Understanding Referred Pain
Over the next few blogs, we’ll explore referred pain in the body. We’ll discuss what referred pain is, highlight the common areas where we see referred pain patterns as physiotherapists, and share effective treatment strategies for patients dealing with this condition.
What is Referred Pain, and How Does it Work?
Chen et al. (2023) define referred pain as pain that is perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus. They further describe that referred pain could come from a body organ or other tissues such as muscles or joints.
More simply put, referred pain is pain that is felt in one area of the body that is originating from somewhere else in the body. Due to the interconnected nature of our bodies, the nervous system and brain can get confused about where pain is coming from, causing us to believe it is coming from somewhere it is not.
I encounter referred pain almost daily in my physiotherapy practice, and one common area where I see this is in the shoulder and arm. Patients often complain of arm pain, pointing to the upper arm and sometimes extending down to the elbow and hand. While it’s possible for patients to injure these areas, in cases of referred pain, they typically show no signs of injury to the arm itself.
So, Where is the Pain Coming From?
In many instances, the pain is referred from the shoulder, specifically from the rotator cuff muscles. (For more details on the rotator cuff, see our previous blog HERE.) When there is an issue with one or more of the rotator cuff muscles, pain can radiate down the arm, and sometimes this referred pain is difficult to localize, as there is often no localized tenderness where people feel their pain.
The underlying message here is that your pain, although felt in one part of the body, may be coming from another. We as physiotherapists recognize these referral patterns and can differentiate them from other sources of pain, which is essential in treating the symptoms and underlying causes of your pain.
**Chen JS, Kandle PF, Murray IV, et al. Physiology, Pain. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539789/
This blog post was written by physiotherapist Jacob Coelho. To book an appointment with Jacob or one of our other experienced therapists, call 250-314-0788 or book online HERE.