Nagging back pain can make even simple tasks like sitting or bending uncomfortable. While muscle strain is a common cause, if you have persistent pain, tingling, or numbness, you may have a pinched nerve.
When a nerve in your spine is compressed or irritated, it can send sharp pain that radiates from your back into the buttocks or legs. Understanding the cause of your pain is the first step toward getting relief.
At Orthopedic & Wellness in Frederick, Waldorf, and Germantown, Maryland, Dr. Ojedapo Ojeyemi can determine whether your nagging back pain is caused by a pinched nerve and create a plan so you can move comfortably again.
A pinched nerve is when surrounding structures or tissue — like bone, ligaments, or tendons — put too much pressure on a nerve. This compression disrupts normal nerve function, leading to pain, tingling, or numbness.
Pinched nerves in the lower back often cause pain that radiates into the buttocks and legs, while those in the neck can send pain or tingling into the shoulders, arms or hands.
Unlike muscle strain, which typically only affects the injured muscle and improves with rest, nerve pain tends to have a sharp, burning, or electric shock-like quality that travels along the path of the nerve.
Herniated discs are a common cause of pinched nerves in the back. The discs bulge or tear and press on a spinal nerve or spinal cord, causing pain. Other causes include:
Sciatica is a pinched nerve condition that causes pain that goes down the back of the leg. The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body, made up of several nerve roots that exit the lumbar and sacral spine. Though the irritation or compression may occur at any point along the sciatic nerve path, it often occurs at the spinal root as it exits the spine.
A pinched nerve causes abnormal sensations (paresthesia) that radiate along the path of the nerve. Signs and symptoms a pinched nerve is causing your back pain include:
Because nerves can supply sensations to many parts of the body, the location of the pain depends on the affected nerve.
You can manage pinched nerve pain at home with over-the-counter pain relievers and rest. However, if your pain lasts longer than a week or worsens, you should get professional medical care.
At Orthopedic & Wellness, we specialize in diagnosing and treating all types of back pain. We review symptoms and medical history and perform a physical exam. We may then order imaging tests and nerve conduction studies to confirm or rule out a pinched nerve.
Once we find the source of your symptoms, we create a plan to address it. Treatment may include:
Though most people experience improvements in symptoms with the treatments mentioned above, we may recommend minimally invasive spine surgery when they don’t.
We also provide guidance on how to prevent future nerve pain conditions, including ergonomic tips for sitting, lifting, and working and exercises to stretch and strengthen the back muscles.
Nagging back pain has many causes. But if your pain radiates out to another part of your body, you may have a pinched nerve. Let us help you get relief. Call us today or book an appointment online to get started.
