Welcome to the Autumn Edition of Chiro Chat for 2024.
If you have ever experienced any pain in your neck or back you have probably heard of the term pinched nerve. A pinched nerve is often the result of too much pressure applied to the nerve. People often associate pinched nerves or nerve pain with neck or back pain however there are many other symptoms that may indicate that you have a nerve related condition.
What are nerves?
As a part of the body’s nervous system, nerves branch out from the brain and spinal cord to carry instructions to every area of the body. Essentially nerves act like electrical wires that allow signals to travel from the brain to the spinal cord then onto the organs and muscles and then back again.
What is a pinched nerve?
A pinched nerve is a term commonly used for a nerve that is irritated or inflamed. Surprisingly, a nerve rarely gets actually “pinched”. This nerve irritation can come from surrounding bones or soft tissues compressing the nerve (often a disc pushing onto the nerve), or even more commonly due to local inflammation around the nerve (called “Chemical irritation”). When a nerve is irritated or compressed it may lose its ability to carry effective messages to the muscles or organs of the body and these altered signals can cause a variety of sensations in the body ranging from pain, to pins and needles or muscle weakness. Some people also get organ dysfunction causing symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, headaches, dizziness, sinus, asthma or even indigestion or reflux.
Are you experiencing signs of a pinched nerve?
When a nerve is irritated your initial symptoms may include localised pain but it may also cause pain in an area far removed from the site of the actual nerve problem. While many people associate a pinched nerve in the neck or back with localised pain near the impingement, pinched or irritated nerves can actually produce symptoms in different, unsuspected and seemingly unrelated areas of the body. A good example of this is irritation of the L5 nerve at the base of your low back can cause pain in your big toe. Nerve irritation in the neck can cause pain anywhere from your neck right down to your finger tips including shoulders, biceps forearms, hands or fingers or can also cause pins and needles or numbness in these same areas.To complicate things even further, a nerve is not always irritated or compressed in the spine, it may be impinged at the shoulder, as it passes through the elbow or maybe even in the wrist (called “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome”). Different symptomatic presentations help the Chiropractor to accurately diagnose which nerve is being affected and where the actual irritation is occurring. It is vitally important that it is correctly diagnosed to ensure the correct treatment is administered. Chiropractors, through the use of adjustments to both the spine and peripheral joints (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles and feet), are able to improve the biomechanics of the joint which reduces and often removes the irritation to correct the problem. In most cases this results in a favourable outcome for the patient by removing their presenting symptoms.
If you suffer from arm, leg pain or pins and needles/numbness, let your Chiropractor know, it may prevent needless pain and suffering.
Written by Dr Mark Whitfield.
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