Brachial neuralgia occurs when the nerves in your neck or shoulder are compressed, causing pain to shoot down your arm, says Dr. Nathan Wei on arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com website. If the nerve compression occurs at the C7 vertebra in your neck, you are likely to experience numbness in your middle and index fingers and muscle weakness in your triceps. Once the initial pain has eased, your physiotherapist will prescribe neck exercises to ease the condition and prevent further attacks.
Head Tilt
Sit in a chair and hold on to the side of it with your injured hand, says the Nicholas Institute for Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma website, or NISMAT. Push your head back so your neck is in line with your spine and tilt your chin down to create a double chin. From this position, tip your head to the side, away from your injured arm, and then turn slightly to look toward your injured shoulder -- this will be only a very slight movement. Lean your body over to your uninjured side, and then place your free hand on top of your head and apply light pressure to increase the stretch down the injured side of your neck.
Head Turns
This exercise stretches the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which runs down both sides of your neck, from behind your ears, and attaches to the middle of your collar bone, says theosteopath.net. This muscle allows you to turn your head from left to right. Stand or sit upright, with your shoulders relaxed, and then carefully turn your head as far as you can to the left. Hold for a few seconds, and then return to the start position. Repeat in the opposite direction.
Shoulder Stretch
According to physical therapist Gavin Morrison on the spine-health website, stretches to relieve tension in your shoulders can also help reduce neck pain. Sit in a chair, side on to a table, and rest the arm on your injured side along the table edge, says NISMAT. Lean over and slide your arm forward as far as you can, aiming to get your head in line with the table, but stop if you feel any pain.
Shoulder and Arm Stretch
Stand side on to a wall and raise your injured arm up so that your elbow and forearm are in contact with the wall, says Gavin Morrison. Turn your head away from the wall and look down toward the floor, and then place your free hand on top of your head and apply light pressure. This will stretch down the back of your neck. Hold this position for 30 seconds to one minute.
