Stingers—A Review of Current Understanding and Management

Stingers are as transient sensory and motor loss of one upper extremity due to stretch or compression injury to the brachial plexus or the exiting cervical nerve roots. All nerve roots that make the brachial plexus are prone to injury, but the upper roots of the brachial plexus (C5 and C6) are most frequently affected. Although the true incidence of stingers is hard to know, American Football and Rugby are the two sports with the highest incidence. Mostly, stingers have a promising prognosis. However, with advancing sports medicine and rehabilitation, so did the general understanding and management of stingers among the medical professionals. This review is a summary of the current understanding of the pathology, clinical features, investigative modalities, novel radiologic measurements, management, rehabilitation and return-to-play decision protocol for stingers.