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Our user asked: "I injured my neck in 2001 playing college football. I have two bulging disks and bone spurs sitting in my nerve canals. To give you an example, I can take my head back in any direction and make various fingers in my hands go numb. I've been trying to get back to lifting weights and started using 15 and 20 pound dumbells on a big blue swiss ball. after two weeks of workouts I began feeling a dead nerve sensation starting in my shoulders. I stopped and after two days it went away. I was doing military press, flat press, and curls all on the swiss ball, squats, lunges and pushups and finishing with situps/crunches on the swiss ball. No reps went higher than 15 and it was setup as supersets. Please help me with suggestions of exercises that I can do and not mess up my nerves."
Ask a PT Response: "For patients who have cervical conditions which are discogenic or arthrogenic in nature I would have my patients avoid activities which would stress their neck into flexion or extension. I would have these patients perform exercises with their neck in neutral and work on cervical stabilization exercises. The exercises you mentioned could be performed with the neck in neutral except for sit ups/crunches. The sit up/crunch could result in added stresses to your neck/discs/nerves and would not be recommended for patients with these condition(s). I would recommend to my patient to really pay attention to posture. If at anytime my patient feels that his or her posture is compromised (ie. neck/head has to jerk while lifting, neck goes into flexion or extension, instability, etc), I would recommend to my patient to modify the exercise by either decreasing weight or decreasing reps to ensure additional stresses are avoided at the neck. I would also recommend that my patient discontinue any exericse which elicits sx despite modifications being performed. For a more detailed & specific workout regime for yourself, it may be a VERY good idea to consult with a PT and undergo an evaluation to determine what exercises may or may not be appropriate for you. The neck is a very sensitive region and care should be taken to avoid injury. Good luck and thanks for using CyberPT."
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