A sudden sharp pain down your arm, tingling in your fingers, numbness in your leg, or a burning sensation that seems to travel can be alarming. Sometimes these symptoms appear after an injury, but other times they seem to develop for no obvious reason. One possible explanation is a pinched nerve.
A pinched nerve occurs when a nerve becomes irritated or compressed by the tissues around it. Depending on where the affected nerve is located, you may experience pain, numbness, tingling, burning, weakness, or symptoms that travel into another part of your body.
However, not every episode of numbness, tingling, or radiating pain means that you have a pinched nerve. Several different conditions can cause similar symptoms. Understanding the common signs of a pinched nerve and knowing when to have your symptoms evaluated can help you determine your next step.
At Empower Physical Therapy, our physical therapists work with patients experiencing neck pain, back pain, nerve related symptoms, weakness, and many other musculoskeletal concerns at our locations in Newton, Andover, West Wichita, and Hesston, Kansas.
What Is a Pinched Nerve?
Your nerves carry messages between your brain, spinal cord, muscles, skin, and other areas of your body. When a nerve has enough space and is functioning normally, these signals can travel efficiently. When surrounding structures place pressure on or irritate a nerve, however, you may begin experiencing symptoms.
The term pinched nerve is commonly used to describe a nerve that has become compressed or irritated. This can happen in several areas of the body, although the neck and lower back are two common locations.
For example, irritation of a nerve in your neck may cause symptoms that travel through your shoulder and arm and potentially into your hand or fingers. Irritation of a nerve in your lower back may cause symptoms that travel into your buttock, thigh, lower leg, or foot.
The location of your symptoms can provide important information about which nerve may be affected, but symptoms alone do not always identify the exact cause. That is one reason an evaluation can be helpful when symptoms persist.
How Do You Know if You Have a Pinched Nerve?
There is not one single symptom that confirms you have a pinched nerve. Instead, physical therapists and other health care professionals consider your combination of symptoms, where they occur, what movements make them better or worse, your strength, mobility, and other findings from an examination.
Some of the most common symptoms associated with nerve irritation include:
- Pain that travels into an arm or leg
- Numbness or decreased sensation
- Tingling or a pins and needles sensation
- Burning, sharp, or electric sensations
- Muscle weakness
- Symptoms that change with certain neck or back positions
- Pain that follows a specific path through an arm or leg
You may experience only one of these symptoms or several at the same time. The intensity can also vary considerably. Some people notice occasional mild tingling, while others experience symptoms that interfere with sitting, walking, sleeping, working, or exercising.
What Does a Pinched Nerve Feel Like?
A pinched nerve can feel different from typical muscle soreness. Muscle pain often feels achy, tender, tight, or sore in a relatively specific area. Nerve related symptoms may feel sharper, more electrical, burning, tingling, or radiating.
One of the biggest clues is that the discomfort may not stay in one place.
For example, a problem originating around the neck may cause pain or tingling down the arm. Someone may initially assume that something is wrong with their shoulder, elbow, or hand even though the source of the symptoms may be closer to the neck.
Similarly, irritation involving a nerve in the lower back may result in pain traveling down the leg. This is one possible cause of symptoms commonly described as sciatica.
You may also notice that certain movements dramatically change your symptoms. Turning your head, looking upward, bending forward, sitting for an extended period, or changing positions may increase or decrease the sensation.
Can a Pinched Nerve Cause Numbness and Tingling?
Yes. Numbness and tingling are common symptoms associated with nerve irritation.
People sometimes describe the sensation as pins and needles or say that their hand, arm, foot, or leg feels like it has fallen asleep. The sensation may come and go or remain relatively constant.
Where the numbness or tingling occurs can sometimes help determine which nerve is involved. Different nerves provide sensation to different areas of your body. A physical therapist can assess where you are experiencing symptoms and combine that information with other examination findings.
