Most individuals have heard of a pinched nerve or experienced a pinched nerve/s. This happens when the tissues, muscles, bone, or cartilage in/around the spine compress a nerve or nerve root. Radiculopathy is the radiating/spreading pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness that an individual experiences from a compressed nerve/nerve root in the spine. Pinched nerves left untreated can cause permanent damage known as neuropathy and contribute to chronic pain conditions.
Radiculopathy Causes
Radiculopathy can happen anywhere along the spine. The neck, middle back, and especially the low back. Depending on the location of the irritation the results are burning pain, numbness, and tingling that can spread out to the neck, arms, hands, legs, and feet. Each of the vertebrae consists of a hollow space called the spinal canal. This allows the spinal cord to pass through.
Spinal stenosis is a general term when the spinal canal becomes narrowed and crowded with all the nerves. This can cause radiculopathy if the nerve roots that branch off the spinal cord are compressed. Other causes of stenosis and nerve compression can include:
- Bone spurs often caused by osteoarthritis
- Inflammation of tendons or ligaments
- Thickening of the ligaments in the spine, known as ossification
- In rare cases, a mass on the spinal column could cause radiculopathy
Types of Radiculopathy
- Cervical radiculopathy involves the nerves that come from the neck
- Sacral and Lumbar radiculopathy involves the nerves that exit from the lower back
- Sciatica is when nerve roots of the sciatic nerve become compressed
Risk Factors
Acute injuries, chronic conditions, and lifestyle habits can increase the risk of developing radiculopathy. Injury/s that result in a pinched nerve and osteoarthritis of the spine/spondylosis are the two most common risk factors. Individuals with jobs that involve heavy manual labor have an increased risk. This is because this type of work puts individuals at a higher risk of spinal injuries. Other risk factors include:
- Being overweight
- Pregnant
- Family history of disc disease
- Smoking
- Men have a slightly higher risk than women
- Sedentary lifestyle
Diagnosing and Treatment
Individuals experiencing radiculopathy symptoms are recommended to consult a doctor or doctor of chiropractic. They will perform a physical examination to determine if there is nerve compression. Physical and neurological tests will be performed to check the body's reflexes and muscle strength. This is followed by imaging studies like:
- X-rays
- Magnetic resonance imaging MRI
- Computed tomography CT scan
A doctor will perform a nerve conduction study to determine where the pain originates from and if the injury is muscular or neurological. For most cases, radiculopathy can be healed with physical therapy and time. Non-surgical treatment is the most common and usually includes:
- Rest
- Chiropractic treatment/spinal alignment
- Physical therapy
- Health coaching for lifestyle adjustments
- Activity modification
- Nutritional assistance for weight loss, bone health, anti-inflammatory diet
If non-surgical treatment does not help, surgery could be the next step, this includes:
Discectomy
This surgery removes all or portions of a herniated disc.
Foraminotomy
This surgery widens the space where the nerves exit the spine known as the foramina.
Spinal Fusion
This surgery fuses segments of the vertebrae together to stabilize the spine.
The condition has shown to result in favorable outcomes, both non-surgical treatments and for those that require surgery. Around 88% will improve within four weeks of non-surgical management. Do not hesitate to consult a doctor or chiropractor if radiculopathy symptoms are presenting.
Body Composition
Never Too Late To Start Lifting
Adults are recommended to engage in resistance training or some type of weight training at least twice a week. There are misconceptions that weight training has an age limit. This is absolutely not true. An individual does not have to be young to reap the benefits. These can be:
- Dumbbells
- Bodyweight exercises
- Bands
- Machines
Individuals don’t have to train at a high intensity. Both men and women can benefit from lifting weights. For older adults interested in increasing energy and decreasing body fat, look to resistance training. Resistance training in older adults:
- Increases power
- Reduces the difficulty of performing everyday tasks
- Enhances energy expenditure
- Improves body composition
- Increases participation in physical activity
Remember that it is never too late to start lifting.
Disclaimer
The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP, CIFM, CTG*
email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
phone: 915-850-0900
Licensed in Texas & New Mexico
References
“Physical examination for lumbar radiculopathy due to disc herniation in patients with low-back pain.” Cochrane Library: Cochrane Reviews, London, UK. February 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20166095/
“Pinched Nerve.” Mayo Clinic, Cleveland, OH. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pinched-nerve/symptoms-causes/syc-20354746
“Radiculopathy.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/radiculopathy
“Radiculopathy (Nerve Root Disorder).” Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/patient-information/conditions-treated-a-to-z/radiculopathy
