Pinched Nerve? Should You Go To A Chiropractor To Fix It?
You have a pinched nerve? Here’s the truth about chiropractors & pinched nerves.
Nerves are like little highways in your body that carry critical information from the brain to the rest of the body.
Although it sounds like a small issue, anyone that has experienced it knows that when a nerve gets pinched, it can be extremely painful.
While people see chiropractors for a variety of reasons like headache relief, back and shoulder muscle pain or even to help fix numbness in outer extremities, going to one to help relieve nerve pain can be very beneficial as well.
In fact, some of the aforementioned conditions may even stem from a pinched nerve.
What is a pinched nerve?
In layman’s terms, a pinched nerve is the non-medical term for a nerve that has been compressed or that has pressure being put onto it. When this occurs, it has been found that instead of waiting, the earlier the adjustment can be made to decompress the nerve promotes quicker sensorimotor recovery.
Where can you get a pinched nerve?
Unfortunately for those prone to them you can get them wherever you have nerves, so basically throughout your body. However, back pain is prevalent in most cases.
There are two main categories that affected nerves can fall under:
- Peripheral: meaning nerves that have branched off of the main spinal cord and travel throughout the body
- Part of the central nervous system: like if a herniated disc puts pressure on a spinal nerve root
There are different sections of the spinal column and overall it consists of 24 vertebrae (think spinal bones). You can pinch any of the nerves along the spinal column and the location of the compression will affect where a person feels the pain in their body.
Pinched Nerve In Shoulder
A pinched nerve in the shoulder can cause pain down the whole nerve, even all the way to your fingers. This type of pinch resonates somewhere in the first seven vertebrae or in the cervical spine region.
A person can experience just general pain or even feel numbness in the shoulder blade muscles spreading down to their hands.
Muscle weakness in the arm, hand or shoulder are signs that there is a shoulder nerve pinched.
Three main causes of a pinched nerve in the shoulder are:
- Herniated disk- a disk that is out of place and pressing on the nerves
- Disk degeneration- when the disks between the vertebrae wear down
- Injury- from a car accident or something that causes inflammation
Pinched Nerve In Neck
Another common treatment area is the neck. In fact, shoulder pain could even be tied to an issue in the vertebrae near the neck and upper back.
Symptoms of a pinched nerve in the neck include; sharp pain in the shoulder and down the arm, weakness of the arm and pain when you move your head to the left and right.
Pinched Nerve In Lower Back
The lower back area is considered the lumbar spine region and consists of the bottom five vertebrae of the spinal column. This type of pinched nerve can be debilitating because the sharp pain can run all the way to your foot. It can even cause weakness in the legs that make it so that you can’t put full weight on it without it giving out.
And Lots More…
With there being 24 vertebrae in your back that house many nerves running throughout your body, there are countless areas that could be affected by a pinched nerve.
Luckily, no matter where you are feeling the discomfort, a skilled chiropractor should be able to ask questions and, through a quick physical examination, should be able to identify the problem.
The doctor will be able to locate the source of the pain and work to develop a treatment plan to relieve that pressure on the pinched nerve.
Should You Go To A Chiropractor For Pinched Nerve?
Absolutely! And quickly, I might add. The longer that the entrapped nerve is left untreated, the higher the risk becomes for experiencing permanent damage. With early treatment, many of the issues are able to not only relieve the pain but correct the underlying root problem and return the normal function of the affected nerve.
Here Are Some Stretches For a Pinched Nerve:
Many chiropractors recommend utilizing more natural methods of healing and one of the best home remedies for a pinched nerve is completing a series of exercises and stretches depending on the location of the nerve.
- Lower back pain: try the reclining, sitting and forward pigeon pose. These all help to target your hips and stretch out the compressed vertebrae in your spine. By creating more space in the spine, it will help relieve the built up pressure.
- Neck Pain: test the “Chin Tuck While Looking Down” exercise to help to open up the joint spaces in the neck.
While there are many more stretches that you can practice, try and hone down the underlying problem that is causing the nerve pain by asking these questions:
- Do you have good posture?
- Do you work sitting down all day?
- Are you getting enough sleep?
- Were you in a car accident?
Relief of nerve pain can be quickly cured once the cause is identified and treated by a trusted chiropractor. They can help work through the questions listed above to identify the root source of the issue and work with you to create a long-term treatment plan.
Chiropractic Care for a Pinched Nerve in Las Vegas
If you’re experiencing pain that could be caused by a pinched nerve, our Chiropractic team here in Las Vegas would love to help. Book an appointment with our team to get started on your path to optimal health!
