Pinched Nerve
Numbness, tingling, burning, or a shot of pain that travels down your arm. That is a nerve telling you something is sitting on it.
Book your first visitBook your first visit online or call (630) 435-0100.
The first visit is mostly examination, because guessing at nerves is how people get worse.
A pinched nerve means a nerve is being compressed or irritated somewhere along its path, usually by a disc, a joint that has lost its normal movement, or a muscle that has tightened around it. The symptoms show up downstream: a nerve pinched in your neck can produce numbness in your fingers and nothing at all in your neck.
This page covers the ones I see most: the neck, shoulder, arm, and hand. If your symptoms run down your leg, that has a name, sciatica, and it has its own page. I am Dr. Justin Hunter, a chiropractor in downtown Naperville, and either way the job is the same two steps: take the pressure off, then keep it off.
What to do in the first few days
If it started recently, these are the things that actually help, and the things that reliably make it worse.
Keep moving gently. Complete rest lets everything stiffen around the irritated nerve. Short, frequent, easy movement beats lying still.
Find the position that eases it and use it. There is almost always one direction that calms the symptoms. That direction is information, so make a note of it and tell me about it.
Stop repeating the position that triggers it. If it flares every time you look down at your phone or sit through a long drive, that is not a coincidence.
Ice or heat, whichever genuinely helps you. Neither one fixes the compression, but comfort matters and it lets you keep moving.
Do not stretch aggressively into the symptoms. Pulling harder on an irritated nerve is the single most common way people make this worse.
Get it looked at if it has not clearly improved in a week, or sooner if there is weakness.
A pinched nerve that is not clearly better within a week deserves an exam, not another week of hoping.
Nerve pain versus muscle pain
Muscle pain stays put and feels like an ache. Nerve pain travels, and it burns, shoots, tingles, or goes numb. That travel pattern is the tell, and it is also the map: how far the symptoms reach and which fingers they reach tells me a lot about where the compression is before I ever touch you.
Where it gets pinched
The neck, where a disc or a stiffened joint narrows the space where the nerve exits the spine. This is the most common source of arm and hand symptoms.
The shoulder and upper chest, where the nerve bundle threads between muscle and bone on its way down the arm, often after months of desk posture or repeated overhead loading in sport or work.
The elbow and wrist, where the nerve gets compressed further down the line. Numbness that wakes you at night with your hand asleep often lives here.
And below the waist: leg and foot symptoms are the sciatica pattern, covered on its own page.
How I find it
Neurological testing tells me which nerve is involved. Movement and orthopedic testing tell me where along the path it is being compressed, neck, shoulder, elbow, or wrist. Hands-on assessment tells me what is doing the compressing. Put those three answers together and the treatment plan writes itself.
First visits run about an hour, and if what you have is not a pinched nerve at all, a shoulder problem masquerading as one is common, you will know that too. The rotator cuff page covers that lookalike.
How I treat a pinched nerve
Specific adjustments restore movement where joints have locked down and narrowed the space the nerve travels through. Targeted soft tissue work releases the muscles doing the compressing.
Then the part specific to nerves: mobilization work that restores the nerve's ability to glide. Irritated nerves get sticky in their sheath and stop sliding the way they should, which is why the symptoms linger after the original pressure eases. The right nerve glide movements, done gently and in the right direction, fix that. The wrong ones, done aggressively, are how people set themselves back.
Then rebuilding the posture and strength that keep the space open, so the relief lasts past the parking lot.
The first visit is mostly examination, because guessing at nerves is how people get worse.
When to get it looked at urgently
- Weakness that is getting worse, especially a hand that is dropping things.
- Numbness that is spreading rather than staying in one path.
- Symptoms in both arms or both hands at once.
- Symptoms that started with significant trauma or a car accident that has not been medically evaluated.
Ready to find out what is sitting on that nerve?
Take the pressure off, then keep it off. That is the whole job, and it starts with a real examination.
Common Questions
How long does a pinched nerve take to heal?
Recent ones often settle in a few weeks with the right care. Ones that have been going for months usually have compensation patterns built around them and take longer. I will give you a realistic timeline at the first visit rather than a package.
Can a pinched nerve heal on its own?
Sometimes, yes, especially a recent one where you have been able to stop doing whatever triggered it. The ones that do not resolve on their own usually have something structural holding the compression in place, and that is where care makes the difference.
Should I stretch it?
Gently, and not into the symptoms. Aggressive stretching of an irritated nerve is the most common way people set themselves back. There are specific nerve glide movements that do help, and I will show you the right ones for your case.
Is the numbness dangerous?
Numbness alone usually is not, but numbness with weakness that is getting worse needs to be evaluated promptly. If your symptoms are progressing rather than holding steady, do not wait.
Is this covered by insurance?
Pure Health & Wellness is in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Aetna PPO, PHCS PPOs, and United Healthcare PPO. In your insurance directory the practice may be listed as Hunter Family Chiropractic, PC. Same practice, same doctor, same address. Call (630) 435-0100 and I will confirm coverage for your specific plan.
Do I need a referral?
No. You can book a first visit directly. If you already have imaging or records, send them ahead or bring them with you. Helpful, but not required.