A pinched nerve happens when a disc, a bone spur or tight tissue presses on a nerve. In the neck, it sends pain, tingling or weakness down an arm and into the hand. Quantum’s physical therapists and chiropractors treat pinched nerves, and nerve testing is available when it’s needed.
Pinched nerve symptoms
- Pain that spreads from the neck into the shoulder and down an arm
- Numbness or tingling, a “pins and needles” feeling, in the arm, hand or fingers
- Weakness: dropping things or trouble with your grip
- A burning feeling along the path of the nerve
When the pinched nerve is in the lower back and the pain runs down a leg, it is called sciatica.
When to see someone, and when it can’t wait
Book an evaluation if the symptoms last more than a few days. Get emergency care for sudden weakness in an arm or a leg, or for any change in bladder or bowel control.
Common causes of a pinched nerve
- A herniated or bulging disc, or a bone spur, in the neck
- An injury, such as whiplash in a car crash or a fall
- Work that repeats the same motion for hours, or long hours with the head bent forward
How a pinched nerve is checked
Your provider maps where the pain and tingling go, tests your grip and the strength of your arm muscles, checks reflexes and feeling in your fingers, and watches whether certain neck movements bring the symptoms on. The pattern shows which nerve is involved and at what level of the neck.
How we treat a pinched nerve
The goal is to take pressure off the nerve. Chiropractic care restores motion in the neck and upper back, and physical therapy adds stretches, posture work and exercises that strengthen the muscles around the spine. Read whether a chiropractor can fix a pinched nerve.
If tingling or weakness persists, electrodiagnostic testing (EMG/NCS) measures how the nerve is working and helps pinpoint where it is pinched. It is done by specialists who visit our locations.
Paying for treatment
A pinched nerve from a car accident is usually a No-Fault case, and one from your job, a workers’ compensation case. For anything else, we accept health insurance depending on your case, and self-pay.
