I wanted to find the best neck exercises for pinched nerve problems. I know that rest and minimally strenuous movements deal effectively with the problems exacerbated by a pinched nerve in neck relief. To deal with the pain, ice, mediation and physical therapy in the form of gentle movements and stretching were recommended by my doctor. The problem was that I was in such pain that almost any movement was excruciating. I was worried that I might have had a herniated a disc or torn a muscle in my neck. Sometimes I had numbness while other times were extremely painful.
Pinched nerves can occur almost anywhere in your body. The source of nerve pressure can come from many different kinds of problems. Osteoarthritis, obesity, poor posture and repetitive motions all can cause nerve pressure resulting in the literal “pain in the neck.” And it’s not just pain, sometimes there’s numbness, muscle weakness or tingling. A pinched nerve in neck treatment is daunting. Sometimes when the pain is bad, I find the neck pain radiates down my arms and even into my back.
I had been to doctors many times over the years and had many different kinds of exams including X rays, CT and MRI scans, nerve conductivity studies and electromyography (EMG). Pinched nerves present in similar ways to torn muscles, but the treatment is different. I found TENS units for electrical stimulation provided relief. I even found acupuncture at times was effective.
Because the pain radiates, I knew that many different muscles or nerves could be impacted. The median, radial and ulnar nerves extend all the way from the arms and shoulders to the hands. The nerves also run between the discs in the spinal column. And the most dreaded pain is the sciatic nerve which runs just about through your whole body.
I found a range of exercise balls, contoured chairs and sculpted pillows provided some relief after a time, but none were necessarily the ultimate solution for a pinched nerve in neck treatment for relief. I experimented with a number of different massages ranging from deep muscle to Swedish massage. In combination I found most of my pinched nerve in neck relief regimens were successful. But more than anything else, slowly rolling my neck gently in both directions helped alleviate the pinched nerve in neck relief.
Because obesity causes many problems to flare, I made a concerted effort to gently exercise and watched my diet. With weight loss (and time) the neck pain from pinched nerves resolved. My doctor also recommended some anti-inflammatory medication and periodic icing gave me relief.