
Can A Pinched Nerve In Neck Or Shoulder Cause Difficulty In Breathing?

Yes it can cause difficulty breathing
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your query.
I'm Dr. Sudhir Kumar,
After going through your query I concluded that you wanted to know that can a pinched nerve in neck or shoulder cause in anyway become dangerous and cause difficulty breathing or inadequate O2 concentration. Answer to this is that a pinched nerve in neck can cause this.The phrenic nerve is a nerve that originates in the neck and passes down between the lung and heart to reach the diaphragm. It is important for breathing, as it passes motor information to the diaphragm and receives sensory information from it.The phrenic nerve originates mainly from the 4th cervical nerve, but also receives contributions from the 5th and 3rd cervical nerves (C3-C5). If due to some reason ( disc prolapse and cervical spondylosis) C 4 nerve root is pinched then it can cause difficulty breathing leading to inadequate O2 saturation.You can discuss with your treating Doctor about it.
Hope I have answered your query.
If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Wishing you good health.
Take care.

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