Pinched Nerves: Symptoms, Treatments & Surgical Procedures
Pinched nerves can happen due to aspects of everyday life, making them a common condition. Unfortunately, they also commonly cause pain in the neck and back. Your nerves communicate messages between your brain and body, so you need to take good care of them. Learn more about pinched nerve symptoms and possible treatments below.
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Pinched Nerve Symptoms
We can feel sensations like pain and touch thanks to our nerves, so even temporary nerve damage can cause discomfort. The pinched nerve also becomes inflamed, creating neck or back pain. Other pinched nerve symptoms include:
- Tingling and numbness near the nerve
- Muscle weakness
- Pain in the lower back that worsens with physical activity
- A burning or stinging sensation
Some symptoms should get immediate medical treatment because they indicate severe nerve damage. Visit a doctor if you experience:
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- The inability to grip things
- Severe weakness in the affected area of the body
Conservative Treatment Methods
Pinched nerves often require minimal treatment. If you visit a pain management doctor and receive a diagnosis, they will start out with recommendations for:
- A medical brace to prevent further damage to the affected area
- Avoidance of activities that compress the nerve
- Physical therapy to stretch out nearby muscles and strengthen them
- Injections or medicine to reduce pain and inflammation
With these treatments, symptoms should go away within a few weeks or months.
At-Home Care
While you wait for your pinched nerve to heal, you can use some simple home remedies to relieve discomfort, including:
- Change in workstation or posture
- Resting the affected area
- Getting extra sleep to help the body repair itself
- Light stretches
- Gentle massage
- Alternating ice and heat packs
- Adding low-impact exercise to daily habits
Least-Invasive Surgical Procedures
If problems persist after initial treatment, the patient might need a least-invasive surgical procedure. At Metropolitan Pain & Spine Institute, we offer an endoscopic discectomy procedure. According to research, over 80% of patients report success after they get this treatment.
During an endoscopic discectomy, the specialist creates a small incision and inserts a small tube. They then use a small camera and instruments that only affect the area being operated on. The doctor doesn’t need to make a large incision or damage muscle and bone. A small laser shrinks and closes any muscle tears to ensure proper healing. Once the procedure is finished, the specialist will remove the tools and tube and close the incision.
Most patients recover from endoscopic discectomy within a few days. Since the incision is so small, it only requires a bandage — which means no stitches. As the nerve regains feeling, you might feel occasional twinges of pain. Some patients experience pain or soreness in the muscle or incision site, but these symptoms go away with time.
Get Pinched Nerve Treatment From the Experts
If you have a pinched nerve, the pain management specialists at Metropolitan Pain & Spine Institute can help. Book an appointment today to get diagnosis and treatment.
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I exprience tingling and burning sensation sometimes but the healing is taking time am concerned now
Hi Julius! We’d love to discuss this in more detail. Feel free to give us a call!
Hi maybe someone can give me advise.
About a week and a half ago my shoulder started hurting at night so to the point that I can’t even lay on my side… so 3 days ago my arm also started paining being numb and weak … should I try self medicate or see a medical professional
Hey Delicia! We always recommend receiving professional advice first. Luckily, we are offering virtual appointments. Feel free to fill out a form on the site and we will get one scheduled for you!
I woke up from parenthesis 1 day ago. It was maybe the worst I’ve had. It consumed my whole right half of my body. I shook it intensely until it finally settled. I sleep in a tiny bed, always sleep on my back, and barely move at night. So it’s happened a few times, but not terribly often. However, the symptoms have never lasted longer than a few minutes. This time I believe it may have caused a pinched (compressed) nerve, because it seemed like the most severe case, and I have had tingling since that morning. Is this possible? Should I be worried? I have never had a pinched nerve in my life. And I have never had this happen before after parenthesis in my life.
Hey Kate! We aren’t understanding exactly what you mean here so please give us a call and we can chat!
Hi, I think I have pinched a nerve in my groin as it has a weird slightly painful feeling , and the top of my thigh has a numb sensation. I have had this for around 4 days now, and I am worried because I thought it would go away but it hasn’t, what can I do?
Hey Lucy! Glad you thought to reach out to us. We are actually offering virtual appointments so please feel free to fill out a form on the site and we will see how we can help.
Hi. My father has a damaged nerve in his lower back. It is causing him a lot of pain when moving. He is also experiencing tingling and numbness in his right leg. What do u recommend?
Hey Ashaki! We are so sorry to hear that he’s struggling with pain. Please feel free to give us a call or fill out a form on the site so we can learn more!
