When To See A Doctor
Pain is your bodys signal to you that something is wrong. Dont ignore a nagging pain or an intense pain in your buttocks. If the pain is getting worse, or youre having trouble controlling your legs and feet or even your bowels, make the call to your doctor.
Or if youre unable to go about the activities that you do on a daily basis, call your doctor. Some type of treatment should be able to help reduce the pain.
Use A Standing Workstation
Standing workstations are gaining popularity, and for good reason. Mobility and standing throughout your day are crucial to preventing and treating a pinched nerve.
If you have a pinched nerve or want to avoid one, talk with your human resources department about modifying your desk so that you can stand while working. Theres also a range to choose from online. If you cant get a standing workstation, be sure to get up and take a walk each hour.
Roller balls for tight muscles and an hourly stretching program are a good idea if you use a keyboard frequently.
What To Do About A Pinched Nerve
A pinched nerve, called radiculopathy, results when surrounding tissue such as bones, muscles, cartilage, or tendons, apply too much pressure to one area of the nerve. This unnatural pressure interferes with your nerves normal function. Your body reacts with pain, numbness, and other types of discomfort to alert you that something is wrong.
Relief from pinched nerve pain involves identifying the source of the compressed nerve. The physicians at The Spine Center at the Bone & Joint Clinic of Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, Walker, and Prairieville, Louisiana, provide expert diagnosis and treatment for pinched nerve pain. With extensive experience in treating pinched nerves in the spine, neck, and wrist, the staff can help you get relief and avoid a recurrence of debilitating symptoms.
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Signs You Need Medical Attention
I dont recommend DIY nerve pain management. Get a trained professional on your sideworking with a skilled physical therapist will fast-track your recovery. Plus, your PT is trained to know if you need to see a spine specialist.
Red Flag symptoms indicate there might be a serious medical conditionthey warrant prompt medical attention.
Red Flags include:
- Changes in bowel or bladder function
- Changes in sensation in the saddle area
- Impaired coordination with walking
- Fever
- Recent trauma
Talk to your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms.
Should You Seek Treatment For A Pinched Nerve
According to Spine Universe, in most cases, the symptoms will resolve themselves on their own. However, seek medical treatment if any of the following occur:
- Pain that is persistent
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
For any of these symptoms, medical treatment should be sought even if a pinched nerve is not suspected. It’s important to rule out any threatening cause for sudden, unexplained pain or weakness.
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A Hand Or Foot Falls Asleep Frequently
Its normal to experience a falling asleep sensation from sitting or lying on a hand or foot for too long. In those cases, an unnatural body position is causing temporary compression thats relieved when you move or walk around. But if youre experiencing frequent falling asleep sensations, or if it happens out of nowhere for no clear reason, it may be a sign of a pinched nerve in the neck or back.
Exercises To Relax Your Pinched Nerve
Ever felt numbness, tingling sensations, or pain in your shoulders or arm lately? Have you experienced pain radiating from your lower back to the back of your leg?
Chances are you have a pinched spinal nerve, also referred to as radiculopathy.
What to do for a pinched nerve, you ask? If you dont want to rush to a specialist, there are many ways for self-treatment. Dont worry, weve got them all listed down for you.
Keep reading to find out about 6 exercises that will help you relax that impinged nerve:
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Treatment For Pinched Nerves
How long it takes for symptoms to end can vary from person to person. Treatment varies, depending on the severity and cause of the nerve compression.
You may find that you benefit greatly from simply resting the injured area and by avoiding any activities that tend to worsen your symptoms. In many cases, that’s all you need to do.
If symptoms persist or pain is severe, see your doctor. You may need one or more types of treatment to shrink swollen tissue around the nerve.
In more severe cases, it may be necessary to remove material that’s pressing on a nerve, such as:
- Scar tissue
How Long Does A Pinched Nerve Last Do They Go Away On Their Own
Most of the time, Lower Back Pain or a “Pinched Nerve” in the lower back resolves in 6 to 10 weeks. The inflammation which causes the pain typically calms in that time. In some cases, the pain may last longer and may have more severe symptoms, such as loss of sensation or strength in the part of the leg.
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Pain Extending From Your Neck Down Your Arm
Like sciatica, nerve compression in the neck portion of your spine occurs when a nerve in your neck becomes compressed or pinched when it leaves your spine to travel down your arms or into your shoulders. Irritation of a cervical nerve can cause pain and similar symptoms anywhere along the nerve pathway, including your shoulders, the very upper part of your back, your arms, and even your hands.
Complementary And Alternative Options
Therapies such as acupuncture or massage therapy may be helpful for some people in controlling the pain associated with a pinched nerve. TENSa form of electrostimulationmay also help reduce pain.
