Question
Hi.
I am 31 years old and have never had any sickness that I know of. Basically I'm in pretty good condition more so than the average male in their 30s. I don't smoke, nor drink, take drugs, nor over the counter ones, nor am I in sports. Anyway, I have been worried about my employment issues as of late which is one thing I feel is taking a toll on my sleep patterns, as well as mental health. I have been experiencing tension in the heart area(very mild) for a few weeks. So to take care of this, I've been recently meditating, taking breathing lessons to cure the uneasiness. Just the other night all of the sudden, I found it hard for me to sleep because there was a severe pain in my entire right arm, from the shoulder to the fingers. Can you please tell me what is the cause of the left arm? It felt very heavy to the point where I can still feel the tension. (But the pain I felt when I first felt it was more stronger than the mild pain I'm feeling now.)
Thank you so very much and I appreciate your services you give to the public.

Answer
Thomas,

If stress is a factor, then one cause can be from myofascial trigger points in the pectoralis major muscle.   If this is the cause, then you will notice very tender points in the muscle that, if you press them, refer pain into the right arm.  If so, then hold steady firm pressure on them until the arm pain subsides.  Finish by massaging your chest muscle and then put heat on it.  If it's not trigger point pain, it could be a cervical spine disc referring into your arm. You'd know this by turning your head to the right and extending it to provoke the arm pain.  If this doesn't provoke the arm pain, then odds are it's not referred pain from your neck.  If taking a deep breath, holdinging it, and bearing down provokes your right arm pain, then it is possible you do have a cervical disc or other problem affecting the nerves that exit your cervical spine. This would include tumors in the top lobe of your lung.   From what you described, I bet it's trigger point pain.  If you don't find relieve with massage/heat/direct pressure, then get a physical exam to see what's what.  

'Hope this helps.

Dr. G