Pinched a Nerve in My Neck

Before or after the C5-6 discectomy and fusion?

Seriously though, it depends on what you are calling a "pinched nerve." Do you have numbness or tingling going down one of your arms? Is is just local to your neck/shoulder area? Severe pain, linked to head movement, does it go away if you keep your head still, get worse if you turn yiour head? No one can really diagnose it over the internet, but it might be easier to relate if you shared the symptoms.

ETA "over the internet"

I had one last year and tried a lot things (pain killers, muscle relaxers, physical therapy). The only thing that worked and got rid of it was a series of epidurals in my neck.

quote:

---

Severe pain, linked to head movement, does it go away if you keep your head still, get worse if you turn yiour head

---

This. All of this.

In Baltimore? About 30 minutes.

Damn. I was hoping the answer would be rest, ice, and a couple Advil for a few days.

quote:

---

I was hoping the answer would be rest, ice and a couple Advil for a few days.

---

It may be. That's the problem with not knowing the symptoms. If the pain is confined to your neck/shoulder area, it could be a subluxation that is causing pain in the muscles around your spine. If you are getting numbness/tingling/pain in your arms/hand, it could a herniated disc that is touching a nerve root. These are probably the two extremes with a lot of stuff in the middle. As long as the pain is confined to the neck area, it is probably a minor, if painful problem. Go see a good chiropractor and he will fix you up or just wait it out with Advil, Aleve and such.

Another thing that might help to the extent that you can tolerate it is mobilizing your neck, the kind of thing that is likely to meke it "pop." Have someone put you in traction while laying on your back. you should be resting and let them pull on your head like they are trying to slide you toward them. Low impact exercises that involve spine twisting movements can help too, think swimming the crawl, golf/baseball swings, stuff like that.

If, on the other hand, it is causing loss of sensation, tingling or burning in your arm, hands, or shoulder, you should go see a neurosurgeon as soon as possible. If you have a disc that has started putting pressure on a nerve, you want to get that fixed right away before it causes more damage.

I have had both sorts of problems and a surgery to fix the disc problem. The first time I had the "minor" problem, I woke up, yawned and felt an immediate pain in my neck. It was severe. I had to roll out of bed because it hurt too much for me to lift my head when trying to sit up. This lasted for three days until I went to a Chiropractor. When I left his office after one adjustment, I knew that the problem was fixed, but the soreness lasted a few more days. Incidentally, sleeping on a cervical pillow can really help prevent this.

Hope you feel better soon.

Sounds like a pulled muscle.

Fairly sure you just hit the nail on the head. That's exactly where I'm having pain.

Now to make it go away. Preferably before work tomorrow.

Get a baseball or something similar in firmness & size. (We use lacrosse balls). Lean against a wall & drop the ball behind your back near the middle of your shoulder blades in the side that hurts. Lean against it, & roll it around till you "find something". Don't worry, you'll know it when u do, lol. Spend about 5-6 minutes on it & see if it releases it a bit. If it's bad, it'll take a while (a day or 2)

Good advice. I use lacrosse balls at the gym for my lower back, maybe that will help this issue as well. Thanks.