Today let’s look at pinched nerves
How do you know you have a pinched nerve, can you test yourself, and what to do if you have a pinched nerve?
So let’s begin with the nervous system, our brain communicates messages to and from the body by the spinal cord which is protected by vertebrae. The most common pinched nerve occurs in the holes from which a nerve comes out of the spine.
A pinched nerve is an unhealthy nerve, mainly due to either the compression on the nerve or lack of blood supply to that area. This inhibits the messages from flowing backward and forwards. You can picture nerves like highways, there could be traffic jams that can cause closure of the lanes, or slowing down of the lanes. If we close or slow down nerve transmission, it will affect the function of that nerve and whatever that nerve supplies, regardless of its muscle or organ.
It’s very important to look after your nerves,!
Some of the symptoms that you might get from nerves can be electric sensations, burning, tingles, and pins and needles. These particular sensations are referred meaning the problem is in a different area to where you feel it.
Have you heard of sciatica? these can be pinched at the spine but also through the hip extensors muscles, like piriformis.
Another is arm pain that travels below the shoulder, into the arm and the hand could be a pinched nerve of your neck.
In the neck, there are eight big nerves that come from the spine. They travel down your neck down your arm to your fingers. If you’re getting pain in your hand or fingers, each finger correlates to a different nerve.
C6 nerve generally gives you the sensations on the first two fingers and C7 on the middle two. Then there is the C8 that gives the sensations to the little pinky.
The most commonly pinched nerve in the neck is C6+C7 because there is a small hole at this level and it is the most commonly injured one during a whiplash injury. Which can occur are just as little as 10 km/h.
So to finish off there are three most common causes of pinch nerves
- We have a herniated or bulging disc
- We have spinal subluxations where the nerves exiting the spine get crushed
- We have spinal degeneration whispers can push into these little spaces and affect the function
Unfortunately, you may not be able to recall what caused your pinched nerve but there are times when you know exactly when you did it because the pain occurs fast and strong.
If you think you have a pinched nerve, get this checked by your health professional. Your health professional will either x-ray your spine or do an MRI to diagnose exactly which nerve is compressed and then we can determine the proper course of treatment based on the cause of the compression.
If you’re reading this and have pain right now my first piece of advice would be to see if ice or heat helps it. If it’s inflamed ice will give you relief.
Here at the clinic, we are always here to help you if you have any questions or if you or someone you know has a pinched nerve.
Give this week’s Chiro Couch video a watch to find out more on pinched nerves