Arm Pain: Diagnostic Tests

Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination, laboratory diagnostics, and obligatory medical device diagnostics – for differential diagnostic clarification.

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG; recording of the electrical activity of the heart muscle) – for suspected angina pectoris (“chest tightness”; sudden onset of pain in the heart area).
  • Stress ECG (electrocardiogram during stress, that is, under physical activity/stress ergometry).
  • Echocardiography (echo; cardiac ultrasound) – when structural heart disease is suspected.
  • X-ray of the chest (X-ray thorax/chest), in two planes – if Pancoast tumor is suspected Pancoast tumor (synonym: apical sulcus tumor): Rapidly progressing peripheral bronchial carcinoma in the area of the lung apex (apex pulmonis); rapidly spreading to the ribs, soft tissues of the neck, brachial plexus (ventral branches of the spinal nerves of the last four cervical and first thoracic segments (C5-Th1)) and vertebrae of the cervical and thoracic spine (cervical spine, thoracic spine)); disease often manifests with a characteristic Pancoast syndrome: shoulder or Arm pain, rib pain, paresthesia (sensory disturbances) in the forearm, paresis (paralysis), hand muscle atrophy, upper influence congestion due to constriction of the jugular veins, Horner’s syndrome (triad associated with miosis (pupil constriction), ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid) and pseudoenophthalmos (apparently sunken eyeball)).
  • X-rays of the cervical spine (C-spine) or thoracic spine (thoracic spine).
  • X-rays of the affected region
  • Sensory/motor electro-neurography (ENG) – to determine nerve conduction velocity (e.g., in suspected carpal tunnel syndrome).
  • Electromyography (EMG; measurement of electrical muscle activity) of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle – to detect a lesion of the axon (extension of a nerve cell).
  • Skeletal scintigraphy (nuclear medicine procedure that can represent functional changes in the skeletal system, in which regionally (locally) pathologically (pathologically) increased or decreased bone remodeling processes are present) – for suspected bone tumors.