The most common cause of pain in the hands of a modern person is working at a computer, or more precisely, manipulating a mouse. In this case, the arm may hurt in the shoulder joint, and from the shoulder to the elbow, and in the forearm area. The best way to relieve arm pain is to use muscle relaxation exercises.
Most often, people seek medical help because of pain. When something hurts, you don’t know where to go, even climb the wall! What is pain and how to get rid of it at home?
The most important organ in our body is the muscles. Judge for yourself: they make up more than half of your body weight! All functions of the body, except thinking (appreciate the humor of the Higher Powers!), are carried out by muscles. Thanks to them, we see, hear, breathe, digest food, and blood flows through the vessels with their help.
Pain, it turns out, is also associated with muscles in 95% of cases. And the best part is that you can remove it yourself in just two minutes!
What exactly hurts?
Pain is the irritation of pain receptors. Through nerves (electrical conductors), the impulse from the pain receptor reaches the sensory cortex of the brain, where we already feel pain.
Pain receptors are located in the connective tissue, which forms the membranes of all organs, including muscles, as well as in the epidermis of the skin (because the skin is the border with the environment). The most common cause of pain is irritation of pain receptors in the muscle membranes (fascia) during muscle tension.
Irritation of pain receptors occurs when the membranes are compressed or stretched. Only in these two cases do we feel pain.
Only muscles can compress the membrane, since only they can actively contract in our body. And the membrane stretches either during physical stretching of a given area of the body, or during edema, or during oncology, when edema or tumor increases the volume of the tissue and stretches its membrane. There are no other reasons for pain!
And since pain appears only as a result of compression and stretching, it becomes clear that in order to get rid of pain, the membrane must either be relaxed (if it is compressed by tense muscles) or stretched (with swelling).
How can you find out why the pain appeared - due to swelling or due to muscle strain? Very simple! If it appears after physical activity, it is caused by muscle overstrain. And if the pain appeared after you were in a sedentary state for a long time (sleeping, lying or sitting), then it is caused by swelling, which, in turn, is associated with impaired lymphatic drainage.
Treatment
The most effective way to solve these problems is through surgery. Modern endoscopic equipment makes it possible to perform such operations with minimal trauma, quickly, with a short hospital stay, good functional and cosmetic results; many of them are simply impossible to perform using classical surgery using incisions. Treatment with injections and tablets does not eliminate the problem, it simply masks it, and, especially after the use of hormonal injections, often makes it completely unsolvable.
*Image from website
*Image from website
You should contact your doctor if your shoulder hurts for several days.
How to get rid of pain caused by muscle tension
Throughout our lives, we constantly strain our muscles, and over time, fibers accumulate in them that never relax. The longer a muscle is tense, the more constantly tense fibers it contains.
In the sports community, such muscles are called “clogged.” They will always remain tense, even when the person is lying down and resting. And it is only possible to relax them specifically: either with the help of a sports massage or static stretching. The easiest way to do this on your own is with static stretching.
To relax a muscle, you need to stretch it and hold it stretched for two minutes. But do not confuse stretching and tension: when stretching, the muscle must be relaxed. After two minutes, a reflex is activated, which relaxes the tense fibers in it. And the pain goes away. Just? It couldn't be simpler! And you will no longer need any painkillers.
If static stretching is done daily several times a day, then in a couple of months it is possible to put the muscles in order: there will be no “clogged” fibers left in them at all. This will increase muscle efficiency to 100% and completely restore range of motion. And the person will get rid of pain.
It’s impossible to say exactly how many times a day to do static stretching and at what time - it’s all individual, everyone decides for themselves. You can include stretching in any set of physical exercises. But after muscle tension there should be relaxation; you need to finish the workout with static stretching. The main thing: in order to remove accumulated tension, there should be more relaxation than tension.
Here are some stretches you can do to get rid of arm pain.
Video: Gymnastics for shoulder treatment
This video presents a set of exercises to treat pain in the shoulder or shoulders.
How to treat a sore shoulder? Shoulder treatment depends on what disease is causing the pain.
The most common diseases of the shoulder joints are described here >>
But there is one universal treatment method that suits most people suffering from shoulder pain - therapeutic exercises.
The exercises in this video are useful:
- for the treatment of glenohumeral periarthritis and capsulitis;
- for the treatment of arthrosis of the shoulder joint;
- to improve shoulder mobility if the arm is difficult to lift after an old injury;
- to eliminate shoulder pain caused by sports overload - after pull-ups, push-ups, or after working with weights;
- to restore arm mobility after breast surgery.
Contraindications to therapeutic exercises.
Therapeutic gymnastics is a fairly serious treatment method that has its own contraindications.
Despite their usefulness, these exercises cannot be performed:
- for fresh shoulder injuries - fractures, dislocations of the shoulder joint and sprained shoulder ligaments;
- with arthritis with swelling of the shoulder joint;
- for chronic and habitual shoulder dislocations;
- at elevated body temperature (above 37.5 ºС); for influenza, ARVI and sore throat - you need to wait for recovery and wait another 3-4 days;
- in the first 2-3 months after breast surgery;
- at least 3 months after neck surgery;
- at least 3 months after shoulder surgery; in the future - only in agreement with the operating surgeon.
Attention! If a particular exercise causes sharp pain, it means that it is contraindicated for you or you are doing it incorrectly. In this case, it is better not to do it, or at least postpone it until you consult with your doctor.
