A burner, also called a stinger, is a common injury in contact sports,especially football.
Burner: What Is Happening?
A burner is thought to be due to stretch and/or compression of thebrachial plexus.
Thomas Barwick / Getty Images
These nerves branch out and travel across the shoulder and into the arm.
Any bang out of nerve disruption can cause pain, numbness, and/or weakness.
The resulting stretch on the shoulder and neck may cause an injury to the brachial plexus.
Typically, the painful symptoms resolve within a few minutes or hours.
Often athletes who sustain a burner have weakness of the affected arm.
Weakness may take several hours to develop and it may take days, weeksor even longerfor weakness to resolve.
Athletes who sustain a burner should be immediately evaluated by a trained clinician to diagnose these injuries.
The evaluation should include testing of sensory abnormalities and muscle weakness.
Any athlete with findings of numbness or weakness should not return to participation until symptoms have completely resolved.
Burner injuries have been classified on a scale as grades 1, 2, and 3.
Tests may include x-rays, MRIs, or nerve conduction studies.
2014;202(1):W67-W75.
doi:10.2214/AJR.12.9554
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Burners and stingers.
2020;5(2):22. doi:10.3390/jfmk5020022
