A friend of mine was allegedly brought to a hospital and was diagnosed to have a” pinched nerve”. I haven’t heard what happened to her next but I was asked by our other friends to expound more about this condition. It was suggested that I make it as a blog post, so here it is.Nerves are fibers that extend from the brain and spinal cord into the different parts of the body. They are responsible for our sensations as well as the motor activities of our body organs. In Tagalog, we refer to them as ‘ugat’, although this confuses some as referring to the arteries and veins which carry blood to and from the heart. But being composed of fibers, the nerves are the rightful “ugat”.
A “pinched nerve”, as the term implies, is a condition where pressure is being applied to a certain nerve by the surrounding tissues causing irritation and disruption of the nerve's function, i.e. to give sensation or to cause movement. One of the most common examples of a single compressed nerve is the feeling of having a foot or hand fall asleep after assuming for some time an awkward position that tends to apply pressure on the shoulder, elbow or wrist (for the hands), or to the hip, knee or ankle (for the foot).
What’s interesting about “pinched nerve” is that it is a common on-the-job injury. It can be caused by poor sitting, standing, bending or sleeping that causes compression, constriction, or stretching of a body part. Other causes would be trauma or injury causing swelling or edema, slip-disks, arthritis, sudden increase in size like in tumors or pregnancy, repetitive movements and joint diseases.
Since sensation and motor functions are involved, the more common symptoms of pinched nerve are numbness or loss of sensation, “pins and needles” or burning sensation, and pain radiating outward from the organ or area being supplied by the nerve.
Common complications of pinched nerves are: peripheral neuropathy (numbness or pain in the fingers or toes or some parts of the body), carpal tunnel syndrome (pain in the wrist), tarsal tunnel syndrome (pain in the foot), and tennis elbow. The extent of such injuries may vary from minor, temporary damage to a more permanent condition.
As much as the cause is more often “local” to the area involved, pinched nerve is treated either with medications, physical therapy, surgery, or a combination of these, plus rest, aimed to remove the pressure around the nerve for it to function well.
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