A stinger (also called a burner) is a nerve injury in the neck and shoulder that sends a sharp, burning pain shooting from your neck down to your fingertips. It happens when the brachial plexus, the network of nerves running from your spinal cord through your neck and into your arm, gets stretched, compressed, or hit directly. Stingers are one of the most common injuries in contact sports, especially football, and most resolve within seconds to minutes.
How a Stinger Happens
Three distinct mechanisms can trigger a stinger. The first is a direct hit to a spot on the side of the neck where the brachial plexus nerves converge near the surface. This type of compression injury is particularly common among college and professional football players, where the force of contact is highest.
The second mechanism is a traction (stretch) injury. During a tackle, a player’s shoulder gets driven downward while the head snaps in the opposite direction. That sudden increase in the angle between the neck and shoulder stretches the brachial plexus beyond its normal range, injuring the nerves on the side of the hit.
The third is cervical nerve root compression, where extreme bending or extension of the neck pinches the nerve roots where they exit the spine. This mechanism is more common in older or more experienced athletes who have some degree of disc wear in the cervical spine.
What a Stinger Feels Like
The hallmark sensation is a knife-like or electric burning pain that starts in the neck and radiates down one arm, sometimes all the way to the fingertips. Tingling, numbness, and a feeling like your arm is “dead” typically accompany it. Temporary weakness in the shoulder and bicep is common, making it hard to lift your arm or grip with that hand.
One critical feature: stingers affect only one arm. If you feel burning, numbness, or weakness in both arms at the same time, that suggests a spinal cord issue rather than a brachial plexus injury, and it requires immediate medical attention. A stinger also shouldn’t cause neck tenderness or restrict your ability to turn and tilt your head. If it does, something more serious may be going on.
How Severe Stingers Can Be
Nerve injuries fall into three categories of severity, and most stingers land in the mildest one. In the mildest form, the nerve’s ability to transmit signals is temporarily blocked, but the nerve itself remains physically intact. Symptoms resolve in seconds, minutes, or at most a few weeks. This is what the vast majority of stingers look like.
In a moderate injury, the nerve fiber itself is damaged while the outer protective sheath stays intact. The nerve has to slowly regrow along the existing pathway, which can take weeks to months. Symptoms persist longer and may include measurable weakness.
The most severe category involves complete disruption of the nerve. This is rare in stingers but would cause lasting sensory and motor loss and often requires surgery. For most athletes, a stinger means a few uncomfortable minutes on the sideline, not a long-term problem.
When Stingers Keep Coming Back
A single stinger that resolves quickly is generally not a serious concern. Recurrent stingers are a different story. Research on athletes with chronic burner syndrome found that 87% had evidence of disc disease on MRI, and 53% had naturally narrowed spinal canals. The combination of disc wear and a narrow canal changes how the cervical spine handles impact, making the nerve roots more vulnerable to compression with each hit.
In younger athletes, stingers tend to result from the stretch mechanism. In college and professional players, the pattern shifts: recurrent episodes are more often caused by nerve root compression from degenerative disc changes in the neck. This means the injury mechanism can evolve over a career, and repeated stingers shouldn’t be dismissed as routine. About 70% of athletes with chronic burner syndrome test positive on a clinical exam that reproduces symptoms by compressing the nerve roots in the neck.
Diagnosis and When Imaging Matters
Most stingers are diagnosed on the sideline through a physical exam. A medical provider will check that you have full range of motion in your neck, no tenderness along the spine, and that the weakness is limited to one arm, typically in the shoulder and bicep muscles. A positive result on the Spurling test, where gentle downward pressure on the head while tilting toward the affected side reproduces symptoms, suggests nerve root involvement.
Imaging isn’t needed for a first-time stinger that clears quickly. If symptoms persist beyond a couple of weeks, recur frequently, or include significant weakness, MRI can reveal disc problems or spinal canal narrowing. Nerve conduction studies can measure how well the nerves are transmitting signals and help pinpoint the location and severity of the injury, though these tests are most useful a few weeks after the initial episode.
Recovery and Returning to Activity
There is no universally agreed-upon timeline, but there is universal agreement on what recovery looks like before returning to contact sports. You need to be completely pain-free, have full strength in the affected arm, maintain full and painless range of motion in your neck, and show no lingering neurological symptoms like numbness or tingling.
For a mild stinger, this might mean returning to play the same day. For one that lingers, it could take days to weeks. Athletes with persistent weakness or recurrent episodes may need a longer rehabilitation period focused on neck strengthening before getting cleared. Rushing back while strength is still diminished puts you at higher risk for another stinger and potentially for a more serious injury.
Reducing Your Risk
Prevention strategies fall into four categories: proper technique, physical conditioning, well-fitted equipment, and supplemental protective gear.
- Technique: Learning to tackle and absorb contact with the head in a neutral position, rather than leading with the crown or letting the neck snap sideways, is the most fundamental prevention step, especially for younger players.
- Neck strengthening: A strong, well-conditioned neck resists the sudden forces that stretch or compress the brachial plexus. Consistent cervical and shoulder strengthening programs reduce vulnerability.
- Properly fitted shoulder pads: Pads that sit too low on the shoulders allow more lateral neck bending on impact. Helmets and shoulder pads should be fitted by an experienced equipment manager. Players with a history of stingers can add extra padding underneath shoulder pads to raise them and limit how far the neck can bend sideways.
- Cervical collars and rolls: Neck rolls, cowboy collars (molded collars with padded vests), and newer butterfly restrictors all limit how far the neck can extend backward and bend to the side. In testing, custom-fitted cervical orthoses produced the greatest reduction in dangerous neck extension, followed closely by standard neck rolls. Many experts recommend that any player who has had a stinger wear one of these devices when returning to play.
Equipment designed to protect the nerve point on the side of the neck is also recommended, as direct blows to that area are a primary cause of stingers in higher-level competition. No single piece of gear eliminates the risk entirely, but the combination of good technique, strong neck muscles, and properly configured protective equipment significantly lowers it.