Occasional numbness from sitting or sleeping in an unusual position may resolve quickly once you move. However, persistent or frequently recurring numbness and tingling deserves more attention, especially if it occurs alongside pain or weakness.
Can a Pinched Nerve Cause Muscle Weakness?
A nerve does more than provide sensation. Nerves also help control your muscles. Because of this, nerve irritation can sometimes contribute to muscle weakness.
You might notice that one arm feels weaker than the other, gripping objects has become more difficult, or certain movements suddenly feel harder. If the nerve irritation involves your lower back, you might notice weakness in your leg or difficulty performing movements that were previously easy.
Weakness is particularly important to pay attention to because it may indicate that the nerve is affecting your ability to activate certain muscles normally.
If you notice new or worsening muscle weakness, it is important to have the problem appropriately evaluated rather than simply waiting for it to disappear.
Where Can You Get a Pinched Nerve?
A pinched or irritated nerve can occur in several areas of the body.
Two areas people commonly associate with pinched nerves are the neck and lower back because nerves leaving the spine travel into the arms and legs.
When a nerve in the cervical spine, or neck, becomes irritated, you may experience symptoms around your neck, shoulder blade, shoulder, arm, hand, or fingers.
When nerve irritation occurs around the lumbar spine, or lower back, symptoms may affect the lower back, buttock, hip, thigh, calf, foot, or toes.
Nerve compression can also occur farther away from the spine. For example, certain nerves can become irritated or compressed around the elbow, wrist, hip, knee, or other areas.
Because there are multiple potential locations and causes, determining where your symptoms originate can be an important part of developing an effective treatment plan.
What Causes a Pinched Nerve?
There are many reasons a nerve may become irritated or compressed. In some cases, symptoms develop after a specific injury. In others, they gradually appear over time.
Changes involving the joints and discs of the spine can sometimes reduce the available space around a nerve. Inflammation around an injured area can also contribute to nerve irritation.
Your daily activities may influence symptoms as well. Spending long periods in one position, repetitive movements, heavy lifting, changes in activity level, or certain work demands may aggravate an already sensitive area.
It is also important to understand that having symptoms associated with a pinched nerve does not automatically mean something is permanently damaged. Nerves can become sensitive or irritated for several reasons, and many people improve with conservative treatment.
The important part is determining what may be contributing to your individual symptoms.
Is Sciatica a Pinched Nerve?
The terms sciatica and pinched nerve are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same thing.
Sciatica generally describes symptoms involving the sciatic nerve or nerve roots that contribute to it. These symptoms commonly include pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that travels from the lower back or buttock into the leg.
Some cases of sciatica can be associated with compression or irritation of a nerve root in the lower back. However, leg pain does not always mean you have sciatica, and not every pinched nerve involves the sciatic nerve.
A physical therapy evaluation can help determine whether your symptoms appear to be nerve related and what factors may be contributing to them.
Can a Pinched Nerve Go Away on Its Own?
Some cases of mild nerve irritation can improve over time, particularly when the activity or position aggravating the nerve is temporary.
However, simply waiting is not always the best strategy, especially when symptoms continue returning or begin affecting your daily activities.
If you have had symptoms for several days or weeks without meaningful improvement, or if they repeatedly return, an evaluation may help identify why the problem is persisting.
Physical therapy may also help you learn which movements and activities improve your symptoms and which ones may currently be aggravating the nerve.
How Long Does a Pinched Nerve Last?
There is no universal timeline for how long a pinched nerve takes to heal.
Recovery depends on several factors, including where the nerve is irritated, what is causing the irritation, how long symptoms have been present, the severity of your symptoms, your overall health, and the physical demands of your daily activities.
Some people notice improvement relatively quickly. Others may need more time, particularly when symptoms have been present for months or when weakness has developed.
Rather than focusing exclusively on a specific number of days or weeks, it can be helpful to monitor whether your symptoms are gradually improving, staying the same, or getting worse.
Can Physical Therapy Help a Pinched Nerve?
