I have a friend who is in her 80s. Her arm hurts her tremendously. Is this a symptom of arthritis?

Question

Her arm hurts in the middle part of her upper arm. It doesn't hurt near the joint. It hurts just when she is just just sitting or lying......holding it still. I have never known this lady to complain, so I am concerned.

She said today, "I wonder if I have bone cancer?"

She saw the doctor and without an x-ray he told her it was arthritis. He wanted to send her for physical therapy, but she doesn't want to go.

Can you have arthritis in the middle of your arm not near the joint?

I am planning to take her to the doctor this week, but I am not sure what kind to take her to. Should I take her to see an orthopedic doctor?

Please don't just give an answer. Please tell me how you know.

Answer 1

Generally, you don't have arthritis in the center of a bone, but you can develop pain problems from a torn muscle or prior bone cracks. That's why football players hurt so much at 65. Tendens can tear anywhere along the arm and you can also get a muscle infection that hurts a lot as well (that needs antibiotics, but it hurts just like arthritis). I had a doctor diagnose arthritis in my hands and I didn't get an Xray. Two years later, I did get an Xray--it wasn't arthritis, it was a muscle infection!!

Call the office and ask if the doctor will reconsider and order an Xray simply to set this woman's mind at rest. If it's a problem, then go to a different doctor and maybe go with her, but most docs are pretty reasonable. I think she would also then be more likely to attend physical therapy.

Also, if she is taking cholesterol lowering drugs, arm pain is an indicator of a serious problem.

Answer 2

Pain that is located in the middle part of the upper arm is typical with either a rotator cuff problem or can be referred from the neck. However, if referred from the neck, she would most likely have neck pain as well. So, for right now, let's assume its from the shoulder.

The rotator cuff can very typically refer pain down the upper part of the arm. It can be aggrevated by certain positions...espcially lying on the back or on the affected side. Yet, certain movements will also usually cause the pain.

Many elderly people gradaully tear their rotator cuff...for some people it is painless as their other muscles have learned to compensate for the inefficient rotator cuff. In some people, however, it can be painful...espcially if the shoulder is starting to sublux. Many people at this age who have torn their rotator cuff have accumulated so much atrophy of the musculature that surgery is usually not an option. Instead, conservative care of physical therapy and medical pain management is usually the standard of care.

Arthritic pain of the shoulder does not necessarily occur in the middle upper arm, but I wouldn't put it past it. Yet, she would probably also have considerable "joint noise" or "crepitus" when moving the shoulder.

I suppose we always worry about cancer...yet at your friend's age, primary bone cancer is not likely. So, unless she's had cancer in the past or has cancer elsewere in the body that has gone undiagnosed, this is probably not likely. Yet, there are some "red flags" to watch out for when dealing with possible cancer: rapid unexplained weight loss, unbearable pain that wakes one up at night, persistent nausea/vomiting or early satiety when eating, and other "unusual" symptoms.

The best, and least invasive, course would be a trial of PT...if not better, have her consider following up with an orthopedist for further testing or treatment options (such as cortisone injection)

Answer 3

As you probably already know, arthritis means inflammation of a joint or joints. Sometimes there can be referred pain in another area, but generally the pain is in the actual joint and is worse with moving the joint. If this is nowhere near the joint, you and she are right to be skeptical of the doctor's diagnosis. Cancer can be painful and can occur anywhere in any bone. There are other alternatives that are not so dire, however (tendinitis, fracture, etc.), so it is not necessarily cancer. But it sounds like she needs a second opinion, anyway.

Answer 4

hmmm...
ive had arthritis for 7 years and i usually only get pains around the joints, that is where arthritis is located.
You usually get stiffness and the area gets swolen.

it doesnt sound like arthritis

Answer 5

Yes and it hurts so hope she has some pain pills