Tingling and occasional shooting pain in right arm

Brain and nerves
1

Hi, this weekend I started feeling aching in my right wrist area. I thought I might have sprained it, I was having difficulty starting a lawnmower so pulling the cord repetitvely might have caused it! Anyway a few days on the aching has gone but I have strange tingling sensations in my right arm if I move it in certain positions. It feels like pins and needles and I also feel a little numbness in my forearm/wrist area, but also I get sharp pains shoot down my arm occasionally e.g. I went to post office today and held the door for someone and got a shooting pain down my arm which was very uncomfortable. It only lasted a few seconds so it must depend on the position my right arm is in and how much force I'm applying. 

Anyway so I decided I need to go to get it looked at after that. Went to a hospital minor injuries unit as my Doctors now only does future appointments (which seems stupid). The woman there did some tests flexing my arms and I only felt some tingling sensations, no pain, but it wasn't like I was lifting anything to put strain on my arms. She said I was ok and just take ibuprophen if I need it and if it gets worse or doesnt improve then see GP.

It wasn't very helpful as the tingling and sharp pains haven't gone away, and I feel a slight ache/tightness in it even at rest. I'm hesitant whether I should try and do most things like normal and accept the tingling (and being right handed I use that hand all the time) or whether I should let my arm fully rest for some days now. I've never had anything like this before and so just want some assurance that these injuries can heal fully and how long they might take (as it feels like it might not be quick healing) and what I should be doing. It might be repetitive strain injury as I work on computers most of the time so do a lot of typing and my forearm feels a bit strained just typing now, so I'm not sure whether I should just take a few days off work or just carry on through it and hope it heals.

Sorry for the long post, am just a bit concerned about it so looking for advice/reassurance. Thanks  smile

2

Try to find an orthopedic hand specialist. They are best at diagnosing and treating nerve issues in your arms and hands.

3

Thanks Jennifer. Luckily I didn’t need to find a specialist in the end. Both doctor and at minor injury clinic they suggested rest as it was tendonitis causing a trapped nerve. And it has gradually got a lot better through rest, regular icing and now building up strength again through progressive exercises, and is getting close to being back to normal which is a huge relief.

Guess it shows sometimes just trust the doctor’s advice and don’t panic about things too much :slight_smile: