| Nerves in general, especially nerve roots, are not getting actually "pinched" as in getting a kink in it, but instead, most of the situations people are describing as a pinched nerve, is actually a situation in which there is a pressure increase (or a partial pressure increase) on the nerve. From experiments in nerve physiology, we know that nerves do not respond well to increase pressure on them, and indeed, even a relatively small increase in pressure can have dramatic effects and in causing nerve pathology. In the area where the nerve exits the spinal cord, and moves outward to supply the body, any decrease in the patency, or opening size of the "hole between the spinal bones" or "intervertebral foramen" can have a disastrous effect on nerve function. A decrease in the size of the opening of the intervertebral foramen is called "foraminal stenosis" and a decrease in the size of the canal which transmits the spinal cord, is called spinal canal stenosis. Now, there is not a pill for this ill. In other words, one can take pain killers and muscle relaxants until they are coming out of your ears, and if one still have improper alignment, or lack of movement of a spinal segment, in combination with improper alignment, then drugs won't fix it. Much like a shoulder which has become dislocated, there needs to be a physical intervention to bring back proper alignment and proper function. In the case of a subluxed vertebral complex, an adjustment or spinal manipulation is the ... |
