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Pinched Nerve Shoulder Treatment

Nerves in shoulder can become pinched when too much pressure is placed upon them by the bones, cartilage, tendons or muscles that surround them. If you have a pinched nerve, you may experience symptoms such as tingling, pain, numbness or weakness down your arm and into your fingers. Most often, rest and other minor treatments can help a pinched nerve resolve in a few days or weeks. However, if these conservative treatments don't work, surgery is sometimes required to alleviate pain.

  1. Rest and Physical Therapy

    • Most often, your doctor will ask you to rest your shoulder. Though it may be inconvenient, you will probably have to cease any activities that will put stress on the shoulder or further aggravate the compression. Sometimes you will have to wear a sling to keep your shoulder secure. A visit to a physical therapist can also teach some exercises designed to strengthen and loosen the shoulder and to take pressure off of the nerve. You can also learn which activities will further aggravate the pinched nerve.

    Medication and Surgery

    • Your doctor will likely recommend medication to relieve the pain while you are resting your shoulder. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen are the first-line treatments used to fight pain and cut down inflammation in the shoulder. If these fail to work, your doctor may give you something stronger or give you a corticosteroid injections to cut down the inflammation. If none of these conservative measures, you might need surgery to take pressure off the nerve. The type of surgery varies depending on what exactly is entrapping the nerve.

    Prevention

    • Preventing a pinched nerve is quite simple. The biggest cause of pinched nerves is repetitive activities. It is important to take breaks from activities that use the same muscles and joints over and over because they will tire and place pressure on nerves. Also, maintaining good posture is key because rounded shoulders put strain on your joints. It is also important to exercise your deltoids and triceps to improve strength and conditioning.

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