
Nerves play a key role in communication among the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. They transmit information from the brain that regulates movement, sensation, and functions of vital organs, including digestion, heart rate, immunity, and everything else in the body. The Central Nervous System (CNS) comprises the brain and spinal cord, and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) extends throughout the body. Healthy and optimally functioning nerves allow us to perform voluntary acts like walking and involuntary acts like breathing. However, if nerves become compressed or inflamed, altering their ideal function, they can cause pain, weakness, numbness, or even bodily dysfunction.
$49 for Initial Chiropractic Visit
Includes initial consultation, full spinal exam, digital posture assessment, and any necessary X-rays.
The body’s main structural support is the spine, offering stability and flexibility while shielding the spinal cord. It has 24 vertebrae, which are assisted by intervertebral discs that permit movement and shock absorption. The spine plays a vital role in supporting posture, balance, and mobility. Most importantly, it encloses and guards the spinal cord and nervous system, which controls all body functions. If the spine is out of alignment, it can put pressure on and cause inflammation that can affect the nerves, causing pain, discomfort, and even organ dysfunction. Keeping the spine in alignment and addressing these subluxations ensures no obstruction to the transmission of nerve signals, allowing the body to function at its best.
What is a Pinched Nerve?
A pinched nerve happens when nearby tissues, including bones, muscles, tendons, or discs, exert too much pressure on a nerve. Pressure on the nerve disrupts normal function and can cause pain, tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. Nerve compression most frequently occurs in the spine, neck, and other joints.
A pinched nerve in the lower back can lead to pain and weakness in the lower limb, which is referred to as sciatica, whereas pinching of a nerve in the neck can result in arm and hand pain. Pinched nerves can also affect organ function, leading to digestive issues, cardiovascular issues, and a variety of other conditions.
If left untreated, a pinched nerve can lead to chronic pain, muscle atrophy, and permanent nerve damage.
Chiropractic care optimizes nervous system function by correcting subluxations that interfere with nerve communication. Through specific spinal adjustments, chiropractors relieve nerve pressure, restore spinal mobility, and improve circulation. A healthy nervous system promotes natural healing and prevents nerve-related disorders from becoming chronic.
Unlike medication, which only masks symptoms, chiropractic care corrects the source of nerve compression, allowing your body to heal itself.
How Our Pinched Nerve Care Plan Works
1. Get To The Root Cause of The Problem
Pain is not the problem, it is merely alerting us to the problem. We follow your pain to the root of the problem, so we can uncover your body’s seen and unseen dysfunction. Addressing that underlying dysfunction will lead to long-term, sustained health and well-being.
2. Create The Best Plan of Action
A one-size-fits-all solution won’t work – even for two patients with the same issue. We create a plan of action that is based on your unique situation and health goals, ensuring the solution suits you and not the other way around.
3. Get Back To Living Your Best Life
Our body is capable of incredible things. You deserve a life of abundant joy. Illness or injury interferes with that life, making simple tasks more difficult and draining your energy. A body in full health is able to flourish, unleashing your full potential onto the world.
How Chiropractic Care Treats A Pinched Nerve in Westlake, OH
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
At Paramount Chiropractic, we begin with a thorough consultation to find out about your symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle factors that could be contributing to your conditions. This enables us to determine potential causes of your pinched nerve and develop an individualized treatment plan.
Our examination includes a spinal health assessment, orthopedic tests, neurological tests, and range-of-motion tests to assess nerve function and spinal alignment. If necessary, we will also take X-ray images to help discern the cause of the symptoms.
Identifying and fixing the source of the problem, rather than merely the symptoms, is a concern since overlooking the compression on the nerves will only cause repetitive pain and difficulties in the future.
Specific Chiropractic Care in Westlake, OH
A subluxation occurs when a vertebra is out of its ideal position, putting pressure on nerves and interfering with normal body function. It can lead to chronic pain, stiffness, headaches, and even organ malfunction.
Chiropractic adjustments help restore spinal alignment, thus relieving nerve pressure, reducing inflammation, and promoting mobility. Unlike conventional treatments that rely on drugs to mask symptoms, chiropractic treatment addresses the root cause of nerve pain and offers a drug-free, long-term solution.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan
Individualized therapeutic exercise plans are critical to easing nerve pain as they strengthen muscles, make them more flexible, and improve circulation. Tight, overused muscles can compress nerves, causing pain and dysfunction, and weak muscles contribute to poor posture and further spinal misalignment, increasing the likelihood of subluxations. When out of alignment, the spine causes muscles to compensate, resulting in imbalances, tightness, and further nerve compression.
Posture is a significant consideration in the health of nerves, as poor posture causes additional stress on the spine, elevating the risk of nerve complications. Exercises for nerve pain, including nerve glides, stretching, and core strengthening, to enhance mobility, decrease stress, and avoid recurrence through long-term spinal stabilization.
Spinal Decompression Therapy
Spinal discs are shock-absorbing structures between vertebrae that allow for movement and support. A herniated or bulging disc can press on surrounding nerves, resulting in pain, numbness, and weakness.
