Right Arm Pain In Women: What Are The Causes And What To Do?

Right arm pain in women is common but potentially alarming. It can manifest in various forms: acute, dull, radiating, or stabbing pain. The causes are multiple, ranging from simple muscle tension to more serious conditions such as a myocardial infarction. Women often present with atypical symptoms of cardiovascular disease, which complicates treatment. Should you always be concerned when pain appears in the right arm? How can you distinguish a benign cause from a situation that requires rapid intervention? What tests can help clarify the origin of the pain? This article provides an overview of the most common causes, warning signs that should not be ignored, and solutions to relieve or treat this pain.

Right arm pain: What type of pain is it?

Sharp, dull, stabbing, or radiating pain?

The first step in assessing right arm pain is to describe its characteristics:

Precise location

Upper arm (shoulder, upper biceps);

Middle or lower part of the arm (forearm);

Elbow region (lateral or internal face).

Intensity

Rate the visual analog scale (0 = no pain, 10 = unbearable pain);

Mild pain (< 3/10) vs moderate pain (3–7/10) vs severe pain (> 7/10).

Character and duration

Acute: sudden onset, rapid peak intensity (e.g., muscle strain, fracture);

Dull: diffuse pain persisting for several hours/days (e.g., chronic tendonitis);

Throbbing: nerve pain, electric shock type (e.g., pinched nerve);

Irradiated: starts at the shoulder and goes down to the elbow, forearm, or hand (e.g, neck pain, thoracic outlet syndrome).

Triggers or relievers

Appearance during movement or effort (lifting an object, raising the arm);

Presence or absence of pain at rest;

Aggravating factor: prolonged sitting, muscle tension;

Relief factor: application of cold/heat, anti-inflammatories.

Irradiation

Pain radiating from the right arm to the neck or shoulder (e.g., cardiac pain);

Pain going down to the hand or fingers (e.g., carpal tunnel).

Associated symptoms

To establish a differential diagnosis, it is essential to look for the presence of associated symptoms.

Sensory disorders

Numbness (paresthesia) of the arm, hand, or fingers;

Tingling (dysesthesia) is typical of nerve compression;

Burns suggest a neuropathic cause.

Muscle weakness

Inability to shake hands;

Difficulty lifting an object;

Abnormal fatigue on one side.

General symptoms

Fever or feverish state;

Shortness of breath;

Chest tightness or chest pain radiating to the right arm;

Palpitations, sensation of a racing heart;
Sweating, nausea.

Common and benign causes

Many common situations can cause right arm pain in women. The most common are related to musculoskeletal conditions or poor posture.

Musculoskeletal causes

Shoulder or elbow tendonitis

Rotator cuff tendonitis (shoulder): pain when raising the arm, often during repetitive movements (painting, sports). The tendons (supraspinatus, subscapularis) are inflamed.

Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow): pain around the lateral epicondyle of the elbow, aggravated by gripping or bending the wrist;

Biceps tendonitis: Anterior shoulder pain, increased when bending the elbow.

Muscle tension

Repetitive effort: prolonged keyboard typing, manual finishing gestures (sewing, makeup);

Bad posture: prolonged sitting, neck stretched forward, shoulders rolled, causing tension in the trapezius or deltoid.

Muscle contracture or strain

Contracture: localized pain, muscle stiffness after exertion or stress, without fiber rupture;

Tear: sharp, sudden pain, often during a sudden movement, with limited ability to move the arm, and possible bruising.

Cervical osteoarthritis

Cervical pain radiating into the right arm: wear of the cervical discs causing projected pain (cervicobrachial neuralgia);

Pain aggravated by prolonged standing or rotating movements of the neck.

Postural or mechanical causes

Prolonged computer work

Trapezius syndrome: Chronic contractures of the upper trapezius cause diffuse pain in the arm.

Mouse position: too low or too high, causing tension in the shoulder.

Poor arm positioning at night

Nervous position: arm under the pillow, classic criterion for postural brachial neuralgia.

Morning numbness, “sleepy arm” sensation resolved after shaking.

Unsuitable charging port

Heavy bag on one shoulder: overload of the deltoid, shoulder, and neck.

Poor weight distribution in mothers carrying a baby on one side leads to muscle asymmetry.

Right arm pain in women: Should we think about the heart?

Contrary to popular belief, cardiac pain can occur in the right arm, especially in women. Although rarer than pain radiating to the left arm, it is still possible.

Atypical cardiac symptoms often seen in women are:

pain radiating into the right arm, sometimes into the jaw, left shoulder, or between the shoulder blades;

shortness of breath without marked chest pain;

nausea, vomiting, persistent nausea;

inexplicable extreme fatigue ;

cold sweats, dizziness, vague feeling of unease.

Sudden, non-movement-related, oppressive or squeezing pain that lasts more than 20–30 minutes should raise suspicion of a heart attack even without a history of cardiovascular disease. In women, the presentation is often less classic, making diagnosis more difficult.

The woman should seek emergency care if:

sudden onset of pain in the right arm + oppression;

general malaise (nausea, sweating);

shortness of breath or dizziness.

In these situations, call 15 immediately or go to the emergency room, because every minute counts to limit the extent of the heart attack.

Other possible causes

Beyond musculoskeletal and cardiac causes, several other pathologies deserve consideration, such as:

Neurological causes: pinched nerve (cervicobrachial neuralgia), carpal tunnel syndrome (compression of the median nerve in the wrist, causing tingling, numbness and pain radiating to the forearm and sometimes down the arm); thoracic outlet syndrome (compression of the vessels or nerves under the collarbone, often in young women, causing pain radiating to the shoulder and arm, associated with weakness or tingling).

vascular causes: phlebitis of the upper limb (pain, swelling, local heat, risk of migration of the clot to the heart/lungs); circulatory disorders

gynecological or hormonal causes: perimenopause/menopause (hormonal imbalance promoting diffuse pain or muscle tension, sometimes felt in the right arm); hormonal influence on inflammation (estrogen variations which modulate sensitivity to pain and muscle recovery ).