Are you concerned your neck pain is due to a pinched nerve? This is a question asked by many who experience neck pain every day. But…not all neck pain is from a pinched nerve. There are many other reasons that a person experiences neck pain other than a nerve being pinched. That said, let’s answer the question of what a pinched nerve in the neck might present like.

For starters…pain quality…as in what does a pinched nerve feel like. Here is the rub, there is not just one feeling but rather potentially several.  Plus, the degree and duration of the compression matter. Taking all that into consideration, sensations most often associated with a pinched nerve include: burning, shooting, tingling, or numbness.

Next for consideration is the location of symptoms. What may begin as exclusively the neck can spread to include symptoms radiating down an arm to the hand/fingers as well as shoulder blade. The exact location of symptoms tends to clue in the “source” of the problem. See each nerve has a specific pathway. And by knowing those pathways, we can know (based on symptoms) where the most likely source is. Again…and there is another BUT here…other structures can cause pain to radiating down an arm or into the shoulder blade region.

So how can we know if the source is a pinched nerve?

Great question.

And the answer is, does the person have changes in their reflexes, strength, or ability to feel? These three qualities are hallmark of compression of nerve. But I have numbness or tingling in my arm/hand? Yes, but with respect to the ability to feel, it is not merely the sense of numbness or tingling. Rather, the absence of the ability to feel in a specific nerve pathway.

A true pinched nerve will not often show itself immediately. It tends to take some time for changes to happen unless the compression is full…which it rarely is. And it is this time window where treatment can be effective. To reduce or remove the compression and restore proper messages to/from the nerve.

Treatment?

Yes, quite often even if there is some nerve compression it will respond to treatment. By restoring movement, space, and bloodflow the symptoms will tend to resolve.

How so?

Generally some combination of hands-on treatment plus exercise is effective. The exact treatments are likely to be variable from person to person but they tend to produce positive results.

Do you feel this description matches what you are dealing with? If so, the quicker you act the better and faster results tend to be. If you are curious about treatment options, click this LINK to request to speak with a neck pain expert.