What could cause acute pain in the elbow and numbness in the arm?
Patient: My girlfriend and I recently traveled to Colorado from Texas. We have been here about a week, and she has began to experience an acute pain which started in her elbow. The pain has lasted about six hours now, and has progressed from something she described as shin splint like pain in the left elbow to numbness and tingling down the entire left arm. The pain is not increased with palpation. She takes oral contraceptives, and Synthroid. She has hypothyroidism, and NKDA. Any idea what this could be? Doctor: Hi,  The pain you described can be radicular pain in entire arm due to nerve irritation in the cervical spine. The cause may be long distance travelling with sitting in an odd position. Ask her to take a rest. Avoid lifting weights with the left upper limb.  Start tab Pregalin one at bedtime with tab Ultracet twice a day for pain relief. If not relieved in 5 days, please consult an orthopedic surgeon nearby your area.  Hope I have answered your query.  Let me know if I can assist you further.