Do I Have A Pinched Nerve?

Many patients consult a chiropractic doctor because they think that they have a pinched nerve.  Because of the way your spine is designed, abnormal spinal function caused from physical trauma, emotional tensions, or chemical toxins can affect the delicate tissues of the spinal cord and nerve roots.  While commonly associated with the spine, the pinched nerve (compressive lesion) is actually rare.  Researchers suggest that only 10% to 15% of spine related problems are caused by direct pressure of bone on nerve tissue!  This can result in numbness, burning, or a “pins and needles” feeling.  More frequently, nerves are irritated (facilitative lesion).  This is caused when nerve tissue is rubbed, scraped, stretched by a loss of spinal curve, or irritated spinal joints.

Do I Have A Slipped Disc?

Technically, a disc can’t “slip”.The interverbral disc is a pad of cartilage-type material situated between spinal bones.  Each disc serves as a connector, spacer and shock absorber for the spine.  Outer layers of fibrous tissue contain a soft, jellylike center.  Healthy discs help allow normal turning and bending.  Because of the way each disc is attached to the vertebrae above and below, a disc cannot “slip”.  However, trauma or injury to the spine can cause the discs to tear, bulge, and herniate or worse, rupture.  This can be quite painful, as the soft center of the disc leaks, putting pressure on the adjacent nerve roots and spinal cord.  While results cannot be guaranteed, many patients have avoided needless surgery or a dependency on pain pills, by choosing chiropractic care for their disc related health problem.

What Is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is based on the scientific fact that your body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism.  The brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves in the body control these important functions.  The skull protects the delicate tissues of the brain.  The moving bones of the spine protect the vulnerable communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots.  If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissues and organs throughout the body.  Doctors call this the Vertebral Subluxation Complex.  Vertebral, meaning bones of the spine.  Subluxation, meaning less than a total dislocation.  And complex, meaning consisting of more than one part.  Chiropractic is the science of locating offending spinal structures, the art of reducing their impact to the nervous system, and the philosophy of all things natural.

How Does Chiropractic Work?

Chiropractic works by restoring your own inborn ability to be healthy.  When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissues, and organs of your body are designed to resist disease and ill health.  The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help remove interferences to your natural state of being healthy.  A common interference to the nervous system is the 24 moving bones of the spinal column.  A loss of normal motion or position of these bones can irritate or impair the function of the nervous system.  This can disrupt the transmission of controlling nerve impulses.  With improved spinal function there is often improved nervous system function.  Your Chiropractic doctor can help remove interferences that may be impairing normal health.  Since the primary focus of your care is improved nervous system function, chiropractic can have a positive effect on many health conditions not normally thought of as “back” problems.  

What Do Chiropractic Doctors Do?                                

Helping to restore proper spinal biochemical’s and improved nervous system function begins with a case history.  This gives the doctor a background abut your health, such as surgeries, accidents, the onset of your condition, and other details affecting your current health.  After reviewing your health and discussing your specific problem, a thorough orthopedic, neurological, and chiropractic examination is performed.  X-rays may be taken to uncover structural and functional problems associated with the spinal column.  These examinations help identify areas of spinal malfunction and resulting nervous system deficit.  The findings of these examinations are explained and a plan of chiropractic adjustments may be recommended.  Progress is monitored with periodic examinations and follow=up reports.  Since the word “doctor” comes from the Latin word, meaning teacher, regardless of your doctor’s unique clinical approach, he or she has a strong commitment to patient education.

Should I Heat The Area Of Pain Or Ice It?

It really depends on the area and the condition involved.  There is a rule of thumb thankfully, when in doubt use ice.  Ice is nature’s pain reliever.  It is a natural way to reduce swelling and relieve pain without dangerous side effects that can come from medications.  I often recommend ice to patients with pain or after the first adjustment.  Often there is swelling in the affected area and heat will make the swelling worse.  Also any patient who has discomfort or pain in the neck or low back upon coughing or sneezing also receives my recommendation for icing.  Pain upon coughing or sneezing is one indicator of possible disc bulging or disc herniation.  With a disc condition, there is swelling involved in the spine (you can’t see it but you sure can feel it!). There is also muscle spasm that is often involved with disc conditions.  I never recommend heat with this condition, only ice.  The reason is, there are two different problems here, a disc bulge/ herniation and a muscle spasm.  The muscle spasm is not the cause of the problem even though it may be painful.  The disc is the cause of the muscle spasm.  The disc bulge/ herniation has swelling involved with it.  Use only ice to reduce the swelling as the pressure is relieved from the nerves, usually the muscle spasm subsides as well.

Heat is good to relax muscle structure and provide a gentle soothing relief to sore muscle.  Heat is often good in the mid-back and shoulder regions of the body because usually the cause of the pain is complicated with a torn or pulled muscle. I have no preference between “wet” heat such as a hot water bottle and “dry” heat such as a heating pad.  In placing heat on your body make sure there is no skin contact with the heat source, just to be safe.  There usually is no danger in placing heat, so often I recommend placing heat 30 min to 1 hour on the affected area.   As a rule of thumb, never place heat on the low back or neck areas  (see the Ice paragraph for the reason why).

(Most pictures courtesy of Patient Media, Inc.)