Neck pain that shoots to the shoulder

Have you ever had a pain that starts in your neck but also shoots down to your shoulder, and sometimes even down into your arm or hand?  It could be a number of things including Cervical Spine radiculopathy or thoracic outlet syndrome.

Basically what happens is that the nerves exit from the spinal cord to the side of your neck also pass through behind the collar bone and down to the shoulder and down the arm.  There are spaces in your body for those nerves to bend and stretch as you move your head and shoulder.  However sometimes that space can get closed up.  This happens because of old injuries, poor posture and various other reasons.  The space will be narrowed to the point where it impedes on the space of the nerves and it starts irritating them.  Next what follows is pins and needles, tingling, numbness, pain and sometimes even weakness of your arm.

So....what do we do about this?

Well the goal is to open up the space available to the nerves so they can move un-impeded by the bones and soft tissues of the body.  We can accomplish that in several different ways.  Here are some examples.
Videos

• Active Release Technique to the neck and arm musculature

Exercises
Thoracic Spine Foam Rolling

• Bent over reach-backs

If you are in neck or shoulder pain and are in Boca Raton, FL please call us at 561.997.8898 or visit me at www.Mobility-4Life.com