If you have been having a dull pain in your left arm for a long time, then you may suspect something is wrong with your health. Know what this problem may mean from the article below.

Perhaps, there is no one who has not come across an arm pain. What I meant to say is, this problem is one of the most common health complaints, not only among the older adults, but younger people and children too. Most people stay relaxed due to the fact that most arm pain do not indicate anything serious, as it may be caused by sports, overuse of muscles, or minor sprains or strains. But this does not go with some who get intimidated by the fact that, arm pain may also be a symptom of something serious that is impending to affect their health. Also, arm pain does not necessarily have its origins from the arm itself, but it could also be a pain that might have radiated from somewhere else in the body such as that of spinal cord, or injuries in the back or neck region, or may be the shoulder area. Sometimes, the pain could also signal an impending heart attack, especially in older adults.

Possible Causes of Left Arm Pain

• The most obvious and common cause is injury to the arm. Even if the injury has affected the shoulder or the neck, the pain might be felt to be radiating to the arm. Such injuries may occur due to accidents such as car crashes, or falls, or could be contact sports-related
• Most people experience an ongoing dull pain in left or right arm because of their work that may involve the use of muscles doing the same thing over and over. For instance, the condition may be common with truck drivers. Even in sports like swimming, discuss throw, javelin throw, etc., muscles are used for repetitive actions, causing overuse thus, pain.

Besides these causes, it might be more concerning to know that there are a variety of underlying medical disorders that can also give rise to this problem. These may be listed as follows:

• Arm tendinitis (defined as inflammation of a tendon)
• Rotator cuff injury (damage to the rotator cuff muscles; affects the shoulders)
• Tennis elbow (occur due to overwork of tendons in the elbow are overworked; the pain can affect the entire arm)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (a condition of the nerves in the wrist. They get pinched or damaged due to some other condition)
• Bursitis (inflammation of the bursae in the shoulder and the elbows; bursae is a pad-like structure that minimized the friction between tendons, bones and muscles)
• Sprains (painful condition that occurs when the connecting tissues (ligaments) between bones tear away)
• Strain (painful condition that is caused when the connective tissues between muscles and bones (tendon) get stretched or tear away)
• Frozen shoulder (a condition that is marked by stiffness and pain in the joints of the shoulders. This pain can spread to the wrist, arm and elbow)
• If the blood supply to the arm is cut off due to certain reasons, then pain is one of the common symptoms that may come up. Numbness, and tingling feeling may also occur in this case
• Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder of the body. The immune system misfires and attacks its own tissues, causing inflammation of the small joints in hands and feet.
• Although very rare in urban areas, poisonous snakes bites are also responsible for causing pain in the arm. However, as the poison spreads throughout the body, it may go from a right or left arm pain to the opposite arm numbness or burning sensations.

These are some of the commonly diagnosed factors that might cause a dull pain in left arm, or in right arm. And there might be more, which can be detected with the help of your healthcare provider. Also, if the problem occurs once in a blue moon, then you may not be concerned, otherwise, get yourself advised by a doctor, because you never know, it may indicate an impending heart attack.