Pain in the right forearm | Pain in the lower arm – what is the cause?

Pain in the right forearm

There are the typical causes such as muscle tension or tendon irritation, which lead to pain in the forearm on both the right and left side. Right-handed people in particular suffer from tennis or golf elbow as well as tension due to writing too long on the right. People who work physically and lift loads, especially with their right hand, often complain about symptoms on the right.

In addition, there are other diseases that do not originate on the forearm but can still cause pain on the right. For example, an inflamed gall bladder can radiate into the right shoulder and arm on the right. Even though it is mostly the upper arm that is affected, the pain can extend into the forearm.

The fact that problems with the gall bladder can cause pain in the right forearm is due to the interconnection of the various nerve fibers in the spinal cord. If the nerves that send pain from the gallbladder to the brain are active, it is possible to switch to nerves coming from the forearm. Then the patient also feels pain on the right side of the forearm.

Similarly, if the right so-called brachial plexus, which is located at the level of the armpit, is damaged, pain can occur in the right forearm. The brachial plexus is a nerve plexus that sends pain impulses towards the brain. Pressure-induced damage or injuries to the plexus therefore lead to pain in the arm and forearm.

Pain in the left forearm

In addition to the typical causes such as tension and tendon irritation due to overloading, which logically occurs in left-handed people, other causes can cause pain in the left forearm. Like the gall bladder on the right, there are also diseases of internal organs that radiate to the left into the forearm. It is known that a heart attack often radiates into the left arm in addition to the existing, strong chest pain, which can extend into the forearm.

This pain occurs suddenly and is associated with severe anxiety. Pain occurring exclusively on the left forearm is highly unlikely to be caused by a heart attack. In addition to the heart, the pancreas can also radiate into the left forearm.

The reason for pain radiating from internal organs is the interconnection at the spinal cord level. Here, various nerve endings are located close to each other, so that other, actually uninvolved nerves can be stimulated simultaneously. The affected person then feels pain in the left forearm, for example. In addition, nerve damage on the left side may be a possible cause of pain in the forearm. The so-called brachial plexus can be affected by degenerative changes in the spinal column, for example, which also causes pain in other nerves.