Pinched nerve in neck

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celiah909
celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a pinched nerve in my neck and a bulging disc. It has caused back/neck pain and limited mobility in my right arm including not having pain-free use of my shoulder and muscle weakness.

Wednesday I got my first, and likely last steroid injection due to side effects, and am not feeling 100% in that right arm yet but want to get back to working out next week. Does anyone have suggestions on workouts to do? Ones to avoid? Right now I'm thinking cardio, especially walking and lower body are what I can do without irritating my back.

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    you need to be asking your doctor or physio these things...
  • celiah909
    celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    you need to be asking your doctor or physio these things...

    I should add I'm not doing anything without talking to them and will not utilizing any advice given here without asking them.

    The last thing I want to do is hurt myself. But I also would like to have a list of items to review so I can start moving more.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    There is another active thread about alternatives to shoulder press. There might some be ideas you can use in there. (Neck, upper back, and shoulder muscles are related.)
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
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    Are you going to physical therapy? My surgeon was pretty useless when it came to him telling me what to do and what not to do ("don't do anything that hurts" Mmkay), but my physical therapist was a wealth of info. I'd start there if you haven't already.
  • celiah909
    celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
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    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    Are you going to physical therapy? My surgeon was pretty useless when it came to him telling me what to do and what not to do ("don't do anything that hurts" Mmkay), but my physical therapist was a wealth of info. I'd start there if you haven't already.

    I start with them next week so I'll make sure to ask a lot of questions. Thank you
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
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    Be sure to ask about nerve flossing. My PT taught me about it for sciatica, and I ended up applying it to the medial nerve in my arm after having a benign tumor removed from within the nerve which left me with permanent scarring and pain. My neurosurgeon (really a good guy) didn't even recommend it to me.
    The idea is to do a series of slow, gentle moves, which flosses the nerve back and forth through the nerve sheath. You don't stretch it, you floss it. This gently breaks up adhesions and relieves inflammation. Unbelievably useful in the right circumstances, and done properly. I know it can be done for pinched nerves and bulging discs in the neck.
  • celiah909
    celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
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    kavahni wrote: »
    Be sure to ask about nerve flossing. My PT taught me about it for sciatica, and I ended up applying it to the medial nerve in my arm after having a benign tumor removed from within the nerve which left me with permanent scarring and pain. My neurosurgeon (really a good guy) didn't even recommend it to me.
    The idea is to do a series of slow, gentle moves, which flosses the nerve back and forth through the nerve sheath. You don't stretch it, you floss it. This gently breaks up adhesions and relieves inflammation. Unbelievably useful in the right circumstances, and done properly. I know it can be done for pinched nerves and bulging discs in the neck.

    Will do! I have never heard of it so I'll ask.

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