What does the MRI say?Originally Posted by Brian Hougentogler
Member
Question regarding training with a neck injury
I have a chronic neck injury. Most of the time it causes me pain, stiffness, decreased range of motion, and headaches. This injury did not hamper my training for the first 6 months. Over the last month or so, I have been noticing pain in my left shoulder and arm after squatting. At first I thought it might be just muscle soreness, but the pain has become more intense, lasts longer, and is more of a radiating kind of pain. Recently, it has also caused weakness in the left arm after squatting, so much so that it affects my other lifts as well.
Is there any suggestions as to how to train around this problem? I don't want to have to stop squatting to allow this to heal if possible. Thanks.
Community Organizer (Administrator)
What does the MRI say?
Member
Hi Brian,
I'm not a coach but I'm going through a very similar situation. Your post describes my symptoms almost exactly. The following is only my experience and does not constitute medical advice (of course).
My clinical diagnosis is a pinched spinal root nerve at C5 and/or C6. X-ray indicates mild bone degeneration, but no MRI yet. My orthopedist has "no concerns" that I will make it any worse by doing heavy squats or other lifts if I maintain good neck position. Current treatment plan is lots of Ibuprofen, physical therapy, and referral to spine clinic if no improvement in 4 weeks.
My approach has been to continue training. It hasn't made things worse, and there is some reduction in pain following training sessions. Two things have helped mitigate aggravation with squatting. One, an intent focus on maintaining neutral neck position. Second, sloooowly untensing my neck and shoulders after racking the bar. Press and bench press has gotten weaker for me, so I've been doing lighter weights for higher reps on those lifts. Massage, stretching, and heat have been helpful.
My past experience with a pinched sciatic nerve has guided my approach. It just took time to heal. Stopping training didn't make it heal any faster (only made me weaker), so I resumed training and eventually got better. And because I kept training my back was strong and less prone to reinjury. I hope the same pattern emerges with this neck injury.
You'll find some relevant informative threads if you google
'site:startingstrength.com cervical radiculopathy'.
Good luck,
Ned
Member
No MRI has been done. An x-ray was done about 16 years ago and I was told it was a degenerating condition at the base of my neck. 16 years ago is when problems started. I suspect the injury happened about 24 years ago.
Member
Hi Brian,
First, I'm not a coach. However I have had a neck injury before, and Stef was gracious enough to give me some pointers. HOWEVER, I had an MRI before I spoke with Stef, and I could tell her exactly what the cause of the pain was / is. I think you should go get an MRI BEFORE you take the advice of someone on a forum about helping your neck issue get better. Knowing that you have some "degenerative issue" sounds like something you would want to keep track of and monitor the progression on over the years - especially as you get older.
Member
Thank you all for taking time to reply. I appreciate all your help in this matter.
Brian
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