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Pinched Nerve
What is a Pinched Nerve?Compressed nerves occur when one or more of the spinal nerve root components, which exit the spinal cord at each vertebral level, are infringed upon by some other structure. The most commonly diagnosed causes of nerve compression are herniated discs and spinal osteoarthritis (bone spurs or osteophytes). The nerve is said to be pinched as it exits the neuroforaminal opening by the disc or bone structure. This process is known as foraminal stenosis. Other less diagnosed causes of pinched spinal nerve roots might include extreme spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, hyperkyphosis or hyperlordosis.Pinched Nerve Facts* Although it is one the most common back pain diagnoses, this condition rarely actually causes chronic pain.* In order for a nerve to be truly “pinched” the neuroforamen would have to be virtually completely sealed off. This is an extremely infrequent event, even in cases of severe trauma and degeneration. * It is very difficult to prove symptoms are produced exclusively by a foraminal stenosis effect and even harder to disprove the diagnosis, making it an excellent sciatica scapegoat. * True pinched spinal nerves will turn completely numb in a short time, since continued nerve compression leads to an utter loss of nerve signal… NOT ongoing pain. Pinched Nerve AdviceNerves are far smaller than the neuroforamen through which they pass. The spine has evolved over millions of years as the ideal structure for maintaining skeletal support and providing us all the amazing functionality that we, as humans, enjoy. The pinched spinal nerve diagnosis is fundamentally flawed. To say that every degenerative process which is typical, normal and even universal in the spine would cause our very neurological systems to fail and cause us such pain, is ridiculous. The mere thought is illogical…I was diagnosed with radicular pain from 2 compressed nerves caused by herniated discs at L4/L5 and L5/S1. The diagnosis seemed to make perfect sense to me as a layman… That is at the time… But, as my pain grew and became a nightmare of suffering and agony, I was sure something was not right. After all, if the diagnosis was correct, how come all of the treatments I attempted failed so abysmally? Well, with some independent research, I eventually got my brain up to speed on the actual sciatica facts which had eluded me for so long. I learned that ischemia made far more sense as a diagnosis than nerve compression, so I tried treating the condition, on my own, using knowledge therapy. I had nothing to lose at this late stage of the game… I had already been suffering for 18 long years… Well, the treatment worked and I became pain free in a matter of weeks. I continued to learn far more than I ever thought possible about sciatica, since I dedicated my life to helping others. The results of this quest have been published in my book and on my websites, helping and curing tens of thousands to date. Do I have any regrets looking back at my own experience? Only that I had to suffer so long in order to turn my pain into something positive… 7/8/08 Revised 12/14/09
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