These therapies are used primarily to reduce pain and do not appear to have a significant role in reducing nerve compression on their own.
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What Causes A Pinched Nerve
Some conditions can cause tissue or bone to compress a nerve and cause symptoms. These include:
- Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation in the joints that may pressure nearby nerves.
- Aging leads to wear and tear on the spine and its discs. Over time spinal discs can lose water content and flatten. The vertebrae move closer together, and in response the body forms growths of bone. These bone growths, or spurs, can compress nerves.
- Sudden injury from sports or an accident can result in a pinched nerve. Awkward lifting, pulling, or twisting movements can cause a herniated disc.
- Repetitive motion tasks, like extended periods of typing on a keyboard, can cause stress in your wrist and hand. This may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome .
- Obesity: Excess weight can swell your nerve pathway, putting pressure on nerves.
- Pregnancy: The extra weight can result in compressed nerves.
- Diabetes: High glucose levels in the blood damage your nerves.
Top Warning Signs You Have A Pinched Nerve
Pinched nerves arent uncommon, but when they occur, they can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. At The Spine Institute of Southeast Texas, we help people relieve pain and other symptoms caused by pinched nerves. The first step in getting relief: making sure nerve compression is really to blame. Here are eight of the most common symptoms you might experience if you’ve got a pinched nerve:
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Symptoms Of Pinched Nerves
With nerve compression, sometimes pain may be your only symptom. Or you may have other symptoms without pain.
These are some of the more common symptoms of compressed nerves:
- Pain in the area of compression, such as the neck or low back
- Radiating pain, such as sciatica or radicular pain
- Numbness or tingling
- “Pins and needles” or a burning sensation
- Weakness, especially with certain activities
Sometimes symptoms worsen when you try certain movements, such as turning your head or straining your neck.
Causes Of Pinched Nerves
A pinched nerve occurs when there is “compression” on a nerve.
The pressure may be the result of repetitive motions. Or it may happen from holding your body in one position for long periods, such as keeping elbows bent while sleeping.
Nerves are most vulnerable at places in your body where they travel through narrow spaces but have little soft tissue to protect them. Nerve compression often occurs when the nerve is pressed between tissues such as:
- Ligament
- Tendon
- Bone
For example, inflammation or pressure on a nerve root exiting the spine may cause neck or low back pain. It may also cause pain to radiate from the neck into the shoulder and arm . Or pain may radiate into the leg and foot .
These symptoms may result from changes that develop in the spine‘s discs and bones. For example, if a disc slips out of place or protrudes — known as a herniated disc — pressure can get put on a spinal nerve.
Nerve compression in your neck or arm may also cause symptoms in areas such as your:
The scarring may interfere with the nerve’s function.
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What Are The Symptoms Of A Herniated Disc/pinched Nerve
Usually, a persons main complaint is back pain. In some cases, there may be a previous history of episodes of localized lower back pain, which is present in the back and continues down the leg that is served by the affected nerve. This pain is usually described as a deep and sharp pain, which gets worse as it moves down the affected leg. The onset of pain with a herniated disc may occur out of the blue or it may be announced by a tearing or snapping sensation in the spine that is thought to be the result of a sudden tear of part of the annulus fibrosis.
A person with a herniated disc will usually complain of lower back pain that may or may not radiate into different parts of the body. They will often have limited range of motion when asked to bend forward or lean backward, and they may lean to one side as they try to bend forward. Sometimes, they walk with a painful gait, flexing the affected leg so as not to put too much weight on the side of the body that hurts.
How To Release A Pinched Nerve
Stretching exercises can be very useful here. The right stretch can release the nerve from its bind, help calm the inflammation and thereby alleviate the pain.
While the two stretches described here are light and designed to help the lumbar area, you need to tread carefully to avoid aggravating your condition. Make sure you follow the instructions and perform the exercises slowly and attentively. The right time to increase the stretch is while breathing out.
We start by lying flat on the floor, bending the painful leg and slightly pull it towards the shoulder. Once you feel a stretch, hold the leg in that position for some 30 seconds. Afterwards, release and straighten the leg back in the starting position, take a short break, and repeat the movement two more times.
Again, from a supine position, bend your knees and slowly pull them toward the chest make sure you are not lifting your buttocks of the floor! Cross your legs, as shown in the figure above, and pull the healthy leg with your hand. Keep the legs in this position for 30 seconds, release them, and return to the original position. Repeat the exercise two more times.
If you liked this, be sure to also check our recommended yoga exercises for sciatica and daily activities that are aggravating your sciatica.
