Pinched Nerve? Probably Not!

Backaches and sciatica image.

By now you know that chiropractic is primarily concerned with the integrity of your nervous system. Like an electrician, we're interested in how well the "circuits" of your nervous system are performing. Since the moving bones of your spine and the discs that separate and connect them are often involved, we focus here.

Two types of nerve tissue involvement are found.

The most common is referred to as a facilitative lesion. That's a technical way of saying an irritated nerve. Think of it as an intermittent short circuit. It's irritating! Here, spinal bones and adjacent soft tissues rub, chafe, stretch, twist or irritate delicate nerve tissue, affecting how nerve communications are transmitted either to or from the brain. These changes produce a variety of responses in organs and tissues distant from the spine.

The least common, believe it or not, is the pinched nerve. Also called a "compressive lesion," this is the classic, hard bone on a soft nerve model. While easy to understand, as a practical matter, it's relatively rare. Numbness and tingling are often present, but not always.

In either case, the chiropractic approach is to help normalize the relationships between the bones, discs and nerves. With restored positional and functional integrity, symptoms usually subside and health can return.

When patients say they have a pinched nerve, we know what they mean. The good news is, regardless of what you call it, we have an unusually high success rate without relying on drugs or surgery.

Dr. Paul Asks some important questions of interest to Kenner residents - Chiropractor Kenner Dr. Paul Asks...

Why is a "slipped disc" unlikely?
Separating each spinal vertebra is a disc. Its fibrous outer ring holds in a jelly-like material. Because of the way a disc attaches to the spinal bones above and below it, it can't actually "slip." However, a disc can bulge, tear, herniate, thin and collapse. But it can't slip.
How could chiropractic help a stomach problem?
Chiropractic works by locating and reducing areas of the spine compromising nerve communications between your brain and your body. If nerves to or from your stomach are irritated, your stomach won't work right. Chiropractors find the source of the interference, reduce it and allow your body to work as designed.