhages often occur in people who take blood thinners. In the area of hematoma formation, pain occurs, it is pulling, not too intense. The forearm is slightly swollen.
Tendon and ligament injury
Most often, the ligaments and tendons of the forearm hurt against the background of inflammation.
The reasons that can provoke it:
Tendinitis and tendinoses (inflammation of the tendons). These disorders include a whole group of diseases in which not only the ligamentous apparatus suffers, but also the membrane surrounding it. A person develops tendovaginitis. The inflammatory process is accompanied by intense pain, the mobility of the hand is sharply limited. The pain intensifies during active hand movements, subsides at rest. Other symptoms of tendon inflammation include crunching in the injured area, reddening of the skin, and fever.
diffuse fasciitis. In this case, the fascia, which connects the muscles of the forearm, suffers. The hand becomes difficult to move. The skin in the affected area coarsens, becomes less elastic, the hand and fingers lose their strength.
Joint and bone damage
The joints and bones of the forearm most often hurt on the background of the injury. However, sometimes pain becomes a symptom of a serious illness.
The main causes of pain in the joints and bones of the forearm include:
Dislocation. This condition is characterized by displacement of the bones that form the joint. The pain is sharp, the person cannot move his arm. Significant deformity of the joint.
Bone fracture. The limb acquires an anatomically incorrect position, abnormal mobility occurs in the area where the bone was cast. During movement, a crunch is heard, which is emitted by bone fragments.
Arthritis. With this disease, the joints become inflamed and sore, the mobility of the limb is limited. The shape of the joint changes, when you try to move your hand, a crunch is heard.
Osteomyelitis. Pathology is accompanied by necrosis and suppuration of bone tissue. As the disease progresses, the inflammatory process can reach the bone marrow. Inflammation spreads to nearby soft tissues. The cause of osteomyelitis is the reproduction of pathogenic flora. It can get into the bone structures after an injury. Sometimes osteomyelitis is the result of other bone pathologies. Inflammation is accompanied by a significant increase in body temperature (up to 40 ° C), severe intoxication of the body, headache, chills, delirium. A person cannot move a sick hand, it swells a lot, it becomes red. In addition to bone structures, nearby joints suffer.
Osteoarthritis. This disease leads to degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joints. At an early stage in the development of pathology, pain will occur from time to time. Discomfort increases after physical exertion, when lifting the limb up. Then the pain begins to bother even at rest. The joint crunches, its mobility is sharply limited.
Damage to blood vessels and nerve endings
Pain in the forearm can be caused by damage to blood vessels and nerve fibers:
vein thrombosis. Inflammation occurs against the background of blockage of a large vessel by a thrombus. At first, only the vein will be inflamed, but gradually the pathological process spreads to soft tissues. A person’s hand hurts, becomes swollen. Depending on the intensity of the inflammation, the pain ranges from dull to piercing and throbbing. Loads lead to increased pain. Thrombosis is a dangerous pathology. When a blood clot breaks off, the risk of death is high.
Post-thrombophlebitic syndrome. This term refers to several pathological symptoms at once. All of them occur after a vein thrombosis. A person may experience pain in the forearm for a long time, it remains swollen. As a rule, unpleasant sensations increase after tension of the limb, or after physical exertion.
Violation of arterial circulation. The reason is the narrowing of the lumen of the vessels, or their blockage with cholesterol plaques, calcium and other substances that can be deposited on the vascular walls. The arm is undernourished, which causes pain. It intensifies after loads on the limb, for example, after pulling up. If a violation of arterial circulation is observed for a long time, then the arm becomes weak, the skin becomes covered with ulcers that do not regenerate well.
Neuritis of the ulnar nerve. Pathology develops against the background of inflammation of the nervous tissue. A person suffers from pulling and aching pain, fingers often go numb. Hypothermia, trauma to the limb, pressure on nerve fibers, etc. can provoke neuritis.
Polyneuropathy. With this disease, peripheral nerves suffer, there is a circulatory disorder in the limb, it can be paralyzed. Often patients suffer from a feeling of numbness in the arm. Polyneuropathy is a complication of diabetes mellitus.
Spine diseases. Herniated discs, osteochondrosis can provoke pain in the forearm. Each of the pathologies leads to clamping of the nerve fibers, which causes the corresponding symptoms.
