Health & Beauty

Wondering Why Your Arm Hurts After a Vaccination? Here’s Why

D id you get vaccinated and now have a sore arm? The pain isn’t always a bad thing! Find out possible reasons why the arm hurts after a vaccination. Are you one of the many people who recently got vaccinated? Wondering why the arm hurts after a vaccination? Don’t worry! You’re not alone. Around 70% of the people reported having a sore arm after the COVID Pfizer shot, and almost 60% of the people who got AstraZeneca complained about the same. But what exactly leads to this numbing soreness and arm pain? Why does the site of the shot hurt? Why does your arm feel heavy, like you cannot move it? The answer is not quite as simple and direct as one would expect, but it isn’t anything alarming or concerning either. flickr - NavyMedicine - CFAY conducts COVID-19 vaccinations for 12 to 17-year-olds - Public Domain Mark 1.0

This is Your Body’s Natural Immune Response

Most vaccines are intramuscular vaccines, including the COVID shot; this means they are to be injected inside the muscle. The most common site of injection is the upper arm. When your immune system comes to know of foreign particles, your white blood cells rush to the site of the "attack" (that’s where you’ve been jabbed) to protect you from infections, and so you feel some aching pain.

Your Muscles May Be Inflamed from the Shot

That’s normal too! The needle itself makes a tiny cut into the skin, and the vaccine that is injected in the muscle may cause inflammation. This inflammation could be the possible reason behind your arm hurting after a vaccination shot.

Pain Indicates the Vaccine is Working

Human bodies do this magical thing known as the adaptive immune response, where the antigen-presenting cells stand guard against any foreign substances. The moment they detect the presence of the vaccine, they set off an alarm. In short, this alarm leads to reactions that produce important antibodies that help us develop long-term protection against the germ that was introduced in our muscle. These antigen presenting cells also produce a protein called cytokine, which widens blood vessels for higher blood flow, leading to swelling and redness, which is painful.

Can I Prevent the Soreness?

Simply put: you cannot be sure until after the shot, but you can try.

• Keep your arm relaxed, so that your muscles do not contract. Relaxed muscles mean easier injection of the needle and may possibly lead to less or no soreness.
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated to avoid dehydration and thus potentially avoid unwanted side effects such as soreness.
• Avoid consuming steroids and alcohol as they have anti-inflammatory effects that affect your body’s natural immune response to the vaccine.
• Check with your doctor whether you can take an over the counter painkiller before getting vaccinated. Doctors generally do not recommend taking a painkiller before getting the COVID shot as the painkiller’s anti-inflammatory properties interfere with the vaccine’s effectiveness.

How Do I Navigate The Soreness?

If the chances of possible prevention are not good enough for you, here’s a few almost surefire ways of finding loopholes so that the soreness does not affect your productivity.

• If you have a choice, get the shot on your non-dominant arm, so that if there may be any soreness your work could go uninterrupted.
• If possible, schedule your vaccination over the weekend to get Saturday and Sunday (or whatever your off days are) to get some time to rest and get your arm back to normal.
• Consider wearing clothes such that your sleeves do not irritate the site of the injection any further. Anything airy will make sure there’s no added pain.

So How Do I Relieve the Soreness If I Have It?

Ideally, the pain should subside within a few days. However, here’s a few tips to help.

• Right after the shot, keep your arm in motion instead of keeping it still to stimulate blood flow.
• To help with the soreness, you can use an ice pack or a cold wet cloth to massage the site of inflammation to reduce swelling and pain.
• It may be difficult and in most cases also uncomfortable, but keep moving your arm during normal everyday activities. Increased activity will mean increased blood flow, which will mean faster healing and thus lesser pain.
• For the most effective treatment, spot exercises of the arm will further elevate the amount of blood that travels to your arm, and thus relieve you of pain faster.

Is a Sore Arm a Good Enough Reason to Not Get Vaccinated?

While the thought of a sore arm after vaccination may be scary, the thought of getting COVID-19 (or whatever disease the vaccination is for) is definitely scarier, so don’t let it hold you back from getting vaccinated. We hope now that you know why the arm hurts after a vaccination, you feel better about getting the shot!

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• arm hurts
• Vaccination
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