Pinched Nerve Specialist

What is a pinched nerve?

A pinched nerve happens when your surrounding tissues, bones, cartilage, tendons, or muscles, apply too much pressure to your nerve. The pressure disrupts your nerve’s functioning and can result in pain, weakness, numbness, and tingling.

Sciatica is back pain resulting from a problem with the sciatic nerve. You can have a pinched nerve at various sites in your body, such as a herniated disk in your lower spine that’s putting pressure on a nerve root and causing pain radiating down the back of your leg (sciatica). 

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition involving a pinched nerve in your wrist that leads to pain and numbness in your hand and fingers.

What are the symptoms of a pinched nerve?

Some of the signs and symptoms of a pinched nerve include:

• Numbness or reduced sensation in the area supplied by the nerve
• Aching, burning, or sharp pain
• Tingling and pins and needles sensations
• Muscle weakness in the area
• Frequent feeling that your foot or hand has fallen asleep and isn’t functioning properly

Problems associated with a pinched nerve might be worse when you lie down.

What causes a pinched nerve?

Various conditions might cause nerve compression, such as:

• Injury
• Rheumatoid or wrist arthritis
• Stress from repetitive work
• Sports activities or hobbies
• Obesity
• Bone spurs
• Thyroid disease
• Diabetes
• Pregnancy
• Overuse
• Long periods of bed rest
• Herniated or bulging disc
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

If you only have a pinched nerve for a short time, there might not be any permanent damage, and once the pressure is relieved, your nerve function usually returns to normal. If the pressure continues, it can lead to chronic pain and permanent nerve damage.

How is a pinched nerve treated?

After any necessary testing, such as blood work, X-rays, a nerve conduction study, or electromyography (EMG), your Throgs Neck Multi Care, P.C. provider devises your personalized treatment plan. To treat your pinched nerve, they might recommend various treatments, such as:

• Resting
• Physical therapy
• Medications, such as anti-inflammatories
• Corticosteroid injections
• Regenerative medicine, such as stem cell therapy
• Trigger point injections and joint injections
• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet block injection
• Facet joint radiofrequency
• Nutritional counseling

If conservative treatments aren’t successful, your Throgs Neck Multi Care, P.C. provider might recommend a surgical procedure to take pressure off the nerve. The specifics of your procedure vary depending on the location and cause of your pinched nerve.

Surgery might involve the removal of bone spurs or replacing a herniated disk in your spine with an artificial disc. For carpal tunnel syndrome, your provider can sever the carpal ligament to provide more room for the nerve to pass through your wrist.

Rest assured, your Throgs Neck Multi Care, P.C. provider can help you find relief from your pinched nerve. Call or book online today.