What's the root cause of numbness in my arm?

Why does shoulder pain often come with neck pain?

Short answer? Poor positioning that's crimping signal of your nerves leading from your brain to your arm. It's like putting a bend in your garden hose, where you get less or no water, same thing is happening at your shoulder, affecting your arm.

Your shoulder blade and collarbone meet to form the shoulder girdle, which sits right next to your neck. A thick bundle of nerves leaving your neck travels through that girdle on its way down your arm.

When your shoulder blades and ribcage aren't positioned well, the muscles around the girdle tighten up and crowd those nerves, applying pressure.

This is akin to having a crink in your garden hose, just like you dont get water out of your hose, you're not going to get neural signal through pinched nerves.

That's why so many people treat their arm and get no results, or they feel neck tension, pinching or nerve irritation along with their shoulder pain. This is exactly why we treat the shoulder and neck as one system instead of two separate problems.

More in the shoulder series

• How do I fix my shoulder pain?

• How do I fix my rotator cuff?

Want help finding where your shoulder is getting stuck? Work with us.

This article is for education and isn't a substitute for an individual assessment. If you're in pain, get checked by a qualified professional.