Are you feeling a radiating pain down your arm, tingling in your feet, or numbness in your fingers? Chances are all these have a common source: a pinched nerve in your spine.
Pinched nerves can cause the above signs and symptoms. And while conventional treatments can offer relief, they often take 4-6 weeks to be effective. So, why not consider visiting a chiropractor?
What is a pinched nerve?
In order to understand what a pinched nerve is, you have to first understand the nervous system. Your nervous system consists of the spinal cord and brain, as well as a network of nerves that transmit signals to and from the brain.
Your spinal cord passes through the middle of your vertebrae and branches out into several nerve roots which then spread out to all parts of your body. These nerve roots transmit information, such as telling your body to avoid danger or informing your brain that you are touching a hot surface.
When you suffer from an inflammation, misaligned vertebrae, bone spurs, or a herniated or bulging disc, pressure is applied on the surrounding nerves, resulting in what we call a pinched nerve.
Symptoms of pinched nerves
When your nerves are pinched, it can misfire and send a series of confusing signals to your brain. Hence, individuals with a pinched nerve mostly experience numbness, paresthesia, sharp and burning pain, as well as weakness in the surrounding muscles.
Due to the way your nerves and brain communicate with one another, these symptoms are often not felt at the exact location of the pinched nerve. Instead, they will radiate to other areas of the body, resulting in what we call referred pain.
How to treat pinched nerves?
There are many conventional treatments that can treat and provide relief to pinched nerves. However, most of these treatments generally help only in relieving discomfort and pain rather than targeting the root cause.
Conventional treatment include:
- Resting of the affected region
- Physical therapy to strengthen the affected muscle region
- Corticosteroid injections and pain relief medications
- Surgery to relieve pressure off the affected nerve
Generally, most doctors will advise you that pinched nerves will go away on their own. However, the issue is that it can be a long and uncomfortable process that takes 4-6 weeks. Not many people would want to wait for such a long time for the pain to subside.
How chiropractic care can provide pinched nerve relief
If you are looking for a more immediate and holistic relief support that targets your pain source, consider chiropractic care. The quickest way to experience relief from your symptoms is to act on the pressure on the affected nerve. Once that particular pinched nerve is relieved, your symptoms should reduce significantly or even resolve altogether.
Chiropractic care works by manually relaxing the surrounding soft tissues and adjusting the misaligned joints, providing immediate relief in most cases. And unlike surgery or drugs, it is non-invasive, with little recovery time or side effect risk.
Conclusion
Although not necessarily guaranteed, pinched nerves could lead to severe consequences and complications. And you should never have to live with numbness, tingling, or pain in your body. Hence why any signs and symptoms of a potential pinched nerve should not be dismissed. If you experience any of such symptoms, chiropractic care can help you find lasting, quick relief and recovery.
Here at Healing Hands Chiropractic, our team of experienced chiropractors has seen a number of conditions, from lower back pain treatment to frozen shoulder treatment. Using a variety of techniques, our patients have gotten back to their daily routine pain-free and with a restored range of motion.
If you have never experienced chiropractic care, you will be amazed at how quickly you will feel better after your first session. Contact us today to get started!
