Pinched nerve in neck

[Chris J]

This is actually a follow up to something I mis diagnosed on or about 6/9/11 with a thread entitled severe trap pull. I ended up going to a neurologist. Not sure of spelling, but did pay the bill. The pain in my neck spread to my shoulder and I lost about 80% of the strength in that arm. Jerking off was actually painful and a chore. It took me two weeks to get into to see the specialist.By then the pain had actually subsided. Three weeks of intense pain finally went away. I was just left with weak arm. The doctor took X Rays and said the syptoms were all indications of a pinched nerve. Two discs were visibly much closer together with very little padding between them. Doc says go get an M.R.I...well thats another 800 bucks even with insurance in the U.S. I go online and do a bunch of reading and find out most pinched nerves heal themselves...depending on severity. Lots of ice..lots of rest and I am feeling much better. I got under 275 on the bench for few reps the other day which is a miracle compared to two weeks ago when I could barely hold my arm up to shave or wash my hair without jolting pain and weakness in one arm. A couple more weeks and I should be at 100% . I hope this helps someone in the future.

[optionsdude]

Who told you a pinched nerve heals itself? I had surgery last year on 2 levels in my neck disc replacement on one fusion on the other. Depending on how bad the nerve is pinched would have alot to do with it healing itself I would think. My pain was bad and would not go away not even doubling up on Norco's helped. If a nerve is pinched bad enough to rupture the lining on the nerve (mylin) the pain will be permanent. This is why I opted for surgery. There are some great medications that block nerve pain without making you a zombie. I took neurontin at first but it causes severe mood swings in some people (me), then I took lyrica which worked without the bad sides. If I missed a dose the pain came right back. Now I take no meds except TRT and I lost very little range of motion. Which discs did you have a prob with? C5 and C6,C6 and C7, or C7 and T1?

[Str8Jakked]

I had a pinched nerve a few years ago and I was told it was between C6 and C7 and it healed itself but the pain was crazy for a couple of weeks.

[zaggahamma]

scary bro....just had a similar tweak in the gym and it radiated into shoulder as well...havent lifted since so no pain in shoulder but the trap still feels like a pull or a nerve...hope your position about it healing itself is correct....find out monday or tuesday here

[lovbyts]

Sounds like to many of us suffering the same. Between my shoulders; mostly my left and the still slightly pinched nerve in my neck effecting mostly my right trap it sucks.
Optionsdude, sorry to hear about your problem also but yes pinched nerves can/do heal themselves depending on severity and also sorry to say most doctors are far to quick to operate on people who dont need it or may heal naturally. Surgery is always a last option to me although I have had 2 on my lower back and they were life savers literally.
2nd worse pain I have ever been in was about 2 months ago with the lower neck/trap area but after 24hrs of ice off and on it was bearable and after a couple days much better. It's still not right and needs some work but slowly getting better.

[optionsdude]

The pain was unfvcking believable and went from my neck into my hand on the pinky and ring finger side. I could do nothing but lay perfectly still with my arm above my head after about 2 hours it would subside. If I moved at all it came roaring right back. The surgery wasn't that bad and I was going good after 5 months. I cannot push myself to failure though except when doing legs. All upper body exercises when going for failure put alot of stress on your neck. I have been able to push myself harder lately but if I go too far I will get spasms in trap. What really sucks though is I cannot do upright rows, shrugs, and lateral deltoid raises.

[optionsdude]

Hey LB I had symptoms for about 2 years off and on. And then one day My trap kept getting tighter and the pain getting worse. The next day it was from my neck into my forearm and I though it might just be the worst tendonitis ever. Then it got worse. I had several opinions before I chose surgery, two from chiropractors, one massage therapist, one orthopedic surgeon, one neurologist, and finally a neurosurgeon. Oh and a friend who is a retired orthopedic surgeon. They all looked at my MRI and cringed. I thought my massage therapist was gonna cry. Now that I look back I wish I had done the surgery sooner.

[lovbyts]

Hey LB I had symptoms for about 2 years off and on. And then one day My trap kept getting tighter and the pain getting worse. The next day it was from my neck into my forearm and I though it might just be the worst tendonitis ever. Then it got worse. I had several opinions before I chose surgery, two from chiropractors, one massage therapist, one orthopedic surgeon, one neurologist, and finally a neurosurgeon. Oh and a friend who is a retired orthopedic surgeon. They all looked at my MRI and cringed. I thought my massage therapist was gonna cry. Now that I look back I wish I had done the surgery sooner.

