Feature
Article
SUFFERING
FROM THE PAIN OF A PINCHED NERVE?
CHIROPRACTIC CARE MAY BE THE ANSWER
A
Personal Message from Drs. Brenda and Erik Slovin…
What
Causes Nerve Pain?
Most
of the time, people who believe they are suffering from pinched nerves
are actually experiencing nerve pain caused by irritation or inflammation
of the nerve. This usually occurs when the spinal bones are not properly
aligned on top of their discs.
Nerves,
which are the basis of the communications system connecting your brain
and the rest of your body, travel from the brain, through the spine
and exit the spine through small openings.
These
openings can change in size and shape when the spinal bones are misaligned
or abnormally curved.
Inflammation
or swelling within these small openings can result in nerve pain that
intensifies with movement, thus creating a sensation of the nerve being
“pinched.”
Nerves
are guided through the body’s muscle tissue by slippery sheaths.
When
a nerve or its sheath is damaged, the body repairs the damage with fibrous
tissue, more commonly known as scar tissue.
Unfortunately,
scar tissue can cause an adhesion or “sticking together” of the nerve
and the sheath, which hinders smooth passage through muscle tissues.
Scar
tissue also reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the muscle, as well
as its flexibility and strength. This condition is commonly called having
a “trapped nerve” or “peripheral nerve entrapment.”
Symptoms
of this condition may not be immediately noticeable, so the patient
often unknowingly worsens the situation through repetitive use of the
injured area.
Another
condition that causes nerve pain is the presence of trigger points.
When muscles are injured or continually overworked, they form very tight
knots known as trigger points.
These
trigger points frequently cause radiating pain, which is also known
as referred pain. The successful treatment of trigger points involves
a combination of chiropractic care, stretching and trigger point therapy.
True
pinched nerves result from compression, constriction or stretching.
The symptoms include numbness or tingling, “pins and needles” or burning
sensations, and pain that radiates outward from the affected area.
Pinched
nerves can also sometimes lead to other health problems such as a gradually
worsening nerve disease called peripheral neuropathy that causes weakness,
atrophy, numbness and pain, as well as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis
elbow.
The
consequences of pinched nerves range from mild, temporary damage to
permanent complications.
Early
Diagnosis is Key in Preventing Nerve Pain from Progressing
When
patients are truly suffering from pinched nerves, realignment of the
vertebrae and discs is the preferred methood of treatment.
A doctor
of chiropractic performs precise movements that gently and painlessly
restore vertebrae and the discs between the vertebrae to their normal
positions.
This
produces an immediate and painless reduction in pressure placed on the
nerve, thereby providing immediate and sometimes dramatic relief of
nerve pain.
Chiropractic
care restores proper alignment of the spine which, in turn, restores
proper functioning of the nervous system.
This
relieves nerve pain and prevents further damage, while also improving
the nervous system’s ability to transmit communication from the brain
to the rest of the body.
With
proper chiropractic care, most people fully recover from pinched nerves,
however, the damage can be permanent if treatment is not sought.