What causes pain in the left arm from back of head down to finger tips?

Answer 1

This type of pain is consistent with a cervical disk herniation between the C5/6 or C6/7 vertebrae. It is not something to be taken lightly - left untreated, it can result in partial paralysis or nerve damage to the affected nerve. Most people do not realize that the nerves and muscles of the arm are controlled in the neck.

The pain and its path through the nerve is unmistakable - typically you cannot feel any pain in the neck. The pain in the back is generally in the upper left around the shoulder. It then travels down the Ulnar nerve on the inside of the left arm, through the wrist and into the fingers. Numbness and tingling will also occur if the disk/s in question aren't dealt with.

If the problem is bad enough, the pain and muscle contraction of the arm will make the patient bring the hand / arm toward the body. Any Neurosurgeon of any ability can take one look at a patient with this problem and make a cursory diagnosis without the aid of pictures.

The problem doesn't have to be caused by injury, though Whiplash injuries, even those which happened years earlier, do contribute to, or are the direct cause of the problem In my own case no cause was ever determined, though I do have a spinal disease. I simply awoke one Saturday morning with pain in my shoulder and arm that didn't go away. I nearly lost the use of my left arm due to an initial misdiagnosis. Even sleeping wrong and putting pressure on that area of the cervical spine can result in herniation there.

As I said, a Neurosurgeon, whether you need surgery or not, is the best qualified person for a proper diagnosis. Aside from Lumbar problems, Cervical disk issues are the top problems they deal with daily. It's also important that if it IS a disk problem, that it be verified and the cause determined, as well as any long term prognosis. Do not take one doctor's word either - that mistake can get you killed, or worse. Only an MRI or CT/Myelogram can determine if a disk is the cause of the pain.

Answer 2

This could be a pinched nerve in the neck or the back, could also be something wrong with the heart. There are numberous things that could cause it, would have to know medical history to narrow it down more.

Answer 3

Well, I notice on here there are some stupid people writing stupid answers but in a nutshell, it does depend on where pain is located... I have right upper shoulder blade severe pain at times and it runs into right arm, but I was in a car accident and found I have a Labral Tear in right shoulder and 2 Bursitus spots(which are fluid filled sacks), I also had right wrist crush injury and right arm was shoved up and into right shoulder so there you go....