How Your Chiropractor Can Ease Pinched Nerves

One of the most common conditions treated by a chiropractor is pinched nerves in the neck and lower back.

When a nerve is pinched in the mid-back, pain radiates out to the sides along the ribs and can even go into the chest. It is much less common than injuries in the nerves in your neck and lower back.

The medical term for this condition is radiculopathy. When it's present in the neck it is referred to as cervical radiculopathy, and in the low back, it's called lumbar radiculopathy.

What are the signs and symptoms of a pinched nerve?

Symptoms that indicate a pinched nerve in your spine include

• Radiating pain down your arms or legs into the hands or feet
• Tingling into the shoulders or legs
• Burning pain that shoots down from the back into the shoulders and hands from the lower back into the hips, thighs, and legs
• An electric shock-like sensation that radiates
• Feeling like your feet, hands or arms are asleep
• Muscle weakness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet

What causes pinched or compressed nerves?

There are a variety of conditions that cause pinched nerves. Some include

• A bulging or herniated disc in the neck or back
• Spinal stenosis
• A bone spur or arthritis in the spine pressing on the nerves
• Injuries
• Certain types of arthritis
• Compression from tight muscles
• Obesity
• Pregnancy

How does chiropractic care treat pinched nerves?

Chiropractic care treats pinched nerves using a variety of methods.

If the pinched nerve is in the spine, spinal adjustments will help restore the mobility and flexibility in the vertebrae, attempting to increase the spacing where the intervertebral nerves are being pinched in the spine.

If the nerves are pinched more peripherally in the arms or legs by tight muscles, chiropractors are trained to improve flexibility, using physical therapies to balance out tight muscles and tissues which may be compressing the nerves.

Chiropractors also incorporate physical therapy modalities such as ultrasound therapy, electrical muscle stimulation, and traction therapy. These therapies are designed to dull nerve pain and decrease inflammation and swelling around a pinched nerve.

Spinal decompression is also a therapy used by chiropractors to relieve and heal pinched nerves in the spine.

This treatment focuses on decompression of the vertebrae and spinal discs where compression is occurring, causing nerve compression in the spine. Spinal decompression uses computerized mechanical decompressive forces and is a treatment to consider if someone is seeking to avoid surgery.

If you are suffering from pain due to a pinched nerve, there is hope. Chiropractic care can treat pinched nerves in the spine and decrease nerve pain and stiffness while relaxing sore, tight, tense, and inflamed muscles.

In health,

Dr. Jeffrey Gerdes, D.C.