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With more than 350 joints in the human body, it's safe to say that all of us will suffer from varying levels of pain at some point.
Chronic upper body joint and muscle pain can be debilitating and can take a toll on day-to-day living.
Simple tasks — such as picking up a fork or getting a glass from the top shelf of your kitchen cabinet — can be a challenge.
At UPMC Orthopaedic Care, we diagnose and treat:
Many factors can cause pain to the joints and muscles in your upper body, including:
While some discomfort is short-lived and resolves over time, pain is the body's way of telling you something is wrong and needs attention.
If you're dealing with chronic issues, it's a wise choice to meet with an orthopaedic doctor and discuss your upper body joint pain symptoms.
While suffering from pain is unique to your body, doctors at UPMC Orthopaedic Care can work with you to diagnose the cause.
We'll then create a custom treatment plan for chronic upper body pain in your:
While people of any age can have shoulder pain, athletes are more at risk for suffering from shoulder impingement.
Shoulder impingement is due to pressure on the rotator cuff when you lift your arm over your head.
It's common among those who play sports that involve heavy overhead use of their arms, such as:
Some symptoms of shoulder impingement include:
Elbow pain can have many root causes, but the most common condition is tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons on the outside of the forearm. These tendons allow you to extend and lift your hand.
Despite the name, tennis elbow is not exclusive to just those who play tennis.
In addition to playing tennis, other common causes are repetitive motions, such as:
Symptoms of tennis elbow include a burning pain on the outside of the elbow area that gets worse over time.
If you've fallen on the palm of your hand, you may not only be in severe pain but could have a scaphoid fracture.
The pain will be most intense on the thumb side of the hand, and any time you move the wrist.
Because it's often hard to tell the difference between a bone bruise and a fracture, it's vital to see a doctor right away so he or she can:
When we think of wrist pain, the most common ailment that comes to mind is carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel has become a widespread problem for people of any age due to repetitive activities that use our wrists and hands, such as working on computers and using cell phones.
It happens when there is pressure on the nerve leading to the hand, causing swelling in the tendons of the wrist.
Carpal tunnel symptoms include:
To diagnose your wrist pain, your doctor will first assess the numbness and level of strength in the hand.
To pinpoint the precise area of the nerve that's causing your wrist pain, your doctor may also order x-rays and a nerve conduction study.
Working with the orthopaedic specialists at UPMC means you'll receive some of the best care in the nation for your chronic upper body pain.
Your doctor will work with you to create a treatment plan specific to your injury and discomfort.
Management and treatment at the onset of shoulder pain often includes:
Your doctor may also suggest a cortisone shot to help heal the area of your shoulder injury.
Treatment and management for elbow pain includes:
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