Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooBurners and Stingers

Burners and stingers are common injuries in collision or contact sports. They happen when the nerves in the neck and shoulder that supply the arm are stretched or squeezed after an impact (AAOS, n.d.). The injury gets its name from the burning or stinging pain spreading from the shoulder all the way to the hand. This pain can feel like a bolt of lightning or an electric shock shooting down the arm. In most cases, burners and stingers are temporary and the symptoms go away quickly.

Burners and Stingers Anatomy

Nerves are like electrical cables travelling through the spinal canal, carrying messages between the brain and the muscles. The nerves that give feeling and movement to the arms branch out from the spinal canal in the neck. They join together to form a large bundle of nerves, known as the brachial plexus. The entire nerve supply for the arm runs through this plexus (AAOS, n.d.).

How to Treat Burners and Stingers

Tips

• Athletes who play contact sports are far more likely to have a stinger or burner.
• Studies suggest that around half to two-thirds of American football players have at least one burner or stinger during their playing career (Windmueller et al., 2025). About 30 to 40% of rugby players also report having had one (Bowles et al., 2020).
• Burners and stingers often happen with a fall onto the head, such as in a football tackle or a wrestling takedown. Tackling or blocking in American football is the activity that most often causes them, and defensive players and offensive linemen often suffer this injury (AAOS, n.d.).
• As well as playing contact sports, having a narrow spinal canal in the neck (cervical spinal stenosis) increases the risk. You may be born with a narrower canal, or it can narrow with wear and tear as you age (AAOS, n.d.).
• Burners and stingers usually affect only one arm. Symptoms usually last seconds to minutes, but sometimes they last hours, days or longer (AAOS, n.d.). Symptoms in both arms need emergency attention (see above), and weakness lasting more than several days or repeated stingers need a thorough check by a doctor (AAOS, n.d.).

When a stinger lasts longer than a few minutes, or keeps coming back, my aim is to ease the neck and shoulder, protect the irritated nerves, and rebuild strength for a safe return to sport.

If you've had weakness lasting more than several days, or repeated stingers, see a doctor first; I then work within their plan. Symptoms in both arms or the legs, neck pain or signs of a head injury need emergency care first.

I start by checking the strength, feeling and reflexes in your arms, how your neck and shoulders move, and which positions bring symptoms on. I recheck these as we go.

Early On

• Gentle work on the neck, shoulders and upper back, where muscles tighten to guard the area
• Gentle neck mobilisation, never quick thrusts or forceful movements
• No stretching into tingling, and avoiding positions that squeeze the nerves

As It Settles

• Gentle nerve glides, only if they don't bring your symptoms on
• Strengthening for the neck, shoulders and upper back, from holds to resisted and gym-based work

Back to Sport

1. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) (n.d.) Burners and stingers. OrthoInfo. Available at: https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/burners-and-stingers/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
2. Bowles, D.R., Canseco, J.A., Alexander, T.D. et al. (2020) 'The prevalence and management of stingers in college and professional collision athletes', Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 13(6), pp. 651–662. doi: 10.1007/s12178-020-09665-5
3. Windmueller, R.A., Gbayisomore, O.O., Mead, R.L. et al. (2025) 'Brachial plexus injuries in the contact athlete: a narrative review', Annals of Joint, 10, 18. doi: 10.21037/aoj-24-67