Rules for performing exercises
You need to do the exercises daily, 1-2 times a day, for at least 3-4 weeks.
When performing exercises, be careful and avoid sudden pain.
Although moderate, tolerable pain caused by tendon stretching is almost inevitable when performing these exercises. The main thing here is not to “overdo it”. You need to increase the load and increase the mobility of your hands gradually.
And remember that even if you perform gymnastics correctly, improvement does not come immediately. In the first 2 weeks of training, joint pain may even intensify slightly, but after 3-4 weeks you will feel the first signs of improvement.
I wish you the will and perseverance necessary to regain your former ease of movement!
An expanded, slightly more extensive set of exercises for the treatment of shoulder joints (text only) can be viewed by clicking on this link: 9 exercises to restore mobility of the shoulder joint "
Contraindications to the use of ointment "VIPROSAL - B"
- allergy or hypersensitivity to the components of the drug;
- damage to the skin and skin diseases at the site of application of the ointment;
- feverish conditions, increased body temperature;
- pulmonary tuberculosis;
- disorders of cerebral and coronary circulation;
- tendency to develop vasospasms;
- severe renal or liver dysfunction;
- general exhaustion;
- children under 12 years of age;
- pregnancy; breastfeeding period.
Attention! This video is educational and informational in nature. There are contraindications. Before using the recommendations and tips from the video, ALWAYS consult your doctor!
READ MORE:
- 3 hand diseases that most doctors don’t know about
- Humeral periarthritis is the most common cause of shoulder pain
- No more medications needed?
- All articles by Dr. Evdokimenko
If your arms hurt from shoulder to elbow
Biceps and triceps in modern people rarely hurt - except for those who are trying to pump up their muscles and put too much strain on them. Also, pain in the shoulder muscles can be associated with lifting heavy objects, working in a summer cottage, rocking and carrying children.
Relaxing the biceps. Since the biceps has two heads, their relaxation is somewhat different from each other.
To relax the short head of the biceps, stand facing the wall, raise your arm to shoulder level and place your palm on the wall. Press your palm, elbow and shoulder against the wall. Turn your entire torso to the side so that the muscles of the flexor surface of the arm are stretched. Stay in the maximum stretch position for two minutes. Then slowly lower your hand.
To relax the long head of the biceps, stand facing the wall and raise your arm not to shoulder level, but slightly lower - at an angle of 45 degrees to the floor. Press your palm, elbow and shoulder against the wall. Turn your entire torso away from the wall to stretch the muscles of the flexor surface of your arm. Stay in this position for two minutes.
Triceps relaxation. The triceps is a triceps muscle, and the position of each of its heads is slightly different from the position of the other heads. Therefore, to stretch all three, you need to do the stretch in three different positions.
Go to the wall, raise your arm up, lean your shoulder against the wall and lower your forearm with your palm back to the shoulder joint. Pull your body toward the wall, stretching your triceps. Stay in the maximum stretch position for two minutes. Then, moving your elbow slightly to the side, stretch each of the heads.
Most common causes of pain
The most common causes of pain are injuries to the rotator cuff, the layer of tendons that surround the shoulder joint and are responsible for flexion, abduction, and internal rotation of the shoulder.
*Image from website
The tendon of the supraspinatus muscle is most often damaged; when falling on the arm, it is partially or completely cut off on the acromial process of the scapula, less often the tendons of the infraspinatus and subscapularis muscles; a fracture of the greater tubercle of the shoulder, to which the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle is attached, causes similar symptoms. These injuries are accompanied by pain in the shoulder joint and shoulder, toothache-type pain at night; there were patients who could only sleep while sitting, holding the patient’s healthy hand. The range of movement in the shoulder is also often reduced, a person cannot raise his arm or comb his hair, but if the tendon is not completely torn, movement in the shoulder can be maintained in sufficient volume.
This is also caused by damage to the ligaments and capsule of the shoulder joint (Bankart injury, SLAP); in this case, pain and limitation of movements are accompanied by a feeling of instability in the shoulder joint, numbness in the arm, and repeated shoulder dislocations are common during normal everyday movements.
*Image from website
Damage to the ligaments that secure the collarbone to the shoulder blade is also accompanied by pain and dysfunction.
*Image from website
Similar complaints about the shoulder joint occur in people without injury. The disease gout (a disorder of uric acid metabolism) leads to the deposition of ossification in the area of the rotator cuff tendons and pain.
*Image from website
Breast surgery is often accompanied by swelling, inflammation of the rotator cuff and surrounding tissues and, as a result, pain and impaired range of motion in the shoulder.
Patients with such complaints should consult an orthopedist
, who, after a detailed conversation and examination, will prescribe the necessary examination, most often this is radiography and nuclear MRI on a machine with a power of at least 1.5 Tesla, and will recommend coming for a follow-up appointment with the results of the examination.
*Image from website
What to do if your forearm hurts
Pain in the forearm appears when the corresponding muscles are overstrained. The flexors hurt when the fingers are frequently strained (for example, massage therapists and chiropractors experience this), while the extensors hurt when the hand holding the mouse is in the wrong position while working at the computer.
Pain is relieved by stretching the flexor or extensor muscles , respectively, as shown in the picture. It is better to rest on a fairly hard surface. When stretching the flexors, make sure that the arm is straight. When stretching the extensors, flexion at the elbow is allowed.
