More On Pinched Nerves

Here's a follow up to what Aized posted on Pinched Nerves on Dec 29 2010 (http://physiosolutions.blogspot.com/2009/12/pinched-nerves.html) as I have seen quite a few patients with pinched nerves or at least that's what they were told they had last week and today. "Pinch" is a rather mean word I reckon. Research (Coppieters & Hodges 2008) showed that people move better when they think they are being tested for a muscle problem rather than a nerve.

When you add the word  "pinch" to "nerve" it's gotta be worse.Most of them have seen doctors and other physios, osteopaths, chiropractors etc and been prescribed pills and/ or wrong exercises. Try and put "pinched nerve" into Google and there will be heaps of entries. Most of the entries also do not tell the full story.

How do we treat our patients with pinched nerves? Not with pills or machines. Pills are usually not needed. We explain pain to them -well simply, know pain or no gain. Conceptual change is the most important here as the patient has been given a diagnosis  (and patients always want to be diagnosed), so we explain that not all pain is harmful. Often the patient finds it rather hard to accept, especially those who have been 'shopping around' for a cure for their different diagnoses. The diagnosis itself usually needs more management than what is happening to the nerve.

And of course we get them moving- correctly of course. If not the patients may become worse and have chronic pain. Now that will be another post.

Reference 

Coppieters MW & Hodges PW (2008). Beliefs about the Pathological Basis of Pain Alters Pain Perception in Diagnostic Clinic Tests. ISAP Conference, Glasgow.