Spinal decompression therapy is a gentle spine stretching along a vertical axis to take pressure off compressed discs and nerves, making room for the disc to draw back and heal. This pain-free procedure:
- Promotes circulation
- Decreases inflammation
- Enhances the body’s natural healing ability
Deep Tissue Laser Therapy
Deep tissue laser treatment is an advanced therapy that uses light energy to:
- Reduce inflammation
- Accelerate healing
- Alleviate pain
The laser penetrates deep into tissues, stimulating cellular repair and increased circulation. Instant relief, reduced swelling, and increased mobility are typical among patients. Laser treatment is painless, and most patients experience a gentle warmth as the laser promotes tissue repair.
Common Causes of Pinched Nerve in Westlake, OH
Subluxation
A subluxation occurs when a vertebra becomes misaligned, exerting pressure on adjacent nerves. This condition may result in localized pain, muscle tightness, and numbness. Chiropractic adjustments facilitate the restoration of proper alignment, alleviating nerve compression and averting prospective complications.
Disc Bulge and Herniation
A bulge occurs when the outer layer of a spinal disc extends outward, while a herniation occurs when the inner gel-like substance escapes, thus inflaming adjacent nerves. Both can cause sharp nerve pain; however, chiropractic treatment and spinal decompression therapy help relieve the pressure and support the healing process.
Arthritis
Arthritis is inflammation and degeneration of the joints, resulting in stiffness and pain. When it occurs in the spine, arthritis can lead to compression of the nerves. Chiropractic care assists in managing arthritis symptoms by enhancing joint mobility, minimizing inflammation, and improving general spinal health.
Muscle Tension
Tight muscles can compress nerves, leading to pain and restricted movement. Long-term tightness can also lead to more subluxations, creating further muscle tension. This creates a vicious cycle of worsening muscle tension and subluxations. Massage, stretching, and chiropractic adjustments reestablish normal nerve function and diminish pain.
Check Out Our Location Near You
23760 Center Ridge Rd, Westlake, OH 44145
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a chiropractor in Westlake, OH, good for pinched nerve relief?
Chiropractors are experts at alleviating nerve compression by using methods such as spinal adjustments, decompression therapy, and corrective exercises. They provide a non-surgical, drug-free path to pain relief. Spinal misalignment, herniated discs, or muscle tension can compress nerves, leading to pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness.
The art of chiropractic care lies in detecting and correcting the underlying cause of the compression, rather than merely camouflaging the symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments work to remove pressure from the affected nerve by restoring the spine to its proper position, raising mobility, and reducing inflammation, allowing natural healing to occur. Most patients experience a significant reduction of pain and functional capacity within a few treatments, making chiropractic treatment an effective long-term strategy for pinched nerves.
Should I see a doctor or a chiropractor for a pinched nerve?
If your pain is caused by spinal misalignment, a visit to a chiropractor is the best option. Chiropractors are specially trained in the identification and treatment of disorders that cause nerve compression, such as subluxations, disc bulges, and postural imbalances. They use manual adjustments, spinal decompression, and therapeutic exercises to remove nerve pressure and restore proper function.
How long does it take for a pinched nerve to heal?
The healing time varies according to the intensity of the pinched nerve, timeline, and promptness of the treatment. In most patients undergoing regular chiropractic treatment, relief from the symptoms is noted within weeks or months. Regular chiropractic treatment promotes a faster rehabilitation process by aiding in spinal alignment, minimizing inflammation, and resuming nerve function. Compliance with a customized care plan incorporating lifestyle changes, postural stabilization, and reinforcement exercises can help further enhance recovery and deter recurrence.
What is the fastest way to unpinch a nerve?
The fastest way to unpinch a nerve is through chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractors can apply adjustments to unload the compression on the nerve, lessen inflammation, and improve mobility. Complementary therapies, such as spinal decompression, corrective exercises, and red light laser, may also be added to treatment to speed up healing. While immediate relief is possible, the speed of recovery is relative to the degree of the pinched nerve and the faithfulness of following the prescribed treatment regimen.
How long does it take a pinched nerve to heal?
Recovery from a pinched nerve differs depending on several factors, including the severity of the nerve compression, the cause of the issue, and the effectiveness of the treatment regimen. With chiropractic care, most patients experience notable improvement within a few weeks. However, more severe cases may take several months to fully heal. Consistency with chiropractic adjustments, corrective exercises, and lifestyle changes, such as improved posture and ergonomics, can speed up healing. Following the chiropractor’s instructions and treatment plan is necessary for the best healing outcome.
What happens if you don’t treat a pinched nerve?
If you don’t treat a pinched nerve, it can lead to chronic pain, muscle weakness, and even permanent nerve damage. Over time, ongoing compression can compromise nerve function and lead to loss of sensation, muscle atrophy, and problems with coordination. Pinched nerves that are not treated can lead to more serious complications in some cases, such as impaired organ function or the development of secondary conditions such as sciatica or chronic pain syndromes. Complications are avoided and recovery is faster with early treatment.
What does it feel like to pinch a nerve?
A pinched nerve can cause a variety of symptoms, depending on the location and extent of compression. The most common sensations are pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the area where the pinched nerve occurs.
- The pain can be mild, stabbing, or burning and radiate into other body parts, such as the arms, legs, or back.
- Numbness or a “pins and needles” sensation is common in the affected region, and you may experience weakness in the muscles served by the pinched nerve.
- Loss of coordination or difficulty with fine motor function can occur in more serious cases of a pinched nerve.
These symptoms can be of varying severity, worsening with certain movements or positions.
$49 for Initial Chiropractic Visit
Includes initial consultation, full spinal exam, digital posture assessment, and any necessary X-rays.