Do you think you have a “pinched” nerve? Has someone told you that you have a “pinched” nerve but you do not know what to do about it?
Well you have come to the right place. In this blog we will talk about what exactly a pinched nerve is and then what you can do to help it.
First a little anatomy, nerves extend from the brain and spinal cord, which send important information throughout the body. If a nerve is “pinched” then that information will no longer be able to be transmitted. When the body is not able to function the way that it was designed then it will send out a warning signal. This warning signal is Pain. Pain is only designed to be a warning that something is not right in the body. It is not wise to ignore this pain and hope things will get better. It may go away because the body gets used to the same signal but it will come back and when it does. It is usually worse. Listen to the body the first time!
Damage from a “pinched” nerve may be minor or severe. It may cause temporary or long lasting problems. The earlier you get a diagnosis and treatment, the quicker you will find relief.
Causes of Pinched Nerve:
A “pinched” nerve occurs when there is compression or pressure on a nerve. This pressure may be a result of many different causes.
- Repetitive motion
- Holding a body position for an extended amount of time (such as keeping your elbows bent while sleeping)
- Inflammation around a joint or muscle
- Tight muscles where the nerves travel through them
- Degenerative changes in the joint (such as foraminal encroachment, bone spurs)
Symptoms of Pinched Nerve:
With nerve compression, sometimes pain may not be your only symptom. Sometimes you may even have some of these other symptoms without any pain.
- Pain in the area of compression (such as neck or low back)
- Radiating pain (such as sciatica or other radicular pain)
- Numbness and or tingling
- “Pins and needles” or a burning sensation
- Muscle weakness, especially with certain activities
Treatment for Pinched Nerve:
The treatment time may vary depending on a couple different factors. How long the pain has been going on. How severe the nerve compression is. If there are any other complicating factors, such as other illnesses or chronic disease.
Every person is going to respond a little differently to care because no two people are the same. Treatment will also vary from individual to individual depending on the severity of the “pinched nerve”.
First thing to do is to stop the activities that aggravate your symptoms. If your symptoms persist call Peak Wellness and Chiropractic to help you relieve the tension of your nerve to get you back to what you love to do. Some other treatments that can help achieve pinched nerve relief are:
- NSAIDs- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen may help reduce swelling.
- Splints- this will limit motion and allows the muscle to rest. This if used should be only temporarily
- Chiropractic– will help reduce inflammation and re-align the joints to proper motion to help take pressure off the nerves.
- Steroid injections- these injections may reduce swelling and allow inflamed nerves to recover.
- Narcotics- this should also be used temporally to help reduce severe pain.
Chiropractic is the only one that is drugless and will get to the root problem to help prevent it from coming back again. The other options can be necessary for certain cases to help with the pain and swelling at first. If you want get pinched nerve relief, then give our office a call at (919) 249-6461. I look forward to helping you become pain free!