# That pain in my arm when I stretch **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641 "2002-03-11T18:19:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/1 "2002-03-11T18:19:28Z")
Does know exactly what part of my arm hurts when I stretch it too far to reach for something or if I take my coat funny? I know this is hard to describe, but sometimes I get this sharp, but brief, pain in my upper arm from time to time. It goes away after a minute or so, so I assume it’s some sort of a muscle spasm. ---
**Author:** ![struct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@struct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struct)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/2 "2002-03-12T07:42:35Z")
IANAD, but my father is… …at any rate, wouldn’t that be the triceps, the muscle responsible for extending the arm, and the complimentary muscle to the biceps? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/3 "2002-03-12T09:18:45Z")
If it is in the upper arm then it is possibly a shoulder injury with referred pain. See a doctor, though most injuries of that kind generally heal themselves. All a doctor will do is confirm that it isn’t something more serious or something that can be treated like a spur. ---
**Author:** ![secretkeeper78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@secretkeeper78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretkeeper78)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/4 "2002-03-12T09:21:57Z")
I get that too. people probably think i’m nuts. does the pain come for seemingly no reason? like you are just sitting there and there is a sharp shooting pain through your arm for like a few seconds? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/5 "2002-03-12T14:34:26Z")
one of the signs of heart trouble is shooting pains in the limbs, but lots of other things can cause that too. Your best bet is a doctor - online consultations are somewhat error prone ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-pain-in-my-arm-when-i-stretch/97641/6 "2002-03-12T20:57:08Z")
No, it’s not referred pain or anything like that. It’s definitely something I get from stretching my arm out too far. I suppose that a muscle gets stretched a bit too far. I’m enough of a hypochondriac to know about the “arm pain as sign of heart attack” 🙂 An example of this pain would be when I reach over the front seat of my car into my back seat and then “OUCH!”. It’s almost always in my upper arm. But the pain goes away after a few minutes. I suppose the cure for this would be, “Then just don’t do that.”