Pinched nerve treatment

How to recognize that you have a pinched nerve?

Pinched nerve is not really a disease, it is more a health issue that occurs when some nerve is exposed to too much pressure from the tissues that surround it. Due to this pressure, the nerve in question will not be able to function properly and the person will feel weakness in that area, numbness, or even pain. Even though people tend to associate pinched nerve with the back, the fact is that it can occur at some other parts of the body as well. For example, if the nerve in the wrist is pinched, it will result in pain and numbness in the fingers and hand.

As for the symptoms that help in recognizing it, they might differ slightly depending on the location, but in general, the person will have decreased sensation in the affected area, the muscles will be weaker or they might even twitch, and when it comes to hands and feet, when they are affected, people frequently describe them as they have fallen asleep. As for the pain, it might vary in intensity and it can be sharp or burning. If spinal cord is the location of the nerve in question, the person will notice that simple sneezing easily aggravates the pain.

How is pinched nerve treated?

The fact is that even though this problem can be quite painful and what’s more, it can even prevent the person from functioning normally and performing activities that are otherwise performed without any problems, it is not difficult to treat it. The treatment primarily consists of rest and medications that relieve pain if it is present. In cases in which inflammation is present as well, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications will provide the relief and reduce the inflammation, while corticosteroid injections are suggested only in some cases as well. Surgery is a solution if the options which have been mentioned so far do not provide improvement, but it is necessary to give them at least several weeks to work. Which surgery procedure will be suggested depends primarily on the location of the nerve that is pinched, but it also depends on the cause of the problem.

However, what might be useful information for those who have to deal with the problem in question is that there are some alternative methods that can also help in such cases, which means that they can provide relief from pain and swelling. This is why it might be a good idea to inquire about them and see which are the most suitable. In many cases they are practically equally effective as medications, with the difference that the person does not have to be worried about possible side effects.