nerve entrapment

I am wondering if anybody has any experience with this and can lend some advice…

I have been climbing for about a year. About 3 months ago I started getting sharp shooting pains in my forearms and hands. After seeing a PT, I learned that it was nerve entrapment. If I climb really hard for a couple days, I feel the pains on and off for about a week (of resting). After that, there's pretty much no more pain unless I climb again. I've been doing nerve glide exercises but they don't seem to help much.

I hate having to take such long breaks from climbing. Does anybody have any experience with keeping nerve entrapment at bay?

Thanks,

Zoe

Zoe Jet wrote: If I climb really hard for a couple days, I feel the pains on and off for about a week (of resting). After that, there's pretty much no more pain unless I climb again. I've been doing nerve glide exercises but they don't seem to help much.

Gets worse w/ climbing, feels better w/ rest and prescribed exercises for nerve entrapment don't work.

I'm assuming then that the PT is making shit up because they don't actually know what's going on.
Not knowing anything else, I'm guessing that it's more a myofascial issue. Which doesn't discount the neurovascular bundle being involved but fascial release and massage work will probably do more good.

I'd ask around and find a therapist w/ a good reputation and seek out a second opinion. Especially before you talk to a surgeon.

Brent Apgar wrote: Not knowing anything else, I'm guessing that it's more a myofascial issue. Which doesn't discount the neurovascular bundle being involved but fascial release and massage work will probably do more good. I'd ask around and find a therapist w/ a good reputation and seek out a second opinion. Especially before you talk to a surgeon.

+1

It's possible for peripheral nerves to be entrapped in which nerve glides and sometimes surgery are the treatment but sometimes they are simply compressed by the surrounding myofascial tissues (read muscles with abnormally high tone). It's also possible that an abnormally kyphotic and rounded shoulder posture is causing a compression. A good PT should be able to make a difference in 2 or so visits (not cured but obvious reduction in symptoms). If not then move on. Not all PTs are created equal.

I am also having some effects from climbing.

A month ago I was climbing hard for two weeks in the Creek. I started to feel tingling in a couple of fingers and it just got worse the more I climbed. I went to the doctor and he said that it was a pinched nerve. He said it was in the C6 range in my spine.

I started going to a massage therapist and it seems that was the best thing to do in my situation. The massage therapist told me that it wasn't a pinched nerve in my spine, but a pinched nerve around my shoulder blade. I had a massive knot in my shoulder blade (that I didn't notice) that was messing with my nerve. Even after two weeks of rest, the knot was still there and tingling was minimal. I went to the massage therapist again and she told me that I need to drink more water. I never realized how little water I do drink. Once I started drinking LOTS of water and taking naproxen sodium with some rest, the knot started to dissipate and the tingling in my fingers went away completely.

Get a lot of rest and get a massage therapist. They might find your problem.

^^^^^^
This

I've had same issues. Try lying on floor and using neck muscles to press back of head hard into floor. Hold for 30 secs. Repeat.

Sometimes belaying can even bring this on. Nerve pain only moves form proximal to distal, so impingement occurs at the point of pain closest to spine. Usually C7/C6/C5 for climbers.

Don't forget to do pushups. Overbuilding back and other "pull" muscles is a major contributor to this problem.

Thank you so much for all the advice!

Paul B - in response to your questions...

He said it was median and ulnar. At first he thought it was median but after feeling my forearms he found the ulnar nerve was entrapped too. I feel the pain mostly in the middle, underside of my forearm and my thumbs. Sometimes my pointer and middle finger too.

The PT released them with messaging them out (he actually used active release technique). He said he got it all released but I still felt pain. The second time I Saw him he said he thought there was a nerve pinched around my neck. So i got this inflatable neck thing to stretch my neck and release pressure. I think it might have been helping. I have also been climbing less. His work on me seems to help by only until I climb again. I love climbing and I don't want to just "take it easy" for the rest of my climbing career.

Median nerve can be entrapped in the wrist and can cause carpal tunnel syndrome with tingling, numbness or pain in the thumb, index and middle finger and the related part of the palm.

The ulnar nerve can be entrapped in the wrist, in this case it causes Guyon's canal syndrome with tingling or numbness in the ring or little finger and related part of the palm.
ehealthstar.com/conditions/…

Neither in carpal nor in Guyon's canal syndrome *tingling or numbness* go upwards beyond the wrist, so they are limited to the palm. *Pain* can radiate upwards, though.

The ulnar nerve can be also entrapped in the elbow, in this case it can cause cubital tunnel syndrome with the symptoms as in Guyon's canal syndrome *plus* pain, tingling or numbness in the forearm (more on the pinky side of the forearm). So, symptoms in the forearm can be from the elbow, not necessary from the neck.

Symptoms resembling all above mentioned can arise from the neck, in this case neck pain, at least during bending and turning the neck, is common. Shoulder pain is also common.

... nerve can be entrapped in the wrist
... entrapped in the elbow
... can arise from the neck

Is it also possible to have some sort of obstruction or damage to nerves in/through the shoulder
... brachial plexus ?

Ken

Doc's are going to have better info the us MP'ers... and by that I mean Medical Professionals of course (why else would we read wikipedia)

Neck area of the spine down the shoulder blades. See a chiropractor.

I have the same pain/issues... lots of rest, weight training that targets the back, posture.

And on that last note... your climbing form is probably bad. Rest up, heal, and start working on your form before you climb again.

mobilitywod.com

Don't trust doctors.