Nerves traverse throughout our body and are vital in helping our brain interpret the world around us, but if they become damaged or compressed, they can relay another type of signal to your brain – pain. A pinched nerve in your neck or back can be incredibly uncomfortable and lead to symptoms that force you to be less active than you want, and that’s no way to go through life. Fortunately, physical therapy tends to be a very effective treatment option for freeing compressed nerves in different areas of your body. Below, we explore why PT can be so helpful if you’re hoping to overcome a pinched spinal nerve.
PT For Pinched Nerves
Many providers view physical therapy as the optimal form of treatment for the majority of minor or moderate cases of nerve compression. The main reason for this is that physical therapy targets the underlying cause of the compression to help free the pinched nerve. Other methods like rest or painkillers may provide symptom relief, but they don’t treat the underlying cause of compression, meaning that it’s likely the nerve issue will return in the future.
Before diving into a physical therapy treatment program, your PT will want to learn why the nerve has become compressed or damaged in the first place. Some common reasons for spinal nerve compression include:
- Acute injury
- Bulging or herniated disc
- Arthritic degeneration
- Repetitive stress
- Poor posture
After reviewing your medical history and any relevant imaging tests, your physical therapist will talk with you about your symptoms during the course of a physical assessment. This will allow them to see how the nerve issue is affecting your body while you perform certain movements, which will help them better understand the best way to treat it. And while treatment will be highly individualized based on your specific needs, here’s a look at why PT can be so beneficial for pinched nerves.
- Muscle Strengthening – Physical therapists will work to strengthen muscles and soft tissues that support joints and other crucial structures that may be irritating nearby joints. Stronger muscles can act like a shield around vulnerable nerves in your neck and spine.
- Flexibility Improvements – Perhaps you only notice your nerve pain when you perform certain actions, like bending or twisting. A physical therapist can use some flexibility training programs to slowly help expand your comfortable range of motion so that you can move without fear of irritating a specific nerve.
- Posture Fixes – Pinched nerves are oftentimes caused or exacerbated by poor posture habits. If you’re constantly slouching or hunched over at your work desk, you’re putting extra strain on your neck or lower back – two areas that are ripe for spinal nerve compression. Strength and flexibility improvements can help you have better posture, but a physical therapist can also teach you how to make tweaks to your posture so that you take pressure off certain areas of your spine. We’ll also teach you how to perform regular self assessments of your posture so that you can make corrections on your own when you notice that your spine is shifting out of alignment.
- Hands-On Care – Manual physical therapy can help to relieve muscle tension that may be serving to irritate nerves in a specific area.
- Safe – Physical therapy is a safe, low-cost and non-invasive treatment method for pinched nerves. Surgery may be able to free your compressed nerve, but an operation comes with additional risks and costs. Treating the problem effectively, safely and without additional costs through physical therapy is typically ideal.
Don’t just sit back and hope that your spinal nerve issue resolves on its own. If you keep doing the same activities that led to its onset in the first place, there’s a good chance that the issue will persist, and the damage may even worsen. Instead, head right to a physical therapist’s office and get set up with an individualized PT plan for your nerve issue. For more information, or to set up your first appointment, give the team at OrthoRehab Specialists a call today at (612) 339-2041.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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