What a Pain (part 5)
In this final chapter of my five part series on pain management we will be covering nerve compression. If you are feeling an intense pain in your spine, please go see your doctor, as it could be signs of a herniated disk or other serious injuries.
Nerve compression or a pinched nerve is a painful experience. Most pinched nerves happen in one of two places, the neck/ shoulder or the sacrum/ hips. These two areas are homes to some of the biggest nerves in your body. Your sciatic nerve runs down by your hips, and the Axillary nerve runs through your shoulder to your deltoid. When these nerves get pinched, you can feel a localized pain, but it is also very common to feel referral pains as well. For example, many people who have sciatic pain feel it radiate down the side of their leg and into their knee.
Pinched nerves are often caused by muscles pressing into a nerve. Imagine your nerve as a cat, specifically their tail. A healthy nerve can send signals to your brain, like a cat flicking their tail. However, if you apply pressure to them, they will let out a pain signal. The same as if you accidentally stepped on a cats tail. There is an initial OUCH! moment, often followed up with lingering discomfort in the area. That is an example of a momentary nerve compression. Now imagine if you maintained pressure on a cats tail. They would probably get very angry and lash out to try to get you to get your foot off. The same maintains with nerve pinching. The nerve is going to "lash out" or send pain signals to the brain to try to get the pressure removed from them.
A smart teacher of mine used to continuously say, " The body is very smart, but the body is very dumb." The body is smart by sending these pain signals to try to get the muscles to release. However, the body is dumb, because in response to this pain signal it tells the body to protect itself by tightening the muscles around that area. So if the body is being dumb, how do you get rid of this compression? First lets review why there is pressure in the first place.
The pressure you feel is caused my muscles contracting and not letting go. With this motion, the nerve is pushed between two muscles. The body then tells the muscles to protect itself, so they tighten up even more, making a continuous loop of OUCH! However if you can isolate the muscle that is causing the pinching, there are some remedies to help the muscles let go and therefore get rid of the compressed nerve. Here are some tips to help relieve a compressed nerve.
Tip 1: Massage
I know I say it a lot, but I am a firm believer in massage therapy. A massage therapist will be able to easily pinpoint the muscles causing the compression, and can loosen up the muscles to relieve the pressure on the nerve. With maintenance, one massage a month can get rid of a lot of discomfort.
Tip 2: Breathing techniques
Are you a chest breather? If you are, you probably also get migraines or headaches. Practice safe breathing. Our body is made to use our diaphragm to breathe. In fact, that is the diaphragms only job! When you breathe you should be able to see your stomach move in and out, like a baby breathing. We have been taught to use our scalene muscles to breathe so that our bellies don't poke out. However, that leave a huge job to tiny muscles, that happen to sit on top of a huge bundle of nerves. So, as much as possible breathe with your belly not your chest! Watch this informative video on how to breathe!
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