Corticosteroids in Treatment of Neuropraxia

Corticosteroids are a medication that reduces inflammation and in turn relieves pain. They are sometimes used in the treatment and management of cervical nerve root injuries. Other usages include treatment of joint arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and many other painful conditions. Nerve injuries such as brachial plexus neuropraxia, also known as a “stinger” or “burner”, involve the cervical nerves usually 5 through 7 and the brachial plexus. Stingers can be caused by stretching, traction or compression of the brachial plexus nerves. Injury results in shooting pains from the neck down the arm out to the fingertips. Sometimes numbness and muscle weakness are present in the affected area. These injuries may produce severe complaints, as they do cause very sharp pain to radiate through the arm. When treating a stinger the first goal is to relive that pain. When physicians are presented with that task some evidence is showing that corticosteroids may be a safe way to successfully return an athlete to play following one of these injuries. There is an increased risk of getting a “stinger” in sports such as football and wrestling. The cervical nerve roots and the brachial plexus come in contact with a lot of stress during these competitions. In football we see that contact from hard hits or direct blows to the neck and shoulder cause traction or compression to those nerves causing damage. In wrestling it is common to see cervical injuries from repetitive stress to the area. Unlike football there are not much direct blows to cause the stinger, there is however, stretching, traction and compression of the cervical spine, all of which will cause inflammation of those nerves. These mechanisms of injury almost always occur from shoulder depression with contralateral neck flexion. Although all stingers will be painful