Pain in right arm

When a person has pain in the arms, either right or left, the most common assumption is that it is coming from a heart attack or some other serious medical situation. While this can be the case, there are a number of other reasons for having shooting right arm pain.

First of all, one may be experiencing a pinched nerve. The pinched nerve in the arm causes tingling and numbing sensation in the arm just as a heart condition would. It is caused by injury of one or more nerves in the arm. In some cases this injury can be corrected by refraining of the situations that lead to the injury.

The pins and needles feeling in the arm can be caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel is located at the base of the wrist. Tendons and the nerves for the hand run through this tunnel. The syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve. This causes pain in the hand, arm and wrist and can extend to shoulder and neck area. It can cause weakness of the muscles that surround the compressed nerve along sides the numbness and the tingling in the fingers. Repetitious movements over a long period of time cause this syndrome. The symptoms are exacerbated by forceful use of the hand and wrist. The only way to help one-self is to avoid doing the movement that is causing the pain.

When connected to the heart problem, it can be a symptom of angina. Angina happens when the blood flow to the heart is low. The body does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients so it adapts by producing the lactic acid. This strains the heart because the lactic acid builds up in the heart muscle and causes extreme pain. This symptom is followed by other others, like pressure in the chest, aching and burning in the chest, jaw and arms. If one experiences these symptoms, one should visit their doctor. Occasionally, people have the symptoms like angina from a common indigestion.

Fibromyalgia, which is muscle and connective tissue pain, can cause pain in the arms as well as any other part of the body. The symptoms are fatigue, sleep disturbance and joint stiffness. Depression may result from lack of energy. There is no test to confirm fibromyalgia.Arthritis can cause pain in any body part that has joints. The pain occurs due the inflammation around the joint, damage to the joint, daily wear and tear etc. There are several types of arthritis and some of them are hereditary. The treatment depends on the type of arthritis.

While the pain in the right arm, can be caused by an impending heart attack, it usually is not so. If however, there are symptoms of heavy breathing and burning in the chest, it can be caused by low blood flow in the heart. In that case, one should seek medical help.