Sounds like you did do your research and what you should have before the surgery. I felt the same way with my back, I wish I had done my first surgery years before I had done it and also had gotten in better shape after so my next one down did not rupture 2 years later. Yeah not much you can do when it is ruptured but FAR to many people get surgery to soon and not needed many times its only a muscle strain but the dont know the difference.

My L3 & L4 degenerated over time (20 years) and just kept getting worse until I could not walk or stand for over 5 minutes at a time. L5/S1 ruptured all at once and I was paralyzed from the waist down for 2 weeks until surgery. Like I said, surgery was a god send and necessary for me also I just want to make sure other people dont jump on the table to quick. If the pain is bearable then all other options should be considered first.

[zaggahamma]

fine today...day 2 of rest...the trap thing got me worried a bit

[lovbyts]

Glad to hear it. Hopefully mine will be better/gone soon.

[zaggahamma]

spoke to soon...wtf...it goes sometimes high on the neck at the back of my head

[lovbyts]

More ice. As I suggested to another, you need (so do I) some deep tissue massage to break up the knots and release the toxins. Ice it asap after also and drink a lot of water. Do this 2 or 3x a week for a couple of weeks. I need to make some phone calls in the morning to do the same. I know I still have a good size lump on my upper right side that needs broke up.

[zaggahamma]

yeh...i should have known the shiat would feel fine when not doing anything....fn chest workout of all things made it tighten up

[optionsdude]

Take some time off from lifting especially going for failure. Heat in the morning and stretch it out. Then ice after you do some light exercise. As LB mentioned lots of water. When you strain during most upper body exercises it puts tremendous amounts of strain on the cervical thoracic (CV) junction. This is where th cervical and thoracic vertebra meet. Take it easy and the other thing LB mentioned is a good massage therapist the kind that inflicts pain and no happy ending. Has your jaw been tight? Lots of people clench their jaw when they sleep and this can cause neck spasms. I've had jaw tightness recently and I made the mistake of telling my massage therapist and it felt like she was traing to push her thumb through my jaw joint as I was moving the jaw muscles. This kind of active deep tissue works great, you move the muscle while they dig their thumb or elbow into the muscle group. Painful but will get you some relief. Another simple tool to massage your own mid and upper back, especially the scapula area is to take 2 tennis balls and duct tape them together as tight as you can. Then lean up against a wall with the tennis balls between the wall and your upper back and you use your legs to move it to the sweet spot and it will dig in good. Cheap and effective trick I learned in PT after my surgery.

[zaggahamma]

Take some time off from lifting especially going for failure. Heat in the morning and stretch it out. Then ice after you do some light exercise. As LB mentioned lots of water. When you strain during most upper body exercises it puts tremendous amounts of strain on the cervical thoracic (CV) junction. This is where th cervical and thoracic vertebra meet. Take it easy and the other thing LB mentioned is a good massage therapist the kind that inflicts pain and no happy ending. Has your jaw been tight? Lots of people clench their jaw when they sleep and this can cause neck spasms. I've had jaw tightness recently and I made the mistake of telling my massage therapist and it felt like she was traing to push her thumb through my jaw joint as I was moving the jaw muscles. This kind of active deep tissue works great, you move the muscle while they dig their thumb or elbow into the muscle group. Painful but will get you some relief. Another simple tool to massage your own mid and upper back, especially the scapula area is to take 2 tennis balls and duct tape them together as tight as you can. Then lean up against a wall with the tennis balls between the wall and your upper back and you use your legs to move it to the sweet spot and it will dig in good. Cheap and effective trick I learned in PT after my surgery.

jaw?....wow...weird...YES..BUT ONLY WHEN i am doing pullovers for chest..so weird...


i do massage my trap a little bit on my own but my wife gives it a better squeeze...good relief there but seems temporary...havent iced or heated that area ever....only lower back ice and that always feels great and relieves stiffness...will try...

working back today and will pay attention to what happens with my trap...as of this morning(with another rest day after the chest day) no pain/stiffness in the trap....to my recolection its only day of training thus far....