Pinched Nerves: What are They and How Can Thousand Oaks CA Chiropractors Help

According to research, as many as 40% of people will suffer from pinched nerves in some point in their lives. For those who ignore the warning signals and avoid treatment, they are in for a long road of pain ahead.

The pain associated with pinched nerves in Thousand Oaks CA can be very debilitating, you can no longer do the activities you love, thus affecting your quality of life. If not treated in time, the damage from a pinched nerve can be more than temporary, it could lead to permanent problems.

Drugs can help you deal with the pain associated with pinched nerves, however, they cannot get to the root of the issue which caused the pinched nerve in the first place.

So how do you heal a pinched nerve without relying on drugs, so you do not feel 'nervous' to move again? Keep reading and discover how Chiropractic care can help you rid of your pain and live well again.

What Is a Pinched Nerve in Thousand Oaks CA?

When the surrounding tissues on bones, damaged disks, tendons, and muscles put excessive pressure on a nerve, it can disrupt the function of that nerve. This can result in the sensations of:

• Extreme pain, sharp or aching which can radiate down your leg
• Numbness
• Tingling (paresthesia)
• Weakness
• The function of the nerve
• Pins and needles, the sensation that a body part has "fallen asleep".

A pinched nerve can happen anywhere in the body but can cause pain in areas elsewhere. For example, a herniated disk can pinch a nerve that causes pain to radiate down the back of your leg to your foot.

What Causes Pinched Nerves?

Many conditions or events can cause the surrounding tissues to press on the nerve, causing the pinched nerve to happen. It could be from something simple such as repetitive strain from cleaning, or as severe as a herniated disk from a bad injury. Other causes are hobbies, sports injuries, Rheumatoid arthritis, and obesity.

How Do You Know If You Are at Risk for Pinched Nerves?

There are a few risk factors that can affect your chances of developing a pinched nerve.

• Thyroid Disease
  If you have thyroid disease, you are more at risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome (a type of pinched nerve).
• If You Have Bone Spurs
  Trauma or osteoporosis can cause the bone to thicken over time, this can cause your spine to stiffen, and take over space where the nerves travel, therefore press on your nerves. This pressure from thickened bones causes pinched nerves.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
  Rheumatoid arthritis can cause a lot of inflammation in the joints, which overtakes the area where the nerves grow causing pressure on the nerves. Women are more prone to developing carpal tunnel syndrome, due to the fact that they have smaller carpal tunnels.
• Obesity
  Excess fat layers can cause a lot of pressure on the entire body, especially the nerves. This causes the nerves to become compressed, thus causing a pinched nerve.
• Pregnancy
  Even the miracle of pregnancy can cause pinched nerves, due to the drastic changes in the body with quick weight gain and water retention. The pressure can swell nerve pathways, causing pinched nerves.
• Diabetes
  Diabetes can lead to multiple problems such as neuropathy, which is caused by prolonged elevated blood glucose levels. Unfortunately, this cannot be reversed, however, it can be treated to manage the pain.

Too Much of One Thing

Too much laying down can cause nerve compression, and too much of the same activity can cause pinched nerves as well. This includes hobbies or jobs such as assembly line work, cleaning, or anything where you perform the same task non-stop.

How Can a Chiropractor Help with Pinched Nerves?

Most people who experience a pinched nerve go straight to their regular medical doctor, and while this is good for getting medications, it can only lead to a life that is dependent on medications to mask the pain.

Other modalities such as needles, pinching the area, heating, and freezing still only treat the symptoms and not the root cause of the pinched nerve. Even manipulation from a massage therapist or physical therapist will not get to the source, because they do not have the capabilities of manipulating the bones and joints.

What you need is to get to the source of the problem, and find where the nerve became pinched in the first place. This can be hard to do yourself because a pinched nerve does not have local pain.

The benefits of a chiropractor are that they can manipulate and reposition the bones, and relax the tight muscles and joints in various areas around the area of the pain. This starts to release the pressure that was pressed on the nerve, and once you start to feel relief, they are able to locate where the nerve became compromised and work mainly on that located area.

How Long Will It Take to Heal a Pinched Nerve?

The pain of a pinched nerve can last up to and around ten days, however, depending on the root cause, the healing of the surrounding issues that caused the nerve pain can be much longer.

This healing can be anywhere from four weeks to eight months, but the sooner you get on it, and the more frequent your treatments, the better off you will be.

It's Time to Heal Your Pinched Nerve and Get Back to Living Your Life

Pinched nerves can nearly paralyze you with pain, and stop you from living the life you want to live. It is time to start healing your pain from the source and take action on your healing plan.

Learn more about the Chiropractic services that we offer, or check out one of the many other services that we offer to help you live your full, healthy and complete life.