Often times we have people that talk to us about symptoms down their arms. This can mean pain, burning, numbness, and/or tingling. Each person is different, but when we hear this, we tend to start thinking about nerve issues (especially with burning sensations). Sometimes this happens due to local nerves being entrapped in the muscles around them, but it is more commonly associated to the nerve getting pinched where it comes from the neck.
Addressing the Neck First
One of the first things we will do, after we do a through history is see if any movements of the neck ease or aggravate the symptoms you are feeling. We do this because certain motions of the neck will open or close the space that the nerve exits the neck. If your neck is cleared of being a culprit, we will then look more closely down the arm. Moving forward in this post, we will assume that moving your neck in some way either makes your symptoms worse or better.
Either one is a good sign!
What Neck Movements Mean
The neck moves around in a circle, but we break those movements down into the following 6 movments:
Looking up
Looking down
Looking right
Looking left
Bending right
Bending left
Looking up closes down the joints in the neck and looking down opens them, so if any of these trigger your symptoms, we know that joints are either not moving or moving too much. Looking to the side (both right and left) lets us look at segmental mobility of the levels of the neck and see if things are not moving. Side bending will close down the side you are bending towards and open the opposite side. So these 6 simple movements can tell us a lot about your neck and if it is causing your symptoms.
Can I Fix My Neck Myself?
Often times it is possible to "fix" your neck by doing some simple exercises at home. At the very least, these exercises will give you some relief.
This exercise helps each segment of the spine in the upper back and neck move into a more neutral position. If this exercise is difficult, then it is worth the practice.
These help you to move through ranges of motion that you are able to do without symptom aggravation. It is important to stay away from aggravating your symptoms when doing this as that may make things worse!
Be safe and listen to your body when performing these exercises. You should be watching out for increases in any symptoms; pain, numbness, tingling, or burning. You want to move as much as possible while avoiding these symptoms.
I Got Some Relief, Now What?
So you feel better? That's great! Not all the way there? Trying to get back to how you felt before all this neck/arm stuff started? That's where we come in. We can help you pinpoint exactly what caused your symptoms and help you progress all the way back to doing the things you like to do best!
Call: 425-202-5687
Email: info@bodyfixpt.com
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