u/DueButterscotch9285

Hi everyone,

I’m 23 years old and I’ve been dealing with chronic pain in my right hand/arm for about 13 years, since I was around 10. At the time, doctors couldn’t find a clear explanation, so I ended up just learning to live with it. However, since November 2025, my symptoms have worsened in both intensity and extension, and I’m trying to look for answers again.

It originally started in 2013 as swelling in the thenar area of my right hand, near the base of the thumb. The swelling seems to follow just underneath the palm crease people usually call the “life line.” It feels somewhat hard to the touch. With use, the back of my hand can also become swollen. The pain and swelling usually get worse throughout the day and with activity.

Since the beginning, the pain has been diffuse and constant, mainly in my hand and wrist, but I’ve also had cramps in my fingers and pain radiating toward my elbow.

For many years, the symptoms stayed relatively stable. But since late 2025, I’ve started feeling more pain in my forearm, elbow, triceps area, and sometimes up toward my shoulder, almost as if the pain is spreading or radiating.

So far, I’ve had several tests and specialist appointments:

• Palm ultrasound: normal.
• Cervical MRI: disc dehydration at C5-C6 and some straightening of the cervical spine.
• Rehabilitation for the cervical issues: helped slightly with upper arm symptoms, but everything from the elbow down stayed the same.
• X-rays: normal.
• EMG of the ulnar and median nerves: normal.
• Hand MRI: normal; the lump/swollen area was described as a non-pathological induration.
• Wrist MRI: showed tenosynovitis and ECU subluxation.
• Two orthopedic specialists told me the ECU subluxation seemed mild and probably didn’t explain my symptoms.
• Rheumatology confirmed joint hypermobility and suggested the pain could be related to that, but I didn’t get much more guidance beyond general pain management advice.
• Another orthopedic specialist suggested possible right-sided thoracic outlet syndrome, but didn’t order specific tests. I did 15 physiotherapy sessions focused on strengthening and posture, but I didn’t notice significant improvement, so he ended up discarding that possible diagnosis.

At my last follow-up, the doctor basically told me to “do sports” in case it was related to low muscle tone, and to come back if I found a clearer pattern in my pain. This happened when I was the most active child ever (training tennis for 8 hours a week, riding bikes... maybe it could me related to an untreated injury, idk anymore. When it appeared I did not related to any hit, fall, trauma thing) So once again, I feel like I’ve been left without a clear diagnostic or treatment path.

The pain is often limiting and emotionally exhausting. I’m not necessarily looking for a specific diagnosis from Reddit, but I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar: chronic hand/wrist/arm pain, swelling with use, normal EMG, mostly normal imaging, hypermobility, possible nerve or musculoskeletal involvement, or doctors not really knowing what to do next.

Has anyone gone through something like this? Were there any specialists, tests, treatments, or diagnoses that eventually helped you?

It’s really hard to be 23 and feel like I’m expected to just accept living with unexplained chronic pain.

Thank you so much for reading. Any advice, shared experiences, or suggestions would mean a lot.

Left hand vs. right hand with some swelling

Left hand vs. right hand (the mole one) It is barely noticeable in the photo but there is some swelling that follows just below the ‘life line’ crease of the palm.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently going through a really frustrating journey trying to find a diagnosis for chronic pain I’ve had for about 13 years, since I was 10 years old. Back then, no one was able to explain what was causing it, so I basically got used to living with it. However, since November 2025, my symptoms have started getting worse, both in intensity and in how far the pain spreads.

I’ll try to summarize the evolution of my case.

In 2013, it started as swelling in the thenar eminence of my right hand. It felt somewhat hard to the touch, and when I used my hand, the back of the hand would also become swollen. The pain and swelling usually get worse throughout the day and with use. At that point, the pain was a constant, diffuse pain in my hand and wrist. Since it began, I’ve also had cramps in my fingers and pain radiating towards my elbow. After seeing several specialists at the time, no one was able to give me a clear answer, so I just learned to live with it.

Since November 2025, the hand symptoms have remained relatively stable, but I’ve started feeling more pain in my forearm, elbow, triceps area and even up towards my shoulder, almost as if the pain is radiating.

In 2025, the first orthopedic specialist I saw ordered an ultrasound of the palm, which came back normal. Then I had a cervical MRI, which showed disc dehydration at C5-C6 and some straightening of the cervical spine. I did rehabilitation for that, and it helped a little with the symptoms in the upper part of my arm, but everything from the elbow down stayed the same.

Later, another orthopedic specialist ordered X-rays, which were normal; an EMG of the ulnar and median nerves, also normal; a hand MRI, which was normal and suggested that the lump was probably a non-pathological induration; and a wrist MRI, which showed tenosynovitis and ECU subluxation. However, during the physical examination, the doctor said the subluxation seemed mild and should not be causing the symptoms I describe, so I was referred to rheumatology.

In rheumatology, I was told it could be related to hypermobility. During the appointment, they performed some physical tests and confirmed joint hypermobility. They gave me some general pain management recommendations, but that was basically it. They also said the ECU subluxation did not seem particularly important in my case and could be related to the hypermobility.

Since I wanted a second opinion, I saw another orthopedic specialist. He also said that the ECU subluxation seen on imaging did not seem relevant, and he did not think the hypermobility was significant enough to explain my symptoms. He suggested it could be right-sided thoracic outlet syndrome, but did not order any specific tests. Instead, he recommended 15 physiotherapy sessions focused on strengthening and postural correction. After doing the physiotherapy and not noticing significant improvement, I had a follow-up appointment, and he basically told me to “do sports” in case it was related to muscle hypotonia, and to book another appointment if I found a clearer pattern in my pain.

So now I feel like I’m once again left without a clear path to follow, either diagnostically or in terms of treatment. The pain is frequent, often quite limiting, and it is affecting me emotionally as well. I’m not trying to self-diagnose, but while researching possible causes I came across hEDS. The rheumatologist seemed to dismiss it partly because of my phenotype, but out of concern and exhaustion, I wanted to ask whether this sounds familiar to anyone with experience of hEDS, symptomatic hypermobility, or chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Does this sound like something that could be related to hEDS or hypermobility, or should I keep exploring other possible diagnoses? Are there any specialists, tests, or evaluation routes that you would recommend in a case like this?

I’m 23 years old, and it’s really hard to accept that the only answer might be to live with pain without a diagnosis or a proper treatment plan.

Thank you so much for reading. Any advice or shared experience would mean a lot.

https://preview.redd.it/b8yctckc3z1h1.png?width=1732&format=png&auto=webp&s=67655eac1f942fd7788f5ec271f4d60a26bb8c86

Left hand vs. right hand with some swelling

Left hand vs. right hand (the mole one) It is barely noticeable in the photo but there is some swelling that follows just below the ‘life line’ crease of the palm.