Severe Pain in Shoulders at Night

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have pretty bad pain in both shoulders every night. It seems to be in my shoulder joints and it actually wakes me up several times a night and my arms are usually numb also. the problem started at first with my hand or hands going numb in my sleep then progressed to pain in my left shoulder and sometimes left elbow and now it is in both my shoulders and always at night. The pain slowly subsides after I get up and get moving which is very painful, but it does lessen more and more until it nearly goes away in about an hour. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Scott: You may be either having a cervial spondylosis or some rheumatic condition like rheumatoid arthritis since you are having am pain along with some component fo morning stiffness. However the pain in the arms and elbows may indicate some nerve impingement that could take place when one has cervical spondylosis. and thus the 2 different diagnoses. I suggest your next step should be seeing a physician in person for the appropriate physcial examination which would give a clearer idea and also a neck and bilateral shoulder xray. In the mean time try taking NSAIDS meds like advil to relive you of the pain. All the best.