Even though the injury affects mainly the wrist, the pain can spread all the way to the elbow. It's hard to injure the upper arm itself because it's so well muscled. One common cause of arm pain that affects the upper arm directly, however, is bicipital tendinitis, in which a tendon near the shoulder is frayed or torn, triggering a flare-up of pain in the biceps of the upper arm. Pain from elsewhere in the body can be referred to the upper arm. Lifting heavy weights, for example, can inflame the tendons in the shoulders, which shows up as pain in the upper arm.
Severe pain radiating down the left arm is a classic sign of heart attack.
It can be accompanied by nausea, shortness of breath or chest pain, but sometimes pain in the left arm is the only symptom. Symptom Relief T reatment for arm pain depends on what part of the arm hurts and how badly it is injured. But here are a few rules of thumb. Easy does it. Give your arm a break from activity for a few days.