Good Day. My Dr stated that my MRI reveals C5-C6 disc herniation with spinal steneosis. An anterior cervical discectomy as recommended but the Covid 19 Challenege the procedures was put on halt. i am glad to say the pain in the chest and left had is all gone after taking stilpane for close to 2 weeks. Now my left side hand is no longer the same as the muscles are all gone and now i have mild muscle spas that last for some second and reappear randomly . What could be the problem?. Also would anterior cervical discectomy have fixed this problems
Hey There! We are sorry to hear about all that’s going on for you. We are conducting virtual appointments and encourage you to reach out to us via the form on the site or give us a call that way we can talk more about these specifics! Thanks!
Hi, I have a pinched nerve in my left lower back, I tripped up in a small hole in a field out for a run mid-Feb this year. It’s now early May and the sensation is still there and aches. Should I be concerned how long it’s taking to heal?
Thanks,
Si
Hey Si! Sorry to hear about that! We recommend giving us a call or filling out a form on the site. We are currently doing virtual appointments and would love to hear a bit more about the sensation. Thanks!
About 3 weeks ago I started having a headache then a week later went to a chiropractor there he said that 2 of my upper neck bones were unaligned and corrected me but I was still not 100% satisfied so I went to a doctor where he said that it was that I had pinched nerves that that’s why I was having those pounding temples and in the back of my head too. He gave me a shot of Toradol, ibuprofen to take home as well as cyclobenzaprine. It’s been now about 4 days taking the ibuprofen and cyclobenzaprine and now I only fee tingly sensation, the slightest pressure if I say in my ear and warm in the back of my head I also went to the chiropractor again where he said that that’s a good sign that the nurves are starting to work again. Is that true?
Hey Maria! We’re sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve had lately. If you would like to get official medical advice on this, we welcome you to reach out to us directly via phone or form on our site!
A few weeks ago I sat in a lawn chair that was extremely low. After getting up I had a sharp pain in my left hip joint area.
It has continued to hurt me with a burning , tender feeling, especially at the end of the day. I have a tingling sensation up and down on the outside of my left calf.
While the pain has subsided some, as I’ve been resting my leg, but I already have peripheral neuropathy in both feet. However, I’ve never had the tingling up the side of my leg. My concern is that I’ve exacerbated my previous condition, and now I won’t get rid of the current leg tingling. Please advise with your best suggestions.
Hey Claudia! Thanks for reaching out to us! Please reach out to us via the form on our site or give us a call for the best answer to this!
Does a pinched nerve itch when it starts to heal?
Hey Dan! In order to best answer this for you, we invite you to give us a call so we can provide the most accurate response.
Hi, I got herniated disc 2 months back and thus sciatica…. I changed two orthopedics and the pain was almost better but since the new medications the pain has come back but this time the pain is different from the one i had before…. Can it be because of medicines and can I consider it a process of healing?? And also the pain reduces if i continue walking and increases when i walk after sleeping even for 5 minutes….
Hi Ravi! We’re so sorry to hear about this! Please give us a call or set up a virtual appointment so we can chat.
When i used to rotate my head clockwise my thoracis region used to pain but I took medicine and the pain is gone….but the numbness and tingling sensation in my arms and neck is stil there….can I consider this as healing process….Im a 17 years football player …plz help me
Hey there! Feel free to give us a call so we can talk more!
I fractured my right ankle so I had surgery and they put pins and rods to hold my ankle together, well while my orthopedic said not to put weight on it I’ve been using the crutches a lot, one day I was getting I top of my bed which my bid is a little high , so anyways I was trying to get in my bed when I felt like a shock in the middle of my back and then I completely lost felling from my waist down which made drop dead weight straight down to the ground mind you I have a cast on my right leg from under my knee to the toes.when I fell straight down I herd a lot of bones cracking and tingling and numbness throughout my whole bottom half of my body.. the emergency room said I have an acute sprang and sciatica.. it’s been almost 3 weeks my legs are weak I have partial feeling I can’t stand up when I try my legs are wobbly and it can’t hold my weight.. my question is is it going to get better ? Will I be able to walk again? How long or what can I do at home to help heal my spine and ankle. FYI I WEIGH 280lbs so that’s 280lbs of dead weight that fell straight down , my thigh , knees all weak and numbness tingling I don’t have to much control over my foot .. someone please help me with some answers or understanding!
Hey Ruby! Please give us a call so we can chat more!
hi my neck and arms burn, went to a chriop and he align my neck but pain still there in arms and neck hurts whenever i turn. its impossible to reach my primary doc because of covid, an y suggestions
Hi Ronald! We are offering virtual appointments and you are always more than welcome to give us a call to discuss anything medical-related!
I had a pinched nerve from an L4-5 and had a microdiscectomy done a week ago today. When the nerve pinched I lost feeling in part of my lower leg and foot. Now that I’m post surgery, how long will it take to regain feeling? With it being numb around my ankle, top of foot and toes, sometimes it gets super restless (not painful) and I don’t know if that’s normal.
Hey Megan! In order to provide accurate information, we’d love to chat over the phone! Feel free to give us a call!