Three symptoms of a slipped disc in your neck

All of a sudden another car rear-ends you, and your head snaps back, leaving a feeling that something isn’t right in your neck. This is just one common scenario that can lead to a slipped disc in your neck. This issue is also called a herniated disc, and it’s when one of the discs in your neck moves out of place or is damaged. This causes it to press on nerve roots in your neck, and the nerve compression it causes can lead to the three most common symptoms of a slipped disc in the neck. 

1.   Pain

The most common symptom of a slipped neck disc is pain. The pain is most often felt in the neck, but it’s also common to feel it in your shoulder and arm. This is because nerves are running into the shoulder and are commonly compressed by herniated neck discs. Herniated disc pain is typically intense, and it may get worse with certain neck movements. Even sneezing and coughing could send shooting pain through your neck, shoulder and arm. 

2.   Numbness and tingling 

You know the tingling sensation that comes from sleeping on your arm all night? That’s a very similar feeling to another symptom of a slipped disc in the neck, which is tingling and numbness. In the case of a herniated disc, these sensations aren’t the result of cut-off blood flow. Instead, they’re caused by the slipped disc irritating or compressing neck nerves. Like the pain this issue causes, the numbness and tingling can show up in your neck, shoulder or arm, and where it shows up depends on which neck nerves are being pinched or irritated. 

3.   Muscle weakness

A third symptom that many people with a slipped neck disc have is muscle weakness. Nerves are what tell your muscles when and how to move, so the muscles don’t tend to work as well when the nerves aren’t able to do their job. Since herniated neck discs often cause nerve issues, it’s very likely that this issue will also lead to arm muscle weakness, and this weakness may make lifting cups, turning doorknobs and other common daily tasks much more difficult. 

Fight back against slipped neck disc symptoms with help from Armor Physical Therapy

Dealing with a slipped neck disc in Holland, Michigan? Turn to our team at Armor Physical Therapy for help. We’re experienced at treating symptoms like neck pain, and we can build you a personalized therapy plan to tackle the specific symptoms of your herniated disc. Our team can make these plans fit your needs because we have many therapy techniques at our disposal, including: 

• Manual therapy
• Therapeutic exercise
• Trigger point therapy

Take the next step to deal with your pain and other symptoms effectively. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an appointment.