Pinched Nerve Treatment in Malvern

People with pinched nerves are more likely to experience:

• A “pins and needles” sensation
• Numbness or decreased sensitivity in your arm, leg, fingers, or toes
• A weakness of your muscles
• Sharp, shooting pain down your arm or leg
• Muscle tightness, cramping or spasms
• Discomfort when trying to sleep
• More pain with sitting or driving

If you’re concerned you have a pinched nerve, the team at Aligned Medical Group can provide you with an integrative and holistic approach to pinched nerve treatment. Early treatment is very important with pinched nerves, sciatica, or carpal tunnel syndrome because ongoing pressure on nerves can damage the nerve, causing permanent weakness, numbness or even problems with bowel and bladder function.

Some common nerves that become pinched include nerve roots (radiculopathy) in your lower neck or lower back (sciatica), median nerves (carpal tunnel syndrome), shoulder nerves (thoracic outlet syndrome) and even nerves near your elbows, knees, and ankles. Peripheral Neuropathy is a condition when nerves in your feet or hands become damaged, often following chemotherapy or from diabetes, among many other conditions.

What Causes a Nerve to Become Pinched?

A pinched nerve is caused by pressure on the nerve by the surrounding tissues, such as bones (bone spurs), ligament thickening, scar tissue (post-surgical or post-injury) muscles (nerve entrapment), or spinal discs (herniated or bulging disc). The pressure can also come from inflammation since inflammation takes up space and may place direct pressure on a nerve.  Additionally, inflammation irritates the nerve which causes the nerve to be more sensitive, therefore more likely to get pinched.

If the pressure on the nerve is excessive, or continues for too long, you may experience pain, tingling, numbness, burning, pins and needles or sometimes weakness. Before pursuing surgical options, know that most pinched nerve pain goes away with conservative treatment.  If symptoms are worsening or becoming constant, if you feel weakness or changes to bowel or bladder habits, it is very important to seek treatment immediately to avoid permanent nerve damage.

Book your pinched nerve treatment in Malvern, PA at Aligned Medical Group today!

How Aligned Medical Group Helps Pinched Nerves:

Our approach begins with a thorough exam.  We want to understand not only which nerve is being pinched, but where it’s pinched, and all the factors that led to your nerve getting pinched to begin with.  Uncovering things like arthritis, harmful medications, posture habits, ranges of motion or areas of previous surgery or injury with scar tissue, are just a few factors to be considered.  The more information the better, so we can get you fast relief and a solution-focused plan, so the problem is fixed and does not return.

Once we have an accurate diagnosis, we put together recommendations using a variety of treatment options from the different specialists on our team.  Medical factors such as blood sugar levels, vitamin and mineral balance and the function of your circulatory system are just a few things we’ll look at because they may impact your nerve getting pinched and how it can heal.

Some Ways We Treat a Pinched Nerve Include:

Pinched Nerve Treatment – Medication

In our practice we minimize the use of medications, but pinches nerves can be serious so sometimes medication is an important part of recovery.  Anti-inflammatory medication can help reduce pressure on the nerve by reducing inflammation.  Reducing inflammation also may help reduce pain.  We are conservative with how much medication we recommend since the regular use of anti-inflammatories slows your normal healing process.  For severe symptoms from pinched nerve pressure, we may recommend steroids by pill or injection.  We try to avoid the use of steroids because of the side effects, however they play an important role with recovery for more severe cases.

Another medical treatment that is beneficial is injections into tight muscles, called trigger point injections.  A natural substance called Sarapin, has a calming effect on nerves and helps reduce tightness in stubborn, knotted muscles.

Pinched Nerve Treatment – Vax-D Spinal Decompression

Vax-D Spinal Decompression Therapy uses an advanced traction treatment table.  The cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (lower back) are the two areas which can be treated.  While the treatment can greatly help a pinched nerve in the lower back or neck area, the treatment targets spinal discs.   A damaged or weak spinal disc can bulge (disc sticks out mildly), protrude (disc sticks out in finger-like manner), herniate (larger than a bulge) or extrude (disc ruptures and inside spills out).   Any of these disc conditions will reduce space around adjacent spinal nerves, and potentially pinch the nerve.

Traditional traction tables have a patient laying on their back, while a harness attached to the waist, for lower back treatment, or around the neck and jaw, for neck treatment.  The table will then pull and release, lengthening the spinal area being treated.   While traction has a variety of health benefits, the pressures inside spinal discs increaser during treatment.  That’s not good if you’re treating a damaged disc.  The same physiology applies with inversion tables, and over-the-door neck traction devices.

Vax-D Decompression is like traditional traction, however the table is far more advanced.  Rather than a simple “pull and release” cycle of treatment, Decompression pulls in a logarithmic fashion, essentially sweeping the resistance in and out, pumping your spinal discs.  The pumping action reduces the disc pressures, stimulating healing by drawing in oxygen and nutrition through your bones and blood, while pumping out carbon dioxide, inflammation, and wastes.  The table monitors resistance in your spinal tissue close to 200 times per second, so the table can adjust how it pulls and releases, keeping a constant pumping action for 45 minutes.  Most patient experience immediate pain reduction.

Pinched Nerve Treatment – Massage Therapy

Therapeutic massage therapy can help to alleviate muscle tightness, strain, and discomfort, while alleviating pressure around your pinched nerve.  When a nerve becomes pinched, your nervous system naturally stimulates the surrounding muscles to tighten.  This is a safety mechanism to minimize motion at the area, so injury is less likely.   The problem with increased muscle tightness is that pressure may increase on the pinched nerve, slowing healing and increasing symptoms.   A relaxing massage, targeting tight muscles will help you recover.

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Some techniques we utilize:

• Flexion Distraction Manipulation
• Hands-on Manipulation
• Manual Traction
• Graston Technique©
• Post Isometric Relaxation Stretch
• Post Facilitative Stretch
• Pin and Stretch Technique

Pinched Nerve Treatment – Home Exercise Programs

We show you a variety of stretching and strengthening exercises, and how to gently move in and out of these exercises to take the pressure off the affected nerve.  We also provide instructions how to sit at your workstation properly, sleeping positions for relief, how to lift and carry, and general posture habits to help you recover and find more relief.

Why Choose Aligned Medical Group for Your Treatment?

At Aligned Medical Group, we provide an integrative and holistic approach to pinched nerve treatment. In addition to avoiding certain activities and postures, important for healing pinched nerves, our team uses a variety of techniques for pinched nerve treatment with goals for fast relief and a permanent solution.

Book your pinched nerve treatment in Malvern, PA at Aligned Medical Group today!  (610) 644-3166