Depending on the cause of your symptoms, physical therapy may be an effective treatment option for a pinched or irritated nerve.
The first step is determining what appears to be contributing to your symptoms. Your physical therapist can evaluate your movement, strength, mobility, sensation, and the activities or positions that change your symptoms.
Treatment is then individualized rather than using the same approach for every person.
For some patients, improving mobility may be important. Others may benefit from strengthening certain muscle groups, changing movement patterns, gradually returning to specific activities, or learning ways to modify positions that aggravate their symptoms.
Your physical therapist may also provide exercises that you can perform at home to help continue your progress between appointments.
The goal is not simply to temporarily reduce pain. Physical therapy addresses the movement and strength limitations that may be contributing to your symptoms so you can return to the activities that matter to you.
What Will a Physical Therapist Look for?
If you visit physical therapy because you think you may have a pinched nerve, your therapist will begin by learning more about your symptoms.
They may ask when the problem started, where you feel the symptoms, whether they travel, what activities make them worse, what makes them feel better, and whether you have noticed changes in strength or sensation.
Your physical therapist can then examine factors such as neck or back mobility, muscle strength, flexibility, sensation, movement patterns, and functional activities.
The goal is to determine whether your symptoms appear consistent with nerve irritation and whether physical therapy is appropriate for you.
If your therapist identifies symptoms that require additional medical evaluation, they can also help guide you toward the appropriate next step.
When Should You Get a Pinched Nerve Checked?
Mild symptoms that quickly improve may not always require treatment. However, you should consider having your symptoms evaluated if pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness persists, keeps returning, or begins interfering with your normal activities.
You should also seek prompt medical attention for severe or rapidly progressing weakness, major changes in bowel or bladder function, numbness around the groin or saddle region, or other significant neurological changes. These symptoms can sometimes indicate a condition requiring more immediate medical evaluation.
For less urgent symptoms, physical therapy can be a good starting point when you are unsure why you are hurting or what you should do next.
Do You Need a Referral for Physical Therapy in Kansas?
In many situations, you can see a physical therapist without first obtaining a physician referral in Kansas. This is often referred to as direct access.
That means you may not have to wait for your symptoms to become severe before having them evaluated.
If you have been experiencing neck pain, back pain, numbness, tingling, radiating pain, or weakness, you can contact Empower Physical Therapy to discuss whether scheduling a physical therapy evaluation may be appropriate.
Our team can also help answer questions about scheduling, insurance, and what to expect at your first appointment.
Physical Therapy for Pinched Nerves in Newton, Andover, Wichita, and Hesston
If you are wondering, “How do I know if I have a pinched nerve?”, you do not have to figure it out by yourself.
At Empower Physical Therapy, our physical therapists can evaluate your symptoms, identify movement and strength limitations that may be contributing to the problem, and develop an individualized treatment plan.
Whether your symptoms are affecting your neck, back, shoulder, arm, hand, hip, leg, or foot, determining the source of the problem is an important first step.
Our goal is to help you understand what is happening, improve your ability to move comfortably, and get back to the work, hobbies, exercise, and everyday activities you enjoy.
With convenient locations in Newton, Andover, West Wichita, and Hesston, Empower Physical Therapy provides care for patients throughout south central Kansas.
If numbness, tingling, weakness, or radiating pain is interfering with your day, you do not necessarily have to wait and hope it improves. A physical therapy evaluation can help you better understand your symptoms and determine an appropriate path forward.
Click here to schedule an evaluation with Empower Physical Therapy today.
📍 Newton: 715 Medical Center Dr. STE 300, Newton, KS 67114
📞 316-283-7187
📍 Andover: 826 E Founders Pkwy STE 100, Andover, KS 67002
📞 316-348-2766
📍 West Wichita: 10330 W. Central Ave #160, Wichita, KS 67212
📞 316-640-3074
📍 Hesston: 701 S. Main, Hesston, KS 67062
📞 620-327-3482
