Advice? BJJ = Pinched Nerve

[lvlas0n]

Hi everyone,

I've been training no gi BJJ for about 6 months on and off. I say on and off because about 3 months ago I returned from class with a stiff neck that eventually developed into pain in my right shoulder and down my right arm. A couple days later my right forearm, pec and lat would occasionally twitch involuntarily and I developed a slight numbness in my pointer finger and weakness in the arm.

I went to the Dr. and he confirmed my suspicion that I had pinched a nerve in my cervical spine. X-Rays revealed that it was a muscular spasm and not some kind of issue with the discs / spine itself, so that was good. I was prescribed some steroids to help with the inflammation and did some PT. Almost 2 months later I had recovvered fully and I returned to training.

Well, last week I aggravated the nerve all over again. Constant pain in the arm, some twitching. Very unpleasant.

I'm a smaller guy (5'6", 140lbs) and I do have a slight "head forward" posture that I am constantly working on with stretches and exercises. I am worried that because I often roll with larger stronger guys, and because I already have this tension in my neck from the head forward posture, that if I continue to train BJJ I will continue to pinch nerves over and over again.

I thought some of you guys might have had similar experiences, or maybe some anecdotal advice to give me.

I really love the training and I'm willing to deal with cuts, bruises and the occasional tweak here and there, but this pinched nerve really sucks.

Thanks in advance,

M

 

[kimurense]

mate, the exact same thing happened to me!

the only thing that saved me was a chiropractor.. it really helped. I was in pain for 3 months until I found this. the recovery took me around 2 months.

Hope you get well soon

 

[lvlas0n]

Did you continue to see the chiropractor after the injury healed? Did you ever aggravate it again?

This is the second time I've gone back to grappling and re injured myself. I'm a little nervous about heading back in there again.

 

[Legacy]

I actually just got back from my chiropractor. I was diagnosed with a pinch never in my back a few weeks ago and today was my first treatment.

I asked if i should stop lifting and or stop attending bjj and he said that i can continue and that it wont be a problem unless i do something and feel a sharp pain in that point in my back.

He also said i should be fine with in 5-6 treatments and that i wouldnt need to come back unless i felt that i needed to.

A bit of advice from me and some from my doctor. THe most important thing is to stretch. Stretch when you first wake up and before bjj and after. My doc gave me specific stretches for my problem and they are working so far.

 

[RadBoy]

Did you continue to see the chiropractor after the injury healed? Did you ever aggravate it again?

This is the second time I've gone back to grappling and re injured myself. I'm a little nervous about heading back in there again.

I currently suffer from this on both sides. I am going to a new chiropractor next week who uses Active Release Technique and I hope to get some exercises to help strengthen that area.

 

[RadBoy]

I actually just got back from my chiropractor. I was diagnosed with a pinch never in my back a few weeks ago and today was my first treatment.

I asked if i should stop lifting and or stop attending bjj and he said that i can continue and that it wont be a problem unless i do something and feel a sharp pain in that point in my back.

He also said i should be fine with in 5-6 treatments and that i wouldnt need to come back unless i felt that i needed to.

A bit of advice from me and some from my doctor. THe most important thing is to stretch. Stretch when you first wake up and before bjj and after. My doc gave me specific stretches for my problem and they are working so far.

What stretches are you using?

 

[Legacy]

What stretches are you using?

These are the stretches my doctor said would help me with my problem. He said to do them when i wake up every morning.

Knee to chest
1x5
Bridging
1x5
Pelvic Tilt
1x5
Extension lying prone
1x5
Double knee to chest
1x5
Cat Curl
1x5
Standing Extensions
1x5
Flexion-Extension(neck)
1x5
Side bending(neck)
1x5
Rotations(neck)
1x5
Lateral Bend
1x5
Chest stretch
1x5

 

[pittfrog]

This happened to me a couple of years ago, and then thankfully has not recurred. It was very painful, and because it was in my left arm and I'm over 40, the damned ER and my docs were up in arms that it might be my heart. Took forever to get a correct diagnosis and any treatment worth a damn.

Exercises RSI Tendonitis

These helped me more than the standard stretches recommended by your doc. Specifically, the Radial Nerve Glide as described on that page.

 

[RadBoy]

thanks

 

[txfighter13]

You can do technique, but I wouldn't drill or spar.