A Guide To Pinched Nerve Treatment

What it actually means when you have a pinched nerve is to look at the spine first. There are areas called discs. Their main function is shock absorption as well as creating space so that the nerve that runs along the spine can come out of this little hole without any problems.

Usually when we say a pinched nerve, it's usually when one of these discs gets a lesion and that also depends on how bad the lesion is. There are basically three different stages. Herniation, which means it's like a little bubble.

When you look at a balloon, it gets a little bump in it or just bulge which can cause pressure on the nerve. But it's more likely when there's pressure on the nerve, when it's pinched, it's caused by a prolapse. Prolapse means that the bulge has become bigger and the disc is actually leaking out and pushing on the nerve.

The worst sight of a pinched nerve is when the disc is in sequestration and you actually get a piece of this pushing on the nerve, breaks off and then that's usually a surgical case immediately. Depending on how big the lesion is, if we assume that a disc is causing it, with physiotherapy, there's a very good technique that was developed by a physiotherapist called Robin McKenzie from New Zealand. With McKenzie techniques, we can try and relieve the pressure off the bulge or the prolapse if it's not too big.

It's very important to understand that when you have a pinched nerve, there are certain things that will make it worse and there are things that will make it better. Sitting, bending forward, putting your socks on, slouching, driving, all these types of things would make it worse. The opposite of that is true as well.

If you want to reduce the pressure on that area, we would want to do the opposite of that. So, it means extension, keeping your back upright, doing backward movements of the body. Treating a pinched nerve with physiotherapy can be very useful.

The sooner we start showing you what to do and to treat you, giving you the right exercises, the better you are off. The better your chances are for recovering. Injections that you get from a specialist has a 5-5% chance of actually working as well, so it's not guaranteed but if it does work, it's a great way of reducing the pain.

But again, if that doesn't work, if physiotherapy doesn't work and injections don't work, and you've tried many other things, then the last resort is surgery where they actually go in and take that little piece of disc out that is causing the pressure on the nerve. The best surgeons are the ones that send you firstly for conservative treatment. The reason why the nerve got pinched in the first place usually is it will come back to a strength problem.

People have got so much weakness in their core in the back that over a period of time, when they are slouching, not exercising and keeping not looking after their bodies, you get weakness in the disc and then eventually the disc cracks and prolapse or bulges. So, you will need rehabilitation afterwards and you have to insist if you do get surgery, to actually get rehabilitation afterwards. You can see a physiotherapist who's trained in McKenzie particularly because that's a very good treatment skill and also, you can get injections.

Obviously, there are drugs that they prescribe for you and also surgery. But again, always remember that there has to rehabilitation after your surgery. And also, one thing is with physiotherapy is to mobilize the nerve.

So, that's why we do the straight leg raise test. If we lift the leg up straight and the nerve can't move, it usually gives you severe pain. We don't stretch the nerve.

You can't stretch, it will injure the nerve and so we mobilize the nerve. .