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Can You Prevent A Pinched Nerve
Paying attention to body positions and decreasing repetitive activities can help prevent a pinched nerve. Using ergonomic principles at work and at home can decrease the risk of nerve injuries. If repetitive activities are necessary to perform a task, incorporating frequent breaks or rest periods can reduce or eliminate the risk of nerve injury.
What You Need To Know
- Radiculopathy describes a range of symptoms produced by the pinching of a nerve root in the spinal column.
- The pinched nerve can occur at different areas along the spine .
- Symptoms of radiculopathy vary by location but frequently include pain, weakness, numbness and tingling.
- A common cause of radiculopathy is narrowing of the space where nerve roots exit the spine, which can be a result of stenosis, bone spurs, disc herniation or other conditions.
- Radiculopathy symptoms can often be managed with nonsurgical treatments, but minimally invasive surgery can also help some patients.
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What Are The Symptoms Of A Pinched Nerve
Symptoms of a pinched nerve in the lower back include:
- A sharp pain in the back that may travel all the way to your footpain may become worse with certain activities like sitting or coughing
- Numbness of the skin in areas of the leg or foot
- Weakness in the leg
Symptoms of pinched nerve in the neck include:
- A sharp pain in the arm
- Pain in the shoulder
- Worsening pain when you move your neck or turn your head
Pinched Nerve Pain Is Usually Short
So how long does a pinched nerve cause pain and discomfort? In most cases, symptoms improve and nerve function resumes to normal within 6 to 12 weeks of conservative treatment. Conservative treatment options include physical therapy, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Lifestyle modifications such as rest, ice and hot therapy, frequent exercise, and sleeping position changes may help as well.
There are a number of factors that will play a role in how long your pinched nerve lasts. The cause of the inflammation, degree of compression, and your immune system response can help determine when your symptoms will subside.
In the event your pinched nerve persists for more than a few months, surgery may be recommended to prevent permanent damage and chronic pain. It may involve getting rid of a portion of a herniated disc or bone spurs. This will alleviate nerve pressure and ensure greater comfort.
Since a surgical procedure may come with risks and a lengthy recovery period, you should always try conservative treatments at first.
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Tingling Or Pins And Needles Feeling
Feeling tingling, pins and needles or pinprick-like sensations along the pathway of a nerve is a common sign of nerve compression. If you have a compressed nerve in the neck, you may experience tingling sensations down the shoulder, arm, hand and fingers. If you have a compressed nerve in the low back, you may experience tingling sensations down the buttock, leg and foot.
Pinched Nerve In Lower Back: Secrets To Coping With The Pain
A pinched nerve is a form of nerve injury that often results in numbness, pins and needles sensation, and radiating pain. It can occur in specific regions in the spinal column, including the lower back. Lumbar radiculopathy, sciatica, or a pinched nerve in the lower back affects about 3 to 5 percent of the population. This condition can easily cause severe disability and discomfort. If left unresolved, it can lead to long-term problems like permanent nerve damage.
Learn about how you can cope with a pinched nerve in the lower back in our discussion below. Check out the top options that patients use and how each remedy can help you manage your symptoms.
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Other Pain Relief Options For Pinched Nerve In Hip
Luckily, most people can heal from a pinched nerve in the hip without specific medical treatment or surgery. There are several things you can do at home for pain relief.1
Pain Medications: Over-the-counter pain pills and anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help manage severe pain from a pinched nerve.
Ice and Heat: Applying ice on the painful area reduces swelling. Heat application increases blood circulation and reduces pain. You can alternate between ice and heat.
Lifestyle Modifications: Avoid putting additional pressure on the pinched nerve by not sitting or standing in one position for long periods.
Fixing The Root Cause
Now that your pain is relieved, you can focus on treating the root cause of your pinched nerve.
The best way to do that is by rebuilding the support structure of your back.
A healthy back comes from within. You cant fix it with a pill. You cant get it from a gadget. And the surgeon cant install it on the operating table .
Consider physically rebuilding your back support system.
In simpler terms restore the muscle balances in your lower back.
You can learn more about muscle imbalances, how they caused your pinched nerve in the first place, and how to fix them HERE.
What have you tried so far to fix your pinched nerve? Share with us in the comments below.
To your health and happiness,
Meital
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How To Heal A Lumbar Pinched Nerve
There are a few possible causes for a pinched nerve .
But no matter the cause, there are 2 simple steps you have to take to NATURALLY cure your pinched nerve.
Do not fool yourself to think that it will go away or heal on its own and please do not start relying on dangerous pain medication to keep your sanity.
So, what did you find? A pinched nerve or a pulled muscle?
To your health and happiness,
Meital
