Pinched Nerve Symptoms

Pinched nerves are a common cause of pain, and they can occur in different areas. They happen when there is a lot of pressure on the nerve from the surrounding structures, and the nerve becomes impinged. Commonly the muscle, ligaments, tendons and bones will impinge the nerve, depending on the case. It can be very painful, and without the appropriate treatment will only get worse.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Pinched Nerve?

There are four common and well known symptoms of a pinched nerve. As you can imagine the symptoms vary depending on the place that the nerve is being impinged. Here are the four common pinched nerve symptoms.

Muscle Spasms: Muscles spasms and back spasms are a common complaint of a pinched nerve. Depending on the area of the impingement, the spasms will vary. However, if you consider that a nerve provides the stimulation to the muscle, to allow it to contract, you can understand that when there is extra and random pressure on the nerve, you may suffer from varying degrees of muscle spasms. These can also be very painful.

Muscle Weakness: It is common to feel weakness in the muscle that is innervated by the affected nerve. Remember that a nerve can radiate symptoms away from the area of impingement, and it is common that you will feel a loss of power in the muscle affected. It may not happen every time you move, however it is a common symptom.

Pain: Pain is a the symptom most associated with a pinched nerve. You may suffer varying degrees, depending on the location and the severity of the pinched nerve. The most important thing to remember is that the pain will most likely radiate down to another area. You may feel it where the pinched nerve is actually located, but it is much more common to have referred pain.

Loss of Sensation: A loss of sensation, numbing, pins and needles or tingling is often felt in the skin in response to a pinched nerve. Once again the nerve will innovate the area, and whilst there is pressure placed on it, you may have trouble with loss of sensation.

Pinched Nerve Symptoms In Different Areas

Pinched nerves in different areas will mean different levels and locations of the symptoms. For example if you suffer from a pinched nerve in neck, you will likely feel the pain in your neck or in your shoulder. It may cause stiffness in the neck area, and pain and symptoms in the shoulder or down the arm. If you are suffering from a pinched nerve in the shoulder, likely you will feel the pain in the area or down the arm.

If you suffer from a pinched nerve in back, or a pinched nerve in lower back, then you may have back pain and stiffness. You may also suffer from sciatica and pain down the leg depending on where the nerve is being pinched. Another common site for a pinched nerve is in the wrist. A pinched nerve in the wrist will likely cause pain in the area, and radiate through to the fingers and the hand. Likewise if you have a pinched nerve in your elbow, you will feel pain in the forearm, the ring finger and the small finger. Take a look at pinched nerve cure for more information on this topic.

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