The nerves that extend from your brain and spinal cord are essential for sending critical messages throughout your entire body.
When these nerves are compressed or pressured by the surrounding tissues, the body sends a sharp shooting ‘pinching’ feeling as a warning. This is nothing to ignore! Essentially, this is a warning of a damaged and/or injured nerve. This nerve pressure may come from either the repetition of a certain body motion, or holding the body’s position for a long period of time. Other causes of pinched nerves may be: herniated disks (when a cervical disk slips out of place), degeneration of disk (spine degenerating due to age or other factors), and bony growths (bony growths in your neck due to arthritis or degenerative disk disease).
Why Are Pinched Nerves Dangerous?
If a nerve gets “pinched”, the entire flow of the nerve stops and eventually may cause that nerve fiber to die. When enough fibers stop working, the skin may feel perpetually numb and muscles may stop contracting.
How Chiropractic Can Help Pinched Nerves
Chiropractic treatment has been proven to be most effective for pinched nerves, as it concentrates on spinal adjustments and checking specifically for compression or constriction of nerves between vertebrae. Finding and nudging the specific area where the spinal bones are not moving correctly will undoubtedly alleviate pinched nerves. This realignment of your spine will ease the pressure on the vulnerable nerves, allowing relief from pain and helping nerves function more effectively than before.