Nearly 300,000 Americans suffer from some form of pinched nerve every year, with the problem favoring those over 50.
While many cases of pinched nerve will resolve on their own with or without treatment, you should see your doctor if symptoms last for several days. You should also see a doctor if your pain doesn't respond to self-care measures, such as rest and over-the-counter pain relievers.
If a nerve is pinched for only a short time, there's usually no permanent damage. Once the pressure is relieved, nerve function returns to normal. However, if the pressure continues, chronic pain and permanent nerve damage can occur.
Some people are more susceptible to pinched nerves than others. Issues in the spine, such as arthritis, bulging discs, and disc herniation is one pinched nerve risk factor. These problems cause pressure on the roots of the nerve, located near the spine.
Pulled muscles are sometimes mistaken for pinched nerves, but can be ruled out based on the nature of the pain. A pulled muscle exhibits dull achy pain in a centralized location, whereas pinched nerve pain is sharp and radiates to other parts of the affected area.
Pinched Nerve Diagnosis
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a doctor may take an X-ray, a computed tomography (CT) scan, or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to find the cause of the pinched nerve.
Symptoms most commonly include a sharp pain in the neck, shoulder, arm, hand, leg, or back. A pinched nerve may cause tingling, numbness, or burning. Weakness in the arms also may result. For many people, symptoms get better with time and go away.
Until you relieve the compression that's blocking the blood flow, you'll continue to struggle with this decreased sensation. Don't ignore this symptom since untreated numbness can lead to permanent nerve damage.
Emotional stress can have a physical effect on the body. The hormones that get released as a result, the cortisone and other things can create irritations in the body that can create misalignments, that can create pinched nerves.
Pinched nerves can last from a few days to about a month, depending on how you treat it. It is typically a temporary condition that you can treat on your own, but it's important to not ignore long-lasting or acute pain as it could be the sign of a bigger problem.
Does an MRI scan show nerve damage? A neurological examination can diagnose nerve damage, but an MRI scan can pinpoint it. It's crucial to get tested if symptoms worsen to avoid any permanent nerve damage.
Fortunately, non-surgical treatments are available to alleviate pain without the need for extensive surgery or downtime. For more severe symptoms, a spinal physician may recommend a surgical procedure if symptoms don't improve with non-surgical treatment. Learn how to heal a pinched nerve and promote spinal health.
If your doctor suspects it could be a pinched nerve, you will have an MRI, a type of imaging that can highlight where the nerve might be compressed. The pain could be happening for a variety of reasons including peripheral neuropathy, disc herniation or arthritic changes in the spine.
In most situations, a pinched nerve may last anywhere from a few days to a few months in severe scenarios. The best thing you can do to possibly reduce the time you're experiencing the pinched nerve issue is to seek the appropriate medical care as soon as possible.
An MRI may be able help identify structural lesions that may be pressing against the nerve so the problem can be corrected before permanent nerve damage occurs. Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings.
Can a pinched nerve become permanent? The answer is most of the time a pinched nerve will get better with rest and over-the-counter medications. It can, however, become a chronic condition, so you should see a doctor if you don't see improvement within a few days.
Chiropractic is a great way to relieve pinched nerves – and it's something we can do for you today. Professional Chiropractors have an intimate understanding of the body and the nerves, and know where to apply pressure to reduce pain, relieve tension, and hasten recovery.
Numbness and tingling or weakness of the arms or the legs can also result from nerve irritation in the lower back. In the most severe cases, lumbar radiculopathy can lead to incontinence, sexual dysfunction or severe paralysis.
What Causes a Pinched Nerve? Multiple tissues can put pressure on the nerve or nerve root. Although this condition can occur in several areas of the body, it's more common in the neck and back.
As you heal from a pinched nerve, the pain will weaken and may feel more like a dull, throbbing pain that occurs less often.
If you do have a pinched nerve, the first line of treatment is usually a combination of pain medication and physical therapy. If your pain is still present after six to 12 weeks, you may need to be re-evaluated. Imaging tests can help confirm other conditions, or you may need an epidural nerve block or surgery.
While a nerve may be pinched in a specific place and cause symptoms there, it also has the potential to send pain signals to other areas of the body. Pinched nerves can really happen anywhere, but they most commonly occur in the spine. And the pain from pinched nerves in the spine can travel throughout the body.
The bottom line is that not all pain is able to be detected on an x-ray or MRI. That does not mean that there is nothing there that needs to be treated or diagnosed. In fact, it means that it is possibly a precursor to something going really wrong and then eventually needing surgery because it eventually winds up torn.