Pinched Nerve Middle Island chiropractors

A pinched nerve can be one of the most painful symptoms you could ever endure. It normally occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues — such as bones, cartilage, muscles, or tendons. Disruption of nerve function has many symptoms including numbness, tingling, burning, shooting pain, and weakness.

Most of the time, what is called a pinched nerve is actually an irritated or inflamed nerve where the nerve itself is not actually pinched. In most cases, nerves become irritated and inflamed when the bones, joints, or muscles of the spine are not in their proper position or are not moving properly. This condition is called a "subluxation", the treatment of which is the specialty of the doctors in our office.

Causes of pinched nerves

Often, poor posture is the culprit, due to a poor night’s sleep, long durations of sitting, such as driving or at a computer, or lifting heavy objects, such as weights or children, or even reaching above the head can be the cause of a pinched or compressed nerve. Degenerative arthritis, disc herniations, and scoliosis can also be the cause of a pinched nerve

Trigger points can cause symptoms of a pinched nerve. Trigger points are very tight "knots" of muscle that form when muscles are either chronically overworked or injured and are often experienced as a pinching or burning pain. Trigger points will commonly cause pain that radiates to other parts of the body, which is also known as referred pain. The successful treatment of trigger points usually requires a combination of chiropractic care, stretching, and a form of deep tissue massage called 'trigger point therapy.'

Conditions arising from pinched nerves

Sciatica and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. In each of these cases, injury, spasm, or inflammation of the surrounding muscles and connective tissue causes the nerve to become compressed, resulting in pain.

Sciatica will cause pain down the leg while the thoracic outlet will cause pain down the arm. The pain in these cases arises from nerve compression in the spine. Medical treatment of these conditions usually involves anti-inflammatories or cortisone shots. While these will mask the pain, they will not fix the root of the problem which is pressure on a nerve.

It is very important that the cause of any form of pain be properly diagnosed. This is especially important when nerves are affected as severe or long-term irritation, or compression, of a nerve, can lead to permanent nerve damage. Sometimes advanced imaging studies such as MRI are required to properly diagnose this condition. Nerve studies are also used to determine if damage has occurred along the path of the pinched nerve. At Lupo Saladino Chiropractic we can help you find relief from this painful condition, and then rehabilitate your spine to prevent this from happening again. Call today if you suspect you may have trigger points causing muscle pain in your body