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March 2014 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
Pinched
nerves can
be a pain in the neck...
or back... or anywhere
By Clint Moore, Staff Writer
For sufferers of a pinched or compressed nerve, the pain can be excruciating, according to Dr. Stephen S.
Karam with KORT Physical Therapy
2 HAMBURG JOURNAL
in the Chevy Chase section of
Lexington. “The classic signs are a
radiating pain. Radiating pain is really
the best used term for it,” Karam
says. “But you can get numbness or
tingling. Some would describe it as
needles or a burning sensation in
their hands, legs or feet.”
Other signs of a pinched nerve
include unexplained loss of strength
in an extremity. Karam says, “Some
more significant signs would be a
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noticeable weakness of some kind.
The weakness could be the loss of
grip strength — you’re not able to
hold on to a plate of food, or a jug of
milk, or hold a pencil like you normally would.”
For those suffering from a pinched
nerve, simple things such as sleeping
can even be a challenge. “For a lot of
people who have a pinched nerve or
a compressed nerve, they have difficulty sleeping or finding a position
of comfort while they’re trying to
sleep,” Karam explains. “Sleep is often
disturbed three, four or six hours a
night.”
A pinched nerve occurs when
too much pressure is applied to a
nerve by surrounding tissues, such as
bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons.
Common areas affected by pinched
nerves are the neck and lower back
area, but just about any part of the
body is susceptible. “They can be
in your elbow, they can be in your
shoulder, they can be in your hand
and they can be in your legs, as well.
Given the scope of all the places you
can compress a nerve or have pressure on a nerve, it can be quite common.”
While the term pinch Y