Plexit. Inflammation in this case is concentrated in the nerve node, located next to the shoulder. Most often, plexitis is the result of an injury.
Other causes of pain
Pain in the forearm can be due to various reasons. Not always they will be associated with diseases of the bone tissue or joints, as well as with past injuries.
Other causes of pain include:
Water-salt imbalance. If the level of certain salts in the blood decreases, this can cause pain in the arm. A similar situation is observed against the background of taking diuretics, with diarrhea and severe vomiting. All of these conditions contribute to the development of dehydration. The tissues swell, the patient feels thirsty, the pressure decreases, the pulse quickens, an arrhythmia occurs.
panniculitis is an inflammation of the subcutaneous fat layer. Bumps and nodes form under the skin. These formations are quite painful. A person refuses to eat, suffers from a general deterioration in well-being. Body temperature rises to feverish levels. The patient is nauseated and may vomit.
Heart attack. Pain in the defeat of the heart muscle is concentrated in the sternum. Sometimes it is able to spread to the arm, it can give into the stomach, neck, shoulder blade. The main symptoms of a heart attack include: dizziness, oppressive feeling in the chest, pale skin, fainting, shortness of breath.
Gout. In this disease, purine metabolism is disturbed. Salts of uric acid accumulate in the blood. They begin to be deposited around the joints. If the elbow or wrist joint is affected, then the pain will be concentrated in the forearm.
You need to see a specialist if…
You should consult a doctor in the following cases:
The pain is very strong, exhausting the person.
The painful area of the hand swells.
In addition to pain, a person’s body temperature rises.
The pain intensifies during physical exertion on the arm.
The limb creaks and crunches during movement.
There was an injury.
Which doctor can help with pain in the forearm?
If the pain was not provoked by trauma, then you need to visit a therapist (for children – a pediatrician). The doctor will collect an anamnesis and isolate the causes that could provoke pain. If the need arises, he will refer the patient to a specialist. After the diagnosis is clarified, the appropriate therapy will be selected. In some cases, consultation with a traumatologist or neuropathologist is required.
Diagnostics
To find out the cause of pain in the forearm, the doctor will prescribe a set of examinations. Specific measures depend on what kind of suspicions the specialist has. They may be as follows:
The study of the history of the disease, the collection of anamnesis.
Inspection of the affected area and its palpation.
Radiography.
Ultrasound of the soft tissues of the limb.
MRI.
Blood test for infectious diseases, vitamin deficiency.
Treatment of pain in the forearm
Depending on what goal the doctor pursues, he can prescribe to the patient such types of therapeutic effects as:
Etiological. It is the most effective, as it is aimed at eliminating the cause of pain.
Pathogenetic. The impact will be on the mechanisms of the development of the disease, but not on its causes.
Symptomatic. This treatment only eliminates the symptoms of the disorder.
Treatment approaches may vary.
Possible directions of therapy:
Medication.
Surgical intervention.
Application of methods of physiotherapy.
Medical treatment of diseases
Antibacterial and antiviral drugs are prescribed to eliminate the cause of the disease.
The mechanism of the development of the disease is influenced by antihistamines, NSAIDs, vitamins, anticoagulants, antiaggregants, etc.
To relieve symptoms, painkillers, antispasmodics and sedatives are prescribed. All of them can be used both in tablet form and in the form of injections.
Physiotherapeutic treatment
Physiotherapy procedures can speed up the healing process. Possible procedures:
Electrophoresis.
Magnetotherapy.
Balneotherapy.
UHF
Infrared laser treatment.
If the doctor considers it necessary, he will prescribe a massage to the patient and select exercise therapy. The prognosis depends on the cause that caused the pain in the forearm. However, the sooner therapy is started, the more favorable it is. This applies to any pathology.
Surgery
Surgery that may be indicated to the patient:
Shunting.
Stenting.
Sympathectomy.
Removal of a neoplasm or other anatomical structure that presses on the nerves and blood vessels.
Amputation of a limb is an extreme measure, which is resorted to in case of emergency. Indications for its implementation:
Gangrene of the hand.
Detection of a primary tumor in it, or metastasis.
Severe frostbite of the limb, which led to tissue necrosis.
[Video] Dr. Evdokimenko, rheumatologist and psychophysiologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical and Technical Sciences, will talk about arthritis and arthrosis: