Pinched Nerve

A pinched nerve is the term for pain or impaired function of a nerve that is under pressure.  It happens to nerves that control muscle movements or relay sensations to the brain.  The initial symptoms of a pinched nerve may be tingling, numbness, burning sensation or shooting pains down the buttocks and legs or in the neck, shoulders, arms and fingers.

Sometimes the pains and sensations are distant from the point of pressure.  For instance, a pinched nerve in the low back may cause pain in the calf as the only symptom.  When there is nerve damage from constant pressure, pain and weakness may increase.  There may be a loss of reflexes, movement skills, sensation in the affected area, and withering (atrophy) of the affected muscles.

Nerves are extensions from the brain that reach out into the arms or legs to go to the muscles or skin.  A nerve cell that lives in the brain or within the spinal cord is called a central nerve, and nerves that leave the spine to go into the arms or legs are called peripheral nerves.  If a nerve gets “pinched” the flow up and down the inside of those nerves is reduced or blocked and the nutrients stop flowing.  Eventually the membrane starts to lose its healthy ability to transmit the tiny electrical charges and the nerve fiber may eventually die.  When enough fibers stop working, the skin may feel numb or a muscle may not contract.