A stinger or burner is an injury to the nerves that travel from your neck and down your arm.

There are seven bones in your neck called vertebrae. These vertebrae are held together by ligaments. Your spinal cord goes from the bottom of your brain through a canal in the vertebrae down to your lower back. Nerves come off the spinal cord that make your limbs and body move and have sensation. These types of nerves are called peripheral nerves. A group of peripheral nerves called the brachial plexus leave the spinal cord and travel between the vertebrae and into the shoulder, giving your arm its ability to function. These are the nerves that are injured when you have a stinger.

A stinger is almost always seen in contact sports when the head and neck are forcibly moved or hit to one side, stretching the brachial plexus on the opposite side. Sometimes when the head and neck are forcibly pushed to one side there is a compression of the brachial plexus on the same side. The nerves become irritated as a result either way. A stinger usually causes intense pain in the neck down to the arm. You may feel like your arm is on fire. You may have pins and needle like sensations as well as weakness in your hand.

Specific test to determine if you have a stinger would be performed by your physical therapist by pushing down on your head or resisted pushes from onside or another, this will bring on the symptoms as describe earlier. Electromyograms and nerve conduction test are also performed to determine which nerve or nerve root is being affected.

Treatment may include resting, ice, manual therapy, physical therapy modalities. Specific exercises like isometrics shoulder shrugs, cervical stabling techniques and stretching in all planes will restore the neck muscles and prevent future injury. Most symptoms should resolve in a two-week period otherwise you should consult a doctor or physical therapist to determine if further treatment would be appropriate.