When “Pinched Nerves” Start with Ligament Damage, Not Just Discs
After a car accident or whiplash injury, many people develop pain, tingling, or numbness that travels into the shoulders, arms, or hands. You might have been told you have a “pinched nerve,” but your MRI did not show a major disc herniation, and your symptoms never quite matched the picture.
At DMX Miami, serving patients from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the Florida Keys, and from across Florida, the USA, Central and South America (including Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico), and the Caribbean, we frequently see arm and hand symptoms that are actually driven by cervical ligament damage and instability not just discs.
How Neck Ligaments Influence Arm and Hand Symptoms
The nerves that travel into your shoulders, arms, and hands exit the spinal cord through openings between the cervical vertebrae. Ligaments help:
- Hold each vertebra in its proper position.
- Control motion so the joints don’t slide or rotate excessively.
- Protect nerves, blood vessels, and the spinal cord.
When ligaments are injured in a crash:
- Vertebrae may move too much in certain directions.
- Openings where nerves exit can narrow briefly during motion.
- Nerves can be irritated, stretched, or compressed only when you move, not at rest.
This can lead to:
- Shooting pain from the neck into the shoulder or arm.
- Tingling or numbness in the fingers.
- Weakness when gripping or lifting.
- Symptoms that worsen with specific positions, like looking up or turning your head.
Why Static Imaging May Not Show the Real Problem
A standard MRI or CT scan gives us important information, but it has limitations:
- It is usually performed lying down, with muscles relaxed and gravity removed.
- It captures a single moment in time, not the way your neck behaves during daily movements.
- It focuses heavily on discs and bones, not on how joints move under load.
As a result, you can have:
- Symptoms that clearly follow a nerve pathway.
- Limited or no disc herniation on MRI.
- Ongoing arm or hand complaints despite “normal” imaging.
The missing factor may be ligamentous instability, which often appears only when your neck is in motion.
How Digital Motion X-Ray Evaluates the Cervical Spine in Action
Digital Motion X-Ray (DMX) allows us to watch your cervical spine while it moves. At DMX Miami, we can:
- Record your neck as you gently flex, extend, and rotate.
- Measure abnormal translation or angulation between vertebrae.
- Identify segments where motion may irritate exiting nerves.
- Correlate specific positions (like looking up or turning) with your symptoms.
Instead of guessing where a “pinch” might be occurring, we can see:
- Which levels show too much motion.
- Whether there is gapping or narrowing around nerve exit points.
- Whether ligament damage may be causing instability that traditional imaging missed.
This information can be extremely valuable for your chiropractic care, physical therapy, or other treatment approaches.
Using DMX Findings to Guide Treatment
DMX itself does not treat the problem, but it provides a clear roadmap. With accurate motion-based imaging:
- Chiropractors can adjust more safely and precisely.
- Physical therapists can tailor stabilization exercises to the right levels.
- Regenerative medicine physicians can better target injections such as PRP or other therapies.
- Attorneys and insurers can see objective evidence of ongoing injury in personal injury cases.
When your care team can see exactly how your neck is moving, they can coordinate a plan that addresses the true source of your arm, shoulder, or hand symptoms.
Why Patients with Radiating Pain Choose DMX Miami
Patients with radiating pain and numbness travel to DMX Miami from:
- South Florida: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the Florida Keys.
- Other parts of Florida and the United States.
- Central and South America, including Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico.
- The Caribbean.
They choose us because we offer:
- Advanced Digital Motion X-Ray imaging focused on spinal instability.
- A team experienced in correlating motion findings with nerve symptoms.
- Detailed reports for their doctors, chiropractors, and attorneys.
- Bilingual services (English and Spanish) for local and international patients.
Don’t Ignore Arm or Hand Symptoms After an Accident
If you still have arm, shoulder, or hand symptoms long after a crash, and your imaging results do not match how you feel, there may be more going on than a simple “pinched disc.”
Learn more: Treatment
Schedule your appointment today: Appointments
Call 305-275-7475 or book your appointment online
Dr. Rodolfo Alfonso, D.C.
Dr. Mark N. Berry, D.C.
Sunset Chiropractic and Wellness
8585 Sunset Dr. STE 102
Miami, Florida 33143