Treating a Pinched Nerve With Chiropractic Care

Posted on October 13, 2022

Pinched nerves are common, and many people experience them at some point in their lives. There are various ways to treat pinched nerves, including chiropractic care. Chiropractors have the training and expertise to diagnose and treat pinched nerves.

Read on to learn more about pinched nerves and what chiropractic care can do.

What Is a Pinched Nerve?

A pinched nerve is a compressed or strained nerve. It happens when bones, muscles, cartilage, or surrounding tissues press too much on a nerve. That can cause numbness, pain, and tingling in different parts of your body.

Most pinched nerves occur in the neck, shoulder, upper chest, and back. You can also experience a pinched nerve in your elbow, hand, wrist, or legs. Pinched nerves feel like:

• Numbness on the affected nerve

• Pins and needles or tingling sensations in the affected area

• Piercing, burning, or aching pain that radiates outward

• Muscle feebleness in the affected area

Pinched nerves can be distressing, but they are usually curable with medication, rest, physical therapy, or chiropractic care.

How Does a Chiropractor Adjust a Pinched Nerve?

Sometimes, spinal alignment problems cause pinched nerves, and that is when chiropractic care can help you. If your bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, or muscles are compressing your nerves, a chiropractor can align them.

The chiropractor will perform a physical exam to assess your situation. The chiro may conduct an MRI or assess your muscle’s nerve impulses to identify damage. The assessments will determine the most suitable treatment.

Your treatment may involve:

Cryotherapy

When you need instant pain relief from pinched nerves, your chiropractor may apply cold to the strained nerves. Cryotherapy uses icy temperatures to numb the ache of a pinched nerve, but it may not end the cause of the pain.

Massage Therapy

Your chiropractor can recommend massage therapy for your pain, especially when muscles are compressing a nerve in your neck or back. Massage therapy applies gentle pressure on the affected part to soothe muscle twinges that may result from a pinched-nerve situation.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is also an effective remedy for pinched nerves. Your chiro may recommend strength and mobility stretches and exercises to help with the pain. The treatment plan may involve doing several flexibility movements for a couple of weeks or months. That will help strengthen the muscle, ligaments, and tendons around the pinched nerves.

Spinal Adjustment

Perhaps the most common chiropractic treatment for pinched nerves is the spinal adjustment. The adjustment allows your chiropractor to work your spine and align it correctly. That can ease the strain on your joints and nerves.

To perform it, the chiropractor will use sudden, measured pushes to move your spine into the appropriate position. If necessary, the chiro may use an adjustment tool to generate more force. Spinal adjustment tools may be the ideal technique in more severe cases of pinched nerves.

If a pinched nerve is giving you a hard time, get the help you need from your chiropractor. Chiropractic care can help free you from pain and restore mobility in the injured area.

For more on treating a pinched nerve with chiropractic care, call Accident and Injury Chiropractic at (253) 215-8350 to reach our office in Tacoma, Washington.