Due to the high contact nature of wrestling, arm, shoulder and neck injuries are common. While numbness in your arm after a wrestling match or practice could be a symptom of a more serious spinal injury, it is typically caused by a hard throw down or wrestling hold.
Cause
The brachial plexus, a series of nerves running from the top of the spine and into your shoulder, often gets pinched when your head is pushed sideways quickly during a wrestling takedown. This motion causes the muscles in your neck to pinch down on your nerves, resulting in a tingling, burning or numbness that runs down your arm. While a stinger or painful blow can happen to anyone, they are more likely to happen if you suffer from spinal stenosis.
Symptoms
If you are suffering from a stinger, or as it is also called, a burner, you will only feel numbness and tingling in one of your arms. A more severe spinal chord injury will usually spread to other limbs and even to your legs. In addition to numbness, your arm and shoulder may feel weak and hard to move. The burning and tingling sensation can last for several seconds or minutes and, in rare cases, hours. You may also feel a heat sensation after sustaining a stinger.
Treatment
If the numbness in your arm is caused by a stinger, you will have to refrain from wrestling until all the symptoms and pain in your shoulder and neck have subsided. If the pain disappears, but you still feel weakness in your neck, do not return to the wrestling mat until you regain your strength. If you have a more serious spinal injury, you may need weeks of immobilization followed by months of rehabilitation to restore your full range of motion.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Numbness in your arm or body after a wrestling match or practice may indicate a spinal contusion or other spinal injury. If you feel numbness throughout your body, treat it as a medical emergency. To avoid further damage to your spine, remain motionless until the ambulance arrives and paramedics can put you on a secure gurney. The numbness may only be caused by a bruised spine, but always treat neck and spine injuries with extreme caution.
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