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What Should I Do if I Think I Have a Pinched Nerve?

A pinched nerve is something that nearly everyone experiences at some point in their life. This painful condition can lead to significant back or neck pain, and is usually caused by a minor injury incurred during daily activity. In most cases, a pinched nerve, while painful, doesn’t require medical attention. Unless your pain is severe or debilitating, treatment can normally be accomplished at home. That being said, if your pain persists for several days, or seems to be worsening, it is important that you seek medical attention.

Causes of a Pinched Nerve

A pinched nerve can seemingly come out of nowhere – something as simple as lifting the groceries or overdoing your workout might lead to a little tweak as a result of soft tissue inflammation. While this is obviously something you want to avoid, a pinched nerve from a minor injury usually isn’t something to worry about. If you experience moderate discomfort from your injury, a combination of over-the-counter pain medication or anti-inflammatories, heat packs, and taking it easy is usually all that is needed to overcome your symptoms.

In the event that your pain doesn’t seem to subside, it’s a good idea to visit your doctor. In addition to injury, there are a number of degenerative spine conditions that might be causing your nerve compression, including:

• Degenerative disc disease
• Spinal stenosis
• Osteophytes
• Osteoarthritis (facet disease)
• Spondylolisthesis

Treatment Options

Even if spinal deterioration is the cause of your back or neck pain, there are a number of effective, nonsurgical treatments that may be able to provide you with the pain relief you require. In addition to the aforementioned treatments, you may consider physical therapy, deep tissue massage, hydrotherapy, epidural injections, and a variety of other options.

If after several weeks your pain continues or doesn’t sufficiently subside, your doctor might broach the topic of spine surgery. At Laser Spine Institute, we specialize in a minimally invasive, outpatient alternative to open spine surgery, known as endoscopic spine surgery. To learn how this revolutionary field might be able to provide you with the pain relief you require, contact Laser Spine Institute today.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.