subject: Techniques For Preventing Pinched Nerve Treatments In The Winter [print this page] Once more, the chilly cold months of winter are upon us. Most of us tend to hibernate during this period, since our absolute favorite outside adventures will be more difficult to share in. Many of us are motivated to keep energetic by means of running, biking, skiing, winter camping, etc., and putting on more layers to perform those activities we enjoy. I have discovered, during my 10 years in practice, that there is a rise in how many men and women coming into the office this time of year, complaining of discomfort related to pinched nerves.
The spine consists of individual spinal vertebrae and houses the spinal cord. The spinal cord runs to every organ and system of the body by using a network of nerves leaving the vertebrae or bones of the spine. These vertebrae might rotate and modify their placement causing pinching of the nerves of the body. This could certainly lead to pain, feeling numb, tingling, a decrease of strength, along with a loss of function. Other methods that nerves may pinch is by pressure from a spinal disc, sometimes called a herniated disc, as well as pressure coming from soft tissues including muscle, ligament, or tendon. The most common regions of the spine to have a pinched nerve is in the lower cervical spine, in the neck, especially at the fifth, sixth, or seventh cervical vertebrae.
Many patients with cervical pinched nerves may have pain in the neck, shoulder, shoulder blade, any area of the arm, the wrist, and typically may have numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers. A patient could have any just one of these types of symptoms. I have quite a few patients with a pinching of the nerves in their neck that only have discomfort inside their shoulder, pain in the wrist, occasionally wrongly identified as carpal tunnel syndrome, or even just numbness and tingling in their fingertips, and they are unsure where the root of the problem is originating from. They may not have any neck pain or neck immobility but the reason for the difficulty is coming from the spine, as this is the location where the nerve begins. Simple orthopedic exams, and dermatome, each vertebrae is connected with a particular skin region where pain or numbness and tingling exists, tests will establish which vertebrae needs to be treated to eliminate the force off the nerve.
Another normal area for a pinched nerve in the spine is in the lumbar spine, in the lower back, mainly the third, fourth, and fifth lumbar vertebrae. The most common pinched nerve in this area of the spine is often referred to as sciatica if it involves the sciatic nerve. The fourth lumbar is the source of the sciatic nerve. In the matter of this impingement, someone can have pain only at the back of the leg, it could be shooting, sharp, and also burning. They can have pain simply in the buttocks, or pain only in the foot or ankle. Just like in the neck they might have no pain in the low back. Many of these patients are convinced they have a leg or foot issue, when the cause of the issue is truly coming from much higher up in the spine.
The frosty winter months result in our muscles, tendons, and ligaments to be tighter compared to the hotter temperatures. Imagine our muscles, tendons, and ligaments like rubber. Rubber expands more when in hotter temperatures, but will lose elasticity in the colder weather. This is the same way the soft tissues of our body work. So, in the wintry temperature months our muscles, tendons, and ligaments usually are not stretching as far and are basically pulling a bit harder on the vertebrae of the spine. This might lead to a vertebrae going out of alignment and triggering a pinching of a nerve.
How to prevent Pinched Nerves
The best injury and pinched nerve prevention, when you find yourself engaging in a task in winter months, is to do a very delicate warm up. For approximately ten minutes before you participate in the activity simulate the movements which you do in your activity. Such as light running, twisting, throwing, lifting, and this needs to be at about 10 to 15 percent of your maximum output. This tends to improve blood flow to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, permitting them to be more elastic and shock absorber ready.
Correct stretching after the warm-up, and then again following the activity is essential for achieving optimum injury prevention and hopefully preventing pinched nerves. The problem is that stretching is normally carried out incorrectly. Most people stretch too much and too rapidly. Stretches must be gentle, and produce a relaxing sensation of gentle stretch or tension. There should be no pain, discomfort, or bouncey motions. The stretch should be held for around 30 seconds, but no less than twenty. Stretching too strongly, or for less than twenty seconds may well initiate a stretch response that may actually make the muscle to tighten-up more.
