What is a Pinched Nerve?
As children we learn that being pinched hurts! When a nerve is "pinched", it can produce sharp, intense pain guaranteed to make you miserable. The worst thing about a pinched nerve is that it can produce pain in nearly any part of your body from your head to your toes. With billions of nerve fibers in your body, it's a wonder that nerves aren't pinched more often.

No doubt you've heard the term "pinched nerve" before, but what, exactly, does it mean? In reality, the compression lesion or true pinched nerve is relatively rare, causing only 10 to 15% of spine related problems. But because the term is so descriptive, people continue to insist that they have a "pincher! nerve" whenever they experience pain, numbness, burning, or a "pins and needles" feeling.

Most often, this pain comes from nerve tissues irritated by the rubbing, stretching or scraping of spinal joints that are displaced or not moving properly. Doctors call this nerve "impingement" or "compression". Such irritation can be caused by many everyday events including; falls, car accidents, improper lifting, poor posture, sports injuries, sitting too long, repetitive work, sudden or violent movement, chemical or emotional stress, lack of exercise, or even hereditary factors.

What do nerves do?
Your sensory nerves carry sensations from all parts of your body to your brain. Without these nerves you would be unable to see, hear, touch, taste or feel. A second set of nerves, the motor nerves, convey messages from the brain back to all parts of the body. Motor nerves are what command your muscles to move in reaction to sensory messages. Your nerves also control the body's automatic functions such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, excretion, internal organ function, sweating, shivering, blinking, blood supply to organs, blood pressure, and much more.

When something interrupts this flow of neural messages in either direction, it can profoundly affect your health.

Warning: Not all Pinched Nerves hurt!
Remember that only sensory nerves carry pain messages. When sensory nerves are badly damaged, you may not feel pain. So, in a way, people with painful pinched nerves are fortunate-their body is telling them that there's something wrong.

How does a nerve become impenged?
Most often, misaligned spinal bones or an impaired disc is to blame. When a vertebra moves out of it's proper position, it can place pressure on adjacent nerves interrupting your flow of neural messages. When nerves are compressed, their impulses may be altered, and the message is not conveyed correctly. This can produce a whole array of problems.

For example, nerve impingement may weaken the immune system, setting the stage for infection and disease. It may cause physical, or even emotional impairments. Impingement of nerves going to the stomach or intestines might cause ulcers, constipation, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal complaints.

When a disc is impaired, it too can cause nerve impingement. Your discs are the cartilage-like cushions occupying the spaces between spinal bones. They serve as spinal shock absorbers, allowing your back to turn and bend normally. Trauma or injury to the spine can cause discs to tear, bulge, herniate or even rupture. The resulting pressure on surrounding nerve tissues usually produces intense pain, or sometimes numbness. In addition to the spinal bones and disc in the affected area, there are also blood vessels, ligaments, muscles, tendons and other tissues that may all be affected. Swelling and inflammation can add to the pressure on nerves thereby increasing pain.

Doctors call the degenerative chain-reaction caused by nerve impingement the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. It is the cause of many health problems that are seemingly unrelated to "back problems."

Finding the cause of your pain
After reviewing your health history, your doctor will give you a physical exam. A series of chiropractic tests will be performed to determine the extent and source of your problem. As part of your chiropractic examination, the doctor may ask you to bend and turn to test your range of motion, and perform palpation tests to check for tenderness, pain, and swelling. When needed, x-rays give your doctor vital information to help evaluate and diagnose your condition. They can be a valuable guide in helping the doctor determine the most appropriate treatment.

The x-rays are then read and an adjustment structured from the x-ray analysis. Based upon careful evaluation of your spinal problem, the doctor will determine the degree and direction of adjustment needed.

Your Adjustment
When performing an adjustment your doctor applies precisely directed force to a joint that is "locked up" or not moving properly. Usually the doctor's hands or a specially designed instrument deliver a quick, therapeutic thrust to the affected joint. Other techniques however may require slow, constant pressure. When normal motion is restored to joints, spinal bones gradually return to a more proper position and your body functions as it should.

Because chiropractic treats the underlying causes of problems rather than just relieving symptoms, your body's own natural healing processes work for you. The chiropractic approach to better health is to find and help correct interferences to your body's own natural state of good health. The course of treatment recommended by your Doctor of Chiropractic will depend on the nature and severity of your problem.