How Your Neck Could Be Causing Your Shoulder and Arm Pain

If you’re dealing with nagging shoulder pain, arm weakness, or tingling down your arm, but you don’t remember injuring it, the real problem might not be your shoulder at all—it could be your neck.

At Highland Spine and Sport in Roanoke, we see this all the time: someone comes in for shoulder or arm discomfort, but the underlying issue turns out to be coming from the cervical spine (your neck).

Let’s break down how this works and what you can do about it.

🧩 The Cervical Spine: Your Body’s Control Center

Your neck houses the cervical nerves, which exit the spine and travel down into the shoulder, arm, elbow, and hand. These nerves control everything from muscle strength to sensation.

If one of those nerves is irritated—by a bulging disc, tight muscles, or joint dysfunction—you can experience symptoms anywhere along that nerve pathway, including:

• Pain in the front or side of the shoulder
• Tingling or numbness down the arm or into the fingers
• Weakness with lifting or gripping
• Sharp or burning pain in the upper back or between the shoulder blades

🔎 Common Neck-Related Diagnoses That Affect the Arm

Here are a few common conditions we see in our clinic:

• Cervical Radiculopathy

A fancy term for a “pinched nerve” in the neck, often due to a herniated disc or arthritis.

• Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Tight neck or chest muscles can compress nerves and blood vessels, causing pain, numbness, or tingling in the arms—especially when your hands are overhead or at a keyboard.

• Postural Syndrome

Poor posture (think: forward head, rounded shoulders) places extra strain on the neck and upper back, creating tension and irritation that refers down the arm.

💡 How Do You Know It’s Your Neck?

Here are some clues the pain is coming from your neck:

• Your shoulder imaging (X-ray or MRI) is normal
• You feel pain that moves around (not always in one spot)
• Certain neck movements reproduce or worsen the pain
• You feel better when you sit up straight or lie down

If you’ve tried shoulder rehab and it didn’t work—or if your pain came out of nowhere—your neck is worth checking.

💪 What We Do at Highland Spine and Sport

When you visit our Roanoke clinic, we don’t just treat symptoms—we find the true source of the issue.

For neck-related shoulder and arm pain, we may use:

• Chiropractic adjustments to restore joint motion
• Dry needling or soft tissue release to reduce muscle tension
• Postural training and ergonomic advice
• Nerve flossing and mobility drills
• Rehab exercises to build long-term stability

This comprehensive approach helps relieve pain, restore strength, and prevent future flare-ups.

🏔️ Don’t Chase the Pain—Find the Source

If you’ve been struggling with arm or shoulder pain and nothing seems to help, your neck may be the missing piece. The good news? With the right diagnosis and treatment plan, you can get back to doing what you love—pain free.

📍 At Highland Spine and Sport in Roanoke, we specialize in finding the root cause of pain and helping active people feel better, move better, and live better.

👋 Ready to figure out what’s really going on?

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