Radicular Pain

Radicular pain travels along spinal nerve root. It radiates from your back and hip to your leg through the spine. You might sense tingling, numbness and muscle weakness. This pain occurs when your spical nerve gets inflamed.

Comprehensive Guide to Understand & Manage Radicular Pain

Radicular pain is also referred to as sciatica. This is a type of pain that travels along the spinal nerve root. When the spinal nerve gets compressed or inflamed then radicular pain occurs in the body. It radiates from your back and hip to your legs through the spinal cord and you feel numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in your leg. Sciatica is deep and steady which could be worse with activities like walking or sitting. It is a common form of pain that is caused by the compression of the nerve in the lower spine.

Interesting Facts of Radicular Pain

  • Approx 40% of people experience Radicular pain at some point in their lives.
  • According to the studies, it has been found that approx. 90% of radicular pain cases can be resolved with non-surgical treatments like medication and physical therapies.
  • Pregnant women are more prone to radicular pain.

What Causes Radicular Pain?

Though there are several causes that might cause spinal compression which leads to radicular pain. It includes the following causes:

  • Diabetes,
  • Herniated disc,
  • Nerve root injuries,
  • Scar tissue from spinal surgery,
  • Spinal nerve problem due to arthritis or bone spurs,

Since Radicular pain affects the back, hip, and leg it leads to mobility problems. This makes it hard to do daily activities like standing, walking, or sitting for longer time periods.

How to Treat Radicular Pain?

Treat your radicular pain after finding the underlying cause of it. There are some non-surgical treatments that include physical therapy that helps in strengthening your muscles or joints. You can take epidural injections after consulting your doctor. There are alternative therapies like acupuncture and yoga that could help you in relieving radicular pain. You can also ask medical professionals to try over the counter medicines like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, etc.

Maintaining a healthy weight, practicing good posture, and avoiding heavy lifting can minimize stains on your spine. You can also go with heat and cold therapy to relax muscles and ease pain. Radicular pain might significantly affect the daily life of individuals but with the right management strategies, you can regain your mobility and find relief.

Frequently Asked Question

  • How is Radicular Pain Diagnosed?

    To diagnose radicular pain Radiculopathy diagnosis is required. X-ray, CT scan, or MRI scan are used to find the problem in a specific part of the body.

  • What are the symptoms of Radicular Pain?

    Radicular pain might make you feel stinging, burning, or excruciating pain radiating down the leg. In severe cases, an individual might experience muscle weakness and decreased sensation in the legs, numbness, and tingling.

  • How to Relive Nerve Pain?

    Take extra sleep and rest to heal the nerve. You can take pain relieving medication, physical therapy, stretching or Yoga, and elevate the legs to relieve nerve pain.

  • How Long Does it Take Radicular Pain to Go Away?

    Radicular pain goes away when the healing gets over and it often goes away without surgical treatment. Sometimes it is hard to tell the actual cause of your pain.

  • Is Radiculopathy Curable?

    Yes, Radiculopathy is curable without surgery. Depending upon the severity your doctor will recommend medication that might include non-steroidal drugs to relieve your pain.

  • Why Does Radicular Pain Get Worse at Night?

    It has been found that sciatic nerve pain gets worse at night due to the increased pressure on the sciatic nerve. Also, the inflammatory process tends to increase at night it gets difficult to get comfortable while dealing with radicular pain. However, proactive treatment could help.