1. Pinched Nerve Treatment Options

2. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with a pinched
nerve, finding treatment options that will work for
you is undoubtedly your top priority. This
frustrating condition can lead to a wide variety of
different symptoms that can have a profound
impact on your overall quality of life. However, with
the right approach, most people are able to manage
their discomfort with a carefully designed regimen
of nonsurgical treatments over the course of several
weeks or months.

3. What is a Pinched Nerve?
Before exploring pinched nerve treatment options, it can be extremely helpful
to have a basic understanding of what the condition is and why it is causing
you discomfort. When everything is working normally, the brain
communicates with the rest of the body through a complex infrastructure of
nerves that branch off of the spinal cord. This information superhighway
facilitates the flow of motor and sensory signals throughout the body that are
responsible for all of our voluntary and involuntary actions.
A pinched nerve refers to an instance where this flow of information is
interrupted by an external stimulus, such as inflammation from an injury. The
body typically responds with pain signals, but a number of other symptoms
may also develop depending on the specific nerve that is affected. For
instance, the compression of a nerve root in the lower back (lumbar spine)
may cause symptoms to travel along the affected nerve and cause symptoms
in the legs, which are commonly known as sciatica.

4. The Purpose of Treatment
The implicit goal of pinched nerve treatment, then, is to
alleviate the origin of the patient’s discomfort, which can
get tricky if the origin of the pain isn’t readily known.
That’s because one of the leading causes of nerve
compression –particularly in older individuals – is the
presence of a degenerative spine condition that frequently
accompanies the natural aging process.
Over the years, wear and tear take its toll on the spinal
anatomy, which can cause intervertebral discs to rupture
or bulge, vertebral facet joints to become
arthritic, osteophytes to develop, ligaments to calcify, and
other degenerative changes to occur. The problem is that
because the spinal anatomy is so tightly packed, any of
these conditions can impact the spinal cord or nerve roots
in the spinal column, leading to symptoms. Only by
diagnosing the true origin of the patient’s compressed
nerve, can a doctor begin to formulate a treatment plan
that will best serve the individual.

5. Conservative Treatment
The good news about pinched nerves is that in most cases a regimen
of conservative, nonsurgical treatments are all that is needed to
manage the symptoms that arise as a result of the constriction. That
said, the specific treatments recommended will vary widely from
patient to patient depending on their specific diagnosis, the location of
the problem, the patient’s overall health, the age of the individual, and
other extenuating circumstances.
However, with all of that in mind, pinched nerve treatment usually
includes some combination of over-the-counter or prescription
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, low impact exercises, physical
therapy, stretching, heat compresses, ice packs, and other similar
treatments. Some individuals also turn to corticosteroid
injections, deep tissue massage, acupuncture, and various
complementary or alternative medicines, as well.

6. Surgery
Decompression surgery is normally considered the pinched
nerve treatment of last resort and is reserved for individuals
who haven’t sufficiently responded to several weeks or
months of conservative treatment. In this case, there are
several different types of spine procedures that may be
recommended, depending on the specific prognosis. For
instance, some individuals may benefit from an endoscopic
procedure conducted on an outpatient basis, while others
may require spinal fusion surgery to maintain spinal stability.
It depends entirely on the specific patient and their condition.
To learn more about the specific herniated disc treatment
options currently available, schedule a consultation with a
spine specialist in your area.