Experiencing Radiating Pain? Why You Should See a Chiropractor

If you’re feeling pain, there’s a good chance your body is trying to tell you something. It could be anything from a recent injury to simply overdoing it in the yard or at work. When you feel pain running up and down an area of the body beyond the area that is actually hurt, it’s referred to as “radiating pain.” 

For many people, the pain will start to get better after a day or two, especially if you ice and rest it. But if it’s not healing on its own, chiropractic care may be the answer you’re looking for. Keep reading to find out more about radiating pain and how chiropractic care can help. 

Why Does Pain Radiate?

The nerves that are around the area that’s actually injured may be irritated. Because these nerves communicate pain to the rest of the nervous system, you can feel pain in other areas of the body beyond the main point of injury. It might come and go, and it might feel like the pain is “shooting” in one direction or a few. 

Radiating pain can happen in many parts of the body. You often hear about it related to sciatic nerve pain. The pain “shoots” down the leg but the pain is not the area of the body that’s actually injured.

What Causes Radiating Pain?

Radiating pain can happen for a number of different reasons. You may have experienced an obvious injury, such as being in a car accident or taking a fall, or you may have just overused muscle overtime, and now you’re experiencing discomfort. Sciatica is nerve pain that runs from the back down your legs. If this nerve is compressed, you’ll feel pain in areas other than your back. 

This can be caused by:

• Herniated or bulging disc that puts pressure on the nerves in the spine, especially the sciatic nerve 
• A pinched nerve in the back, neck, arm, wrist or elbow
• Arthritis of the spine that causes the spinal canal to compress against the nerves. 
• Cysts on a joint
• An overstretched nerve

Is Radiating Pain Serious?

Every situation is different, but if you are experiencing radiating pain, it could be a sign of a more serious problem. Regardless, you’ll want to get it figured out since it’s likely causing you discomfort and getting in the way of your daily life. Radiating pain can be caused by a number of different issues, depending on where in the body it is being felt. 

How to Manage Radiating Pain

Traditional pain management approaches include taking medications or sometimes shots to help relieve pain. Or, in some cases, surgery might be suggested. Pain medications are usually only masking the pain, sometimes called a “band-aid solution.” Surgery is invasive and has risks associated with it. 

Using chiropractic care can often help relieve the radiating pain at its source. Depending on the cause of the pain the chiropractor may have several different treatment options available. 

How to Know When It’s Time to See a Chiropractor

If you’re feeling pain that is getting in the way of your daily life and it's not getting better on its own after a few days, you’ll likely benefit from a visit to the chiropractor. Your chiropractor will start by examining you and asking questions to help determine what is causing the pain. If you had a recent injury or you know why you’re hurting, be sure to share that information.,

They’ll then move forward with personalized treatment to help resolve the issue at hand. 

Although spinal manipulation is a common method of chiropractic treatment, it’s not always needed to solve the specific problem. Other treatment methods can include: 

• Cold laser therapy - brings blood to the affected area to help it heal faster 
• Knee traction - if the pain is in the knee area, relieving pressure can help relieve pain. 
• Spinal decompression - to take the pressure off of discs that may be compressed or bulging outward and pushing on the sciatic nerve
• Electrical muscle stimulation - is used to help muscles relax and can cause radiating pain to stop once the muscles are no longer pinching the nerve. 

Chiropractic Care for Radiating Pain in The Woodlands, Texas

Chiropractors specialize in treating conditions that arise from the nervous system and radiating pain that is related to the nerves so a visit to the chiropractor is a smart move when you’re experiencing radiating pain. Pain is your body speaking to you to tell you that something is wrong. You don’t have to waste time waiting around for your issues to resolve on their own. 

The chiropractors at Village Chiropractic are skilled in treating conditions that cause radiating pain. Our experts will evaluate your condition and come up with a personalized approach to help you get a handle on your discomfort so that you can get back to living a pain-free life. Schedule your visit today.