Left Arm Shoulder Pain & Neck Pain

Pain in the left arm and shoulder could be a sign of something serious.

Pain in the left arm and shoulder can be symptoms of a life-threatening condition or a simple injury. Any type of acute, intense pain should be treated by a medical professional immediately.

Heart Attack

Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack is important.

One of those life-threatening conditions could be a heart attack. When a blocked artery cuts off blood supply to the heart it can cause acute pain in the chest, back, shoulder, neck and arm. The pain can be mild to severe and feel like pressure, tightness, heaviness or burning.

Meningitis

Flu-ike symptoms could be a sign of meningitis.

Meningitis causes pain in the neck and shoulders but is usually accompanied by fever, flu-like symptoms and a stiff neck. The condition typically comes on suddenly and progresses quickly.

Herniated Disc

A herniated disc can be painful.

A herniated disc in the cervical spine causes acute pain when pinching a nerve, which can cause pain in the neck and shoulder and be accompanied by numbness or tingling in an arm.

Spinal Stenosis

Aging can exert pressure on discs.

Wear and aging cause changes in the joints of the neck (facet joints) or at the margins of the discs, called spinal stenosis. This is a chronic pain that usually progresses gradually.

Symptomatic Cervical Disc Degeneration

Activity can activate pain.

Symptomatic cervical disc degeneration usually causes low level chronic pain that can radiate to the shoulder and down the arm. This aging-related condition's pain may flare up from activity.

Pulled Muscle

Pulling a muscle in your neck can send pain down your arm.

Pulling a muscle in your shoulder or neck area will cause pain in the muscle area, which may also radiate down your arm and be accompanied by a stiff neck.

References

• Mayoclinic.com: Heart Attack Symptoms
• Familydoctor.org: Neck Pain
• Spinehealth.com: Types of Neck Pain