You probably know that stiff ache in the neck or lower back that will not quite go away. Most people blame a long day at the desk or a bad night of sleep. For some, the source is not a muscle at all.
A pinched nerve happens when nearby bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons press on a nerve, Mayo Clinic says. The pressure can send pain, numbness or weakness down an arm or leg, and the pattern often looks very different from a pulled muscle.
The two most common places are the neck and the lower back. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, cervical radiculopathy, the name for a pinched nerve in the neck, affects about 85 out of every 100,000 people.
In over half of cases the C7 nerve root is involved.
Also read: FDA warns shoppers after cheddar cheese recalled over Listeria risk
The 8 warning signs to know
1. Sharp or burning pain that shoots along a path. A pinched nerve rarely stays put. It can shoot from the neck into a shoulder and down an arm, or from the lower back into a leg. The AAOS describes the pain as sharp or burning, not the dull ache of a strained muscle.
2. Numbness or reduced feeling in a hand, arm, leg or foot. The skin in the area the nerve serves can lose feeling. A finger, half the hand, a strip down the thigh or the top of the foot may feel less than the other side.
That pattern is hard to explain with ordinary muscle soreness.
3. Persistent tingling or pins and needles. Tingling in the hand or foot that keeps coming back, even when you have not been sitting on it, is a classic nerve sign. It feels like the limb is falling asleep without a clear reason.
Also read: Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day linked to 18 percent lower dementia risk
4. Weakness in the arm, hand, leg or foot. A pinched nerve can weaken the muscles that the nerve controls. Cleveland Clinic lists muscle weakness among the main symptoms. You may notice a slip in grip strength, or a leg that feels unreliable on stairs.
5. Pain that flares in certain positions. Neck pain from a pinched nerve often spikes when you turn or tilt your head a certain way. Low back pain may worsen when you bend forward or sit for long stretches. Movement changes the pressure on the nerve root.
6. Clumsiness or dropping things. When the hand loses both feeling and strength, small tasks get harder. You may fumble a coffee cup, miss buttons or drop your phone. The cause is not clumsiness. It is the nerve to the hand not firing fully.
7. Relief when you rest a hand on top of your head. This is a telltale sign of a neck nerve problem. The AAOS notes that some people with cervical radiculopathy feel the pain ease when they place a hand on top of the head, which takes tension off the nerve root.
Also read: New weekly injection could change everything for people with painful knees
8. Symptoms that get worse at night. Pinched nerve pain, tingling or numbness often flares when you lie down. Mayo Clinic notes that symptoms may be worse when you are sleeping, because neck and back positions in bed can add pressure to the nerve.
Signs that need urgent medical care
A handful of symptoms are not watchful waiting signs. They are emergency signs.
New loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, and weakness in both legs at the same time can point to cauda equina syndrome. It is a rare but serious nerve injury in the lower spine.
Cleveland Clinic warns that delayed treatment raises the risk of permanent paralysis and loss of bladder and bowel control. In that situation the emergency room is the right address, not a next day appointment.
Also read: Forget willpower: This may be the key to making exercise a habit
What to do if the pattern fits you
Most pinched nerves get better on their own. The AAOS notes that about 80 percent of people improve without surgery, often within days or a few weeks of rest, gentle movement and over the counter pain relief.
If the pain, tingling or weakness has lasted more than a week and home care is not helping, Cleveland Clinic advises seeing a doctor. Sudden severe weakness or intense pain should be seen the same day.
Also read: What a small daily amount of honey may actually do to your blood sugar
This article is made and published by Mie Hermansen, who may have used AI in the preparation.