What are
A pinched nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues, such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons. This pressure damages the nerves, causing pain, tingling, numbness or weakness. A pinched nerve can occur anywhere in your body. A pinched nerve in your wrist can lead to pain and numbness in your hand and fingers. Sometimes, surgery is necessary to relieve pain from a pinched nerve.
Causes
A pinched nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues. There are many conditions that may cause tissue to squeeze a nerve or nerves. The conditions may involve injury, poor posture, osteoarthritis, stress, and obesity. Pressure may cause inflammation of the nerve and disturb the nerve’s function. There’s no permanent damage if a nerve is pinched for a short period of time. When the pressure is released off the nerve it returns to normal. However, if the pressure continues, chronic pain and permanent nerve damage can occur.
Symptoms
Symptoms of pinched nerves might include numbness or a decrease in sensation by the nerve, feeling of your hands and feet falling asleep, and muscle weakness.
Treatment
For treating a pinched nerve, you may need a splint or brace to restrict the area. You can use physical therapy exercises that can strengthen and stretch the muscles in the area where pinched nerve occurs in order to relieve pressure. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory is a medication that can treat pinched nerves, such as ibuprofen, Advil, and Aleve. These medications can alleviate inflammation around the nerve. Corticosteroid injections can also help minimize pain and inflammation. If the treatment doesn’t improve pinched nerves after a few weeks, you may want to think about a surgical operation.
Prevention
There are many ways that an individual can pinch a nerve. Lifting heavy set of weights by using the back instead of the legs can result in a pinched nerve. If you have a history of pinched nerves, try to avoid heavy lifting. Obesity is a main factor of pinched nerves. If a person is overweight, then they are more likely to suffer from pinched nerves. Excess weight can cause pressure on nerves, which might lead to pinched nerves. Sometimes an individual must give their body a rest. Overuse of a body part is one of the most common causes of pinched nerves. Individual should do proper stretching exercises regularly to minimize chances of developing a pinched nerve. Also poor posture can be a factor of pinched nerves, so stand and sit up straight at all times. To improve your posture, don’t stand in the same place for a long period of time. One of the most common ways to prevent pinched nerves is lifting light weights and doing total body exercises like swimming and biking.