What are the symtoms of a pinched nerve. I have prior damage to C-5 C-6 from a severe car wreck in 1991?

Question

I also suffer with "flareups" of stiffness, fatigue and fever.

Answer 1

Symptoms can be mild with only pain along the area that the nerve innervates or they can be progressively more severe with weakness, numbness, loss of deep tendon reflexes, loss of bowel or bladder function (condition called cauda equina syndrome). You need to see your doctor. He may want to get a MRI and/ or refer you to a neurosurgeon or an interventional pain management specialist.

Answer 2

A nerve pinched at the spine would cause faulty transmission of nerve impulses in the area of that nerve. The nerve might not give good messages to the muscles, which would suggest weakness or jerky movement of the muscles it connects with, and the incoming messages that go to the brain would suggest a sensation of sharp pains in the distribution of C5-C6, possibly burning, tingling, or numbness. An odd thing about nerve pain, a doctor asks you where the pain is, and you can't tell him! Weird! But that tells him it's a nerve.

The stiffness, fatigue, and fever, I would wonder about a rheumatologist. Are the flareups and stiffness on both sides, like both wrists? are the joints hot?