Tips for Athletes

August 21, 2006 | Heat illness a major concern for local coaches as football practice begins today

Click here for more information about Southcoast Sports Medicine

September means back to school and for many athletes it means the start of their high school, college or professional football season.

Most seasoned football players have experienced a "burner" or "stinger" in their career. These common injuries occur when the athlete is tackling or falling and the neck gets bent away from the shoulder being hit.

The player will usually experience pain or an electric shock sensation, which starts in the neck and shoulder and radiates down the arm and fingers. Typically after a stinger the athlete will feel weakness, numbness or tingling in the affected arm.

Burners are caused when the group of nerves that supply sensation and strength to the arm are stretched or compressed by the brief injury. These nerves can sustain various grades of injuring and recovery can take anywhere from a few seconds to many months.

• In grade 1 injuries — by far the most common — the nerves are mildly stretched and recovery of strength and feeling can take a few seconds up to a few days.

• Grade 2 injuries involve some tearing of the nerve elements and can take weeks to months to recover.

• Grade 3 injuries are very rare and involve the nerves being divided. They require surgical repair and may never fully recover.

It is important to determine for sure that burner injuries are not actually an injury to the cervical spine (neck).

Athletes whose symptoms resolve spontaneously on the sideline and have no evidence of injury to the spine can usually return to play. If the symptoms of numbness of pain persist or if there is a question on injury to the neck medical consultation should be set up before return to play.

Some athletes can develop recurrent burners. This situation usually indicates either a more serious injury to the nerves of the arm or a problem with technique.

It is very important that young athletes are taught the proper technique for tackling and blocking to avoid any risk or injury to the arm nerve structure and also the cervical spine.

Matthew S. Baltz, MD

Matthew S. Baltz, MD, is a fellowship-trained sports medicine orthopedic surgeon practicing at Tobey Hospital. He is also a former assistant team physician to the Boston Celtics and team physician to Massachusetts Maritime Academy.