Nerve pain demands prompt attention and it feels like that. The most common areas for nerve pain are the arms and legs and it is often due to nerve compression from disc bulges, arthritic nerve space narrowing, muscle tension or a combination of these. The pain may go hand-in-hand with numbness, tingling or other ‘funny’ sensations you rather would not be experiencing.

How do we know it it’s nerve pain? Generally, if nerve pain has come on quickly and without an obvious traumatic event with the force to damage tissues (think unusually heavy lifting, falls, impact or traction trauma), what feels like nerve pain could, in fact, be pain referred by myofascial trigger points (knots) or dysfunctional (stuck) joints, simply mimicking nerve pain - often with no less ferocity. This kind of pain can often be alleviated by hot/cold treatment and anti inflammatory medication.

When nerve pain is caused by damage or compression of a nerve, it often has a sickening quality to it and it can feel as though there is no way of ‘getting away from it’. In these cases of nerve pain, healing times can vary widely depending on the case and a variety of factors such as age, life-style and degree of progression. Still, hands-on treatments combined with a planned exercise routine to improve joint position and unload undue nerve pressure can improve healing and often provide relief along the way. Treatment plans may need to be assessed and created in conjunction with your GP or a specialist to ensure the best way for practitioners to complement each other at the right time of your recovery.

In cases where the pain is a result of muscles or joints mimicking nerve pain, significantly improvements can often be achieved within a small number of treatments and without the need for a care team and/or further investigations.

To help you with your nerve pain, we may use techniques such as soft-tissue manipulation and myofascial releases (similar to remedial massage), dry needling (assessed as an option case by case), balancing of ligamentous tension (gentle joint releasing techniques), muscle energy techniques as well as various joint manipulation techniques, depending on your needs, wishes and comfort levels with the techniques.

Generally, if the pain has lasted more than 3 days, it’s worth discussing it with your preferred health care practitioner.

Note: The paramount concern with nerve pain is safeguarding your nerves. In some cases it can be necessary to order scans (X-rays, ultrasound, MRI) before commencing treatment.