Hurting My Neck at the Gym - Part II

I would venture to say that the most common disc related neck injuries occur at C5 - C6.  That is the area between your 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae.  I have been seeing quite a few people with problems in this area in my practice lately.  This is a continuation of my blog from last week.  If you are interested you can review that here.

The nerve that is affected by a cervical disc herniation is the one that exits the spine at that level.  In this instance it is the C6 nerve root.  C6 is a major nerve root in the brachial plexus and joins C5 to make the upper trunk.  In this picture below, the blue color represents the C6 nerve root involvement. 

Without risking the likelihood of boring you to death you can see the involvement of C6 in the musculocutenous nerve, the axillary nerve, the median nerve,  radial nerve as well as the long thoracic nerve, upper and lower subscapular nerves, medial and lateral pectoral nerves, and thoracodorsal nerve.  WOW!  Such an important job in your entire shoulder and arm.  The muscles that C6  innervates are the deltoids, biceps,coracobrachialis, supraspinatus, pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, infraspinatus, serratus anterior,  latissimus dorsi, teres major and minor, subscapularis, the wrist extensor group, your triceps, and wrist flexor group.  Like I said, pretty much your entire arm, rotator cuff, chest, shoulder, and upper back.  

So what does this mean to me in the gym?  If there is an exercise that you want to do that involves your arms, shoulders, elbows and hands...I guess that there are many of those, then C6 had better be working correctly.  So if you are stuck in this position, and can't seem to make it to the top of the movement,  maybe it is because C6 just isn't 100% of it's capacity.  Consider the possibilities!

How do you know if this might be the case for you?  If you experience any numbness in your index finger or thumb, generalized weakness or pain anywhere in your arm,  then you should probably have this checked out.  Imagine how easy some of the exercises and movements you perform daily will be when the nerves are functioning correctly.  You know what I am going to say..."Everyone deserves a good mechanical assessment and treatment plan!"  Visit grimmpt.com  or call 504-228-0524 to set up your evaluation today. 

If you want you can check out a great book called Treat Your Own Neck by Robin McKenzie that I have linked to Amazon for your convenience.  I recommend this book to most of my cervical patients for their libraries. See you at the gym for some PR's!