Chiropractic Treatment: Identifying a Pinched Nerve

People seek chiropractic treatment for all types of ailments. Often, patients come in without the slightest idea what is going on, knowing only that they are in discomfort and seeking relief. One of the more common reasons why patients seek chiropractic treatment is for symptoms of a pinched nerve. A pinched nerve can be an exceedingly troubling problem to have, manifesting itself through a variety of symptoms, including headaches and neck discomfort. Some patients find that they experience tingling in their extremities and have been known to complain of a burning sensation in the arms, legs, and even toes. Discomfort in the lower and middle back and even the spinal cord is not uncommon when it comes to a pinched nerve. In addition to these challenges, someone with a pinched nerve may have trouble sitting or standing for any duration of time, find their motion is limited and experience muscle spasms. All these are indications to a chiropractor that you may have a pinched nerve, which must be treated. Since the nervous system acts as the control module for your body, not treating a pinched nerve could lead to additional health problems.

Once you believe you have a pinched nerve or have been diagnosed with one, the next step is to evaluate you as a patient and find out two details. First, we want to know what is causing the pinched nerve, and second, we need to identify what chiropractic treatment will help you to get better. There are three basic causes of a pinched nerve.

Subluxation or Misalignment: When there is a subluxation or misalignment of the spinal cord, something a chiropractic treatment can easily resolve, it is very easy for a nerve to get pinched. The pinching of a spinal nerve can cause all the symptoms described above.

Disc Herniation: Also known as a disc protrusion, when a disc protrudes, it can cause pressure on the nerves that come out of the spinal cord. These nerves go all over the body, and hence when there is a herniation, even the normal motion of the body can cause the spine to rub against the nerve. The worse the herniation, the more discomfort you are likely to feel in the part of the body the nerve goes to.

Disc Degeneration: Most people do not realize, even as they come in for a chiropractic treatment, that the spinal discs act like a cushion between the bones. As the disc starts to degenerate, the hole from which the nerve emerges starts to get smaller. This shrinking hole will put pressure on the nerve, which can cause a great deal of discomfort for the patient.

When you come in for a chiropractic treatment with a pinched nerve, we will design an adjustment schedule that will correct the underlying problem instead of just working with the symptoms. Correcting the spine with adjustments can help give you a better range of motion in the joints, taking the pressure off the nerves and relieving the pinched nerve.