Forums >Health and Nutrition>Pinched nerve in neck. Updated after injections
So for a few years I've been getting pain in my shoulder from time to time, sticks around for a week or two and gone. Now I've had the pain for two months, it moves from shoulder to tricep and back. And lucky for me now my arm gets a burning-numb feeling when I'm not active.
Anybody have any experience with this or suggestions on how to get rid of it?
weird...this started for me last week while i was riding bike. still have it and am curious to replies other than go see a doctor.
pretty sure that i need a new mattress but i think the bike set it off...as i get bad pains at back of neck after long rides.
hope someone here knows something and you feel better.
In order to see the truth, sometimes you have to loose an eye.
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Utri/
Feeling the growl again
About 6-7 years ago I had something similar. It came on suddenly with no apparent cause and with a debilitating headache. For about 2 years I could not turn my head one direction very well. Then one day, it left as quickly as it appeared. None of the stretching/massaging stuff I tried had any effect.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Creepy! I have had the same thing for years. I would wake up with pain in the neck/shoulder, it would last a few days, maybe a week and then go away. I had it happpen end of May and it never resolved . . . . long story short, I had an MRI and was diagnosed with a herniated disc, c-6/c-7. I am in constant pain and have lost sensation in my hand. I am waiting on a consult with a specialist. Hope that you are not dealing with the same situation.
Papa don't take no mess.
I see a chiro certified in ART for such things. If you find a good one keep going every so often for maintenance. It helps me a lot.
Rcuch, hope you feel better!
Spaniel, sounds the same, it shows up for no reason, and is a pain in the neck.
Mc, I think we're pinched nerve buddies, it showed up in mid may, hasn't left, MRI say between 5-6 I think. I go to see neurosurgeon in 2 weeks. Guess they start with therapy and cortisone shot?
Run Muppy, I'm not a Dr but have gone thru this. Firstly, did you play any impact sports growing up? Worked out and did lifting (bench press, incline)? A "pinched nerve" is being pinched by something and its usually a disc which means you likely have some sort of herniated/bulged disc putting pressure on the nerve (mine was herniated from a freak impact injury and when it "went to bright" it felt like my left forearm was immersed in acid). I would give therapy about 3-4 months before trying any epidural/cortisone shot (you really want to avoid the latter, it is used so that the body can absorb whatever disc matter, if applicable, is impinging that nerve, but there are risks -- cortisone is not without issues and if remember that Mass. compounding company in the news a couple of years ago that distributed these epidural shots where people were dying and/or had serious infections). Assuming your issue was not caused by an impact injury, it is likely a muscle imbalance over time (i.e., you bench press but you don't do anything with the reverse movement, so over time your shoulders "round" and they get pulled forward -- similar to the posture of many guys in a gym look when they walk around) where either time and usually something (such as a small impact, sudden movement, etc.) causes a bulge/herniation because the muscles are weak. You should try foam rolling (or using a rumble roller as that is very effective in the upper back and neck area) from your mid-back up to your neck -- this helps straighten out your shoulders (I do this every day and it really helps that one day or two each year when I stress my impingement). Also try --> lie down on your back w/knees bent upward feet flat on the floor preferably on a carpeted floor, then placing a tennis ball underneath your upper back and then rolling on the tennis ball along your shoulder blades, rhomboids, delts, traps, etc. (do not roll along your spine). Good luck.
Rob
Update
So I did physical therapy for twice a week for 5 weeks, helped a little but still had severe burning feeling in my arm. Ended up getting cortisone shot in neck, did it 3 weeks in a row and seems to be working pretty good for now. ( just hope it stays that way)
12-week layoff
I bought a pillow with a little indentation for my head, and started sleeping on my side. It also helps a LOT to sleep with a stuffed animal. Silly, I know, but it keeps my shoulders "open" at night to hug something, so I bought an Eeyore pillow pet, and hug him every night.
Hip Redux
I've dealt with this too - herniated C6/C7. The cortisone relieved almost all symptoms, but everyone once and a while I'll have a minor flare up. Changes I needed to make -
Try to not look down at a laptop/smart phone for long periods of time.
Changed to side sleeping with one of those ergonomic pillows (grooved so that the head and neck are aligned)
Started sleeping with a body pillow like schoolmarm's eeyore.
And I have a neck traction device for at home (my insurance covered it!) for when it's really bad.