Have you noticed a shooting pain in your back and neck or travelling down your arms and legs? If so, you might be suffering from a trapped or pinched nerve. It certainly feels like a cause for concern whilst you’re experiencing it, but it is in fact a fairly common issue that can be treated through massage therapies, chiropractic care, and physiotherapy.
Read this blog from The Hillsborough Chiropractic Clinic to learn more about what a trapped nerve actually is and how a chiropractor can help you resolve it.
What is a trapped nerve?
Our bodies use nerves to send signals from one part to another. Motor commands leave the brain, travel down the spinal cord, and follow the paths laid out by the nervous system until they finally reach their destination. An example of this is when your brain instructs your hand to move when chopping vegetables.
Sensory commands travel from the outside of the body up through the spinal cord and back to the brain to be processed - so, essentially, the process is reversed. An example of this could be when you feel the fabric of a jumper when you’re out shopping, to see if it’s soft enough.
As they transmit these messages throughout your body, nerves can become compressed, pinched, or trapped. In most cases, there will be pressure placed on the nerve and its ability to function will be compromised. Some common symptoms of a trapped nerve include:
● Decreased sensation in certain parts of the body
● Feelings of numbness, pins and needles, and tingling
● Sharp, burning pains
● Shooting, shock-like sensations
● Feeling like parts of the body have “fallen asleep”
● Muscle weakness affecting only one side of the body
● Limited range of motion
How can a chiropractor help?
Trapped nerves are mostly caused by spinal alignment issues related to your bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, or muscle tissue. These tissues should not compress the body’s nerves - if they do, they will need to be realigned so that they don’t. This is where a chiropractor comes in.
Chiropractors use manual therapy to adjust misaligned tissues and free the trapped nerve. It can sometimes also help to prevent the nerve from becoming trapped again in future. Surgery is another treatment option, but this is far more invasive and likely to produce far more side effects and complications than chiropractic care would.
A trapped nerve can be painful and debilitating. If you think you may have a trapped nerve, don’t suffer in silence. The Hillsborough Chiropractic Clinic are well-equipped to relieve pain brought on by a trapped nerve. We have a team of qualified chiropractors on hand to manually adjust misaligned joints and other tissues through tried and tested methods such as massage, acupuncture and mobilisation. They can also advise on ways that you can help to improve your condition or avoid it happening again. No matter what the problem is, get in touch today to talk to one of our friendly staff and arrange your free consultation.
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