Radiculopathy (pinched spinal nerve)

Radiculopathy refers to dysfunction or irritation of a nerve root, usually due to compression as the nerve emerges from the spine. If the nerve is in the lumbar spine, radiculopathy is sometimes referred to as sciatica. Symptoms may include pain, weakness, sensory loss (numbness), and paresthesias (tingling). These symptoms can occur at any level of the spine and on either side of the body, depending on which nerve root is affected. The territory in the body supplied by each nerve root is similar but varies slightly from person to person; below is a diagram showing approximate nerve root distributions (source: American Spinal Cord Injury Association).

The cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) nerve roots are most susceptible to radiculopathy. These conditions are described below.

If you live near Denver and have radiculopathy, please consider meeting me in consultation to learn about treatment options.