I have weakness in left arm, tingling in fingers with neck and back stiffness. Please suggest exercise.

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 44-year-old male and I weigh about 85 kg. I have neck pain especially at the sides and arm for the last one year. My left arm feels weaker. Sometimes I feel tingling in random fingers. I have morning neck and back stiffness also.

Please guide to a set of exercises that I can do regularly to free the nerves and start my earlier workouts. Currently, I am doing neck exercises including chin tucks, abd posture correction. However, nerve pain persists.

I did my MRI last year. IMPRESSION:

• Generalized posterior bulge of C3-C4 and C4-C5 intervertebral discs, however not causing any significant cervical cord or nerve root compression.

• Generalized posterior bulge of C5-C6 intervertebral disc with indentation of bilateral exiting C6 nerve roots.

• Generalized posterior bulge of C6-C7 intervertebral disc, however not causing any significant cervical cord or nerve root compression.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your query. As you mentioned, you are suffering from neck pain which shows as nerve pain as per your experience. As your complaints are left arm feels weaker, sometimes tingling in random fingers with morning neck and back stiffness, I feel it is compression at spinal cord root levels as that is even confirmed by MRI scan which you have already undergone. So my provisional diagnosis with view of your age, gender, height, and weight is cervical spondylotic radiculopathy which can best to be treated with physiotherapy and lifestyle modification.

I will suggest some exercises and lifestyle modification. Follow it for 15 days.

Do not lift heavy weight more than 2 kg. Lessen the use of mobile and computer to only two hours a day. Go for daily walking for about 1 hour, if not jog inside the house.

Our primary goal should be to relieve compression and strengthen the muscles around the neck and shoulder. Chin tuck exercise is good only, in addition, you can do neck and shoulder girdle exercise also. You can lie on the belly and do the neck and shoulder elevation exercise. Pendulum exercise also will give you much relief. You lie flat on the floor or use a very thin pillow.

As this lockdown finishes you need to take cervical traction and IFT (interferential therapy) at a physiotherapy center nearby. Take only warm water regularly.

Another important thing is change in lifestyle. Join art of living online happiness program where all exercises with yoga can be done online.

I hope this helps.