A pinched nerve can be a painful and annoying situation. It tends to happen when there is too much pressure applied to one of the nerves in your upper or lower back or in your neck. The pressure breaks off the nerves natural function and causes all sorts of issues such as tingling, pain, weakness, numbness and more. In most cases when it comes to a pinched nerve, most people can recover from it within a few days or weeks’ time by adding in a few of their own DIY treatments such as using a massager, using peppermint oil or using a heating pack. For others though, this pain just seems to get worse and worse no matter what they do at home or what amount of time they give it to go away. When this happens, it’s time to start looking into treatment for a pinched nerve. In the most severe cases, you might need back or spine surgery, but before we get into all that, let’s go over a few nonsurgical ways to treat a pinched nerve.
Medications and Injections
If you have to continue living life while the pinched nerve (hopefully) goes away, you might need a little help along the way. No one actually likes suggesting medication for pain, but if you are in pain and its disrupting your home or work schedule, it might be time to start looking into something to take internally. One of the better options is to look at nonsteroidal Anti-FL amatory Drugs or NSAIDs as they are most commonly called. These include things like Aleve, Advil, Motrin, etc. If worse comes to worse you can take a higher doze of ibuprofen if your doctor suggests to do so. Some people see significant differences when taking something like 600mg of ibuprofen. These medications can help relieve the pain and inflammation around the nerve. You could also consider cortisone shots, but buyer beware, these really hurt! They might really work for you, but they are not guaranteed by any means and the pain you feel while getting one just may not be up to par with what you can stand.
Non-surgical Spinal Decompression
Non-surgical Spinal Decompression uses a device that has an on board computer that will help control the pressure, force and angle of the disc distraction in your back. This helps to reduce the body’s natural tendency to resist any unnatural external force and helps to generate muscle spasms. Unlike injections or surgery, Non-surgical Spinal Decompression is considered a safe and very effective way to help get rid of pinched nerves. The decompression time tends to take 15-30 minutes where the practitioner will take the first 15 minutes to do the decompression and the next 15 for relaxation techniques such as massaging. Another option to consider if decompression therapy doesn’t sound like it would be a good fit for you is called Inversion Therapy. If you ever watched any 80s movies, you have seen these little contraptions before, but these days they have become safer and easier to use. These machines, in where you hang upside down or at a specific angle is a form of spinal decompression, but by way of mechanical traction. You hang upside down for anywhere between 5-15 minutes and your back essentially uses gravity to decompress the joints in your body; specifically your spine, knees, ankles, etc.
Acupuncture Treatment
Acupuncture is a treatment that has been used for over 2500 years by Chinese medical practitioners. Essentially, acupuncture is a good option for anything related to your body’s inner workings such as headaches, migraines, nausea and yes, even a pinched nerve. The neck is believed to be the gateway or the tunnel between your body and your head so it’s no wonder that for something like a pinched nerve, that it is quite common in the neck area. The neck, is also the area where the most tension and stress tend to gather. Acupuncture is a great way to alleviate these aches and pains by using very thin hair width needles as a treatment. The acupuncturist will use pressure points in your body to alleviate any pressure in specific areas where you are having any problems.
Chiropractic Treatment
Many of the Top chiropractors in Clifton have treatments for or are known for treating patients with pinched nerves. Usually when a nerve is “pinched” it means that a bony impingement, a herniated disc, tight muscles or a bulging disc are present. If you don’t want to get surgery, this is probably one of your better options to choose from. Many people claim that chiropractic treatments, which usually range over a few weeks’ time, can result in lessening the pain caused by a pinched nerve. Even more than that, while getting rid of the pain is great, but Chiropractors can also fix the situation at hand and get rid of the root of the problem – the pinched nerve itself, and not just cover up the pain with a proverbial Band-Aid. They can really get down to the root of the problem and help you figure out other treatment options or ways or preventing this from happening in the future. While stress does play a typical role in a pinched nerve, it also can have to do with obesity, posture, the way you sit during the day, bending over/down incorrectly, not exercising, or worse – exercising incorrectly. These are all situations that Top chiropractors in Clifton can help you fix.
