A compressed or pinched nerve is one of the main reasons you experience back, neck, wrist or leg pain. The delicate nerve fibers get trapped, pinched, squeezed, or injured by a variety of external or internal situations and the neurotransmitters that signal “pain” to the brain go off.
Causes of a compressed nerve can vary from an injury to poor posture to degenerative disorders to obesity. Additionally, the compressed nerve can be a result of a combination of factors.
The pressure on the nerve by surrounding bones, cartilage, muscles, or tendons needs to be relieved sooner than later, or that pain will continue to slow you down – not to mention the nerve can endure permanent damage if not tended to.
We’ve gone into detail about pinched nerves in our conditions section, but let’s recap some of the symptoms you may experience.
Compressed Nerve Symptoms
The following is a small selection of common symptoms of a compressed nerve:
- Numbness
- Radiating pain that stems from one specific location
- Muscle weakness
- Feeling as if the area has “fallen asleep”
Medical Treatment for a Compressed Nerve
Our specialists offer many solutions for your compressed nerve pain including minimally invasive procedures and physical therapy. Below are a few highlighted pain management options you can receive:
- Nerve blocks. A nerve block is an anesthetic or anti-inflammatory injection into a particular nerve or group of nerves for pain relief. The aim is to block pain signal(s) coming from a specific location in the body and/or decrease inflammation in that area.
- Trigger point injections. A Trigger Point Injection (TPI) is an intra-muscular injection of a local anesthetic into muscle trigger points, often accompanied by an anti-inflammatory steroid, to combat specific pain points and chronic pain usually resulting from an injury to the muscle(s) in question.
- Pulsed radiofrequency. Pulsed radiofrequency treatment is very effective at treating the more difficult types of chronic pain that usually originate from either irritated or damaged nerves.
- Physical therapy. This enables you to build strength in muscles where you are experiencing pain and weakness.
The prognosis for a full recovery from a pinched nerve is good if you don’t ignore the warning signs and get your pain checked out by a doctor sooner than later. For more information about compressed or pinched nerves, contact us today.
