What Is Cervical Radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy refers to a spinal nerve that’s been pinched or impinged. There are three kinds of radiculopathy:

1. Cervical radiculopathy
2. Thoracic radiculopathy
3. Lumbar radiculopathy

The only difference between them is the area of the spine where the affected nerve is: your neck, mid-back or lower back. Your cervical spine — the top of your spine that extends above your shoulders — is the most flexible part of your whole spine. It allows you to turn your head side to side, up and down and any combination in between.

The cervical spine is the least protected part of your spine. This part of your spine also supports your head, which weighs as much as a small bowling ball, about 11 pounds on average. Damage to any nerve root around the spine in your neck leads to a painful condition known as cervical radiculopathy or a pinched nerve.

What Is a Nerve Root?

A nerve root is a nerve that leaves your spinal column to go to the other parts of your body. In fact, eight pairs of nerve roots exit the cervical spinal cord through tiny openings between adjacent vertebrae. These cervical nerve roots enable you to control and feel your:

• Shoulders
• Arms
• Hands
• Fingers

When a nerve