Signs You May Have a Pinched Nerve

pinched nerveNerves: What Are They?

You have two kinds of nerves in your body: motor nerves and sensory nerves. Motor nerves send signals from the brain to the rest of your body. Say, for instance, your brain wants to to change the channel with the remote. Your motor nerves are the telephone line that tells your arm to rise.

Sensory nerves, on the other hand, send information the other way from the body to the brain. They connect to our senses: seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and touching. Any time you see a rainbow while smelling freshly picked flowers and hearing your favorite song with the taste of your favorite food in your mouth and a warm breeze running across your skin, your sensory nerves are sending that information back to your brain.

What Is A “Pinched Nerve?”

When a minor injury or trauma compresses a nerve, rendering it unable to carry its signals, it is “pinched.” Even simple actions like lifting a heavy bag or twisting your back at a weird angle can result in a nerve compression. Typically, a persona with a pinched nerve only feels symptoms for a couple days maximum.

If the nerve compression doesn’t heal, the protective barrier that protects it can break down which allows fluid to build up. That build up can lead to swelling, pressure, and scarring that can permanently interfere with the nerve’s function.

Pinched Nerve Symptoms

Symptoms of a pinched nerve include localized pain near the compression. However, a person can also feel pain far removed from the point of pressure of a pinched nerve. Say you have a pinched nerve in the neck. You may feel pain in the neck, but the discomfort can also travel down the nerve’s path– for instance, down your arm, through your wrist, and even into your hand and fingers.

Because your nerves travel to all extremities of the body, you may feel symptoms of a pinched nerve.

Other signs you may have a pinched nerve include:

  • Radiating pain from the spine.
  • “Pins and needles” sensation in extremities.
  • Numbness
  • Tingling
  • Weakness
  • Difficulty performing normal movements (i.e. turning one’s head)

If your pinched nerve symptoms persist, contact Dr. Stacie Grossfeld.  With over 10 years of experience as an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Grossfeld has extensive knowledge surrounding musculature. If you are suffering from prolonged pinched nerve symptoms, contact Orthopaedic Specialists today at 502-212-2663.