What Can You Do About a Pinched Nerve?

A pinched nerve along your spine can cause pain and discomfort – in some cases limiting your ability to move and to enjoy life.

A pinched nerve can happen anywhere in your body if something puts unnatural pressure on one of your nerves. Among the common pinched nerve conditions is radiculopathy, which hampers the nerve root where it attaches to your spinal column.

What It Means To Have a Pinched Nerve

There are many potential causes of a pinched nerve. Essentially, anything that’s capable of putting pressure on one of your spinal nerves is a potential culprit. This includes surrounding tissues, bones or discs that can disrupt the nerve’s ability to function normally. Among the more common causes:

• Herniated disk. In between the vertebrae of your spinal column are small disks, which serve as cushions. These disks can become damaged, allowing the gelatinous material on the inside to leak out, putting pressure on nearby nerves.
• Spondylolisthesis. This condition occurs when one or more vertebrae shift out of position in your spinal column, restricting the space needed by your nerves.
• Neuroforaminal Stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spine that compresses nerves.
• Injury. Accidents and falls can damage muscles, ligaments or other tissues near a nerve.

Symptoms vary largely based both on the severity of the restriction and location. A pinched nerve in your cervical vertebrae will affect your neck and, potentially, your arms and hands. A pinched nerve in your thoracic vertebrae will create problems in your chest and may be more noticeable when you breathe in and out. A pinched nerve in your lumbar vertebrae will affect your lower back and, potentially, your legs. General symptoms include:

• Pain that is aching, burning or sharp
• Pins and needles or tingling sensation
• Numbness
• Weakened muscles
• Feeling like one of your limbs has fallen asleep

Seeking Relief

Treating your pinched nerve begins with conservative options, starting with medications. This includes over-the-counter and prescription-level pain relievers, muscle relaxers and oral steroids. Physical therapy can help relieve pain and improve mobility through stretching and strengthening exercises.

The next option would likely be a steroid injection, which can be done up three times a year. The procedure targets the pain with a combination of numbing medication and a steroid, injected near the nerve.

With more extreme cases, surgical options may be recommended. These include:

• Laminotomy. This minimally invasive procedure removes a piece of the bone from a vertebra to relieve pressure on a nerve.
• Microdiscectomy. The minimally invasive procedure removes all or part of a herniated disk.
• Laminectomy. The surgery removes the bony arch from a vertebra.
• Spinal fusion. The procedure joins two or more vertebrae to increase stability in your spine.

Strategies To Avoid a Pinched Nerve

There is no way to guarantee you won’t end up with a pinched spinal nerve. But there are strategies you can employ to keep your back strong and reduce your risks.

Start by staying active. Keeping your body moving with exercise or other activities can help keep your spine healthy. Stretching, swimming and Pilates are great for back health.

Your back receives a lot of support from your abdominal, back and pelvis muscles that make up your core. Using exercise to strengthen these muscles can protect your back from injury during everyday and athletic activities. They will also help improve your posture and balance.

Keep in mind that improper lifting techniques can also cause back pain. If you must carry something heavy, ask someone to help. When carrying something alone, take some weight off your shoulders and upper back by shifting the weight from shoulder to shoulder.

Lifestyle changes are also an important element of back health. Smoking, for example, restricts blood flow to the disks in your spine, increasing your risk for injury. Carrying too much weight is also a significant risk factor for back injury. You can keep your weight down with regular exercise (30 minutes a day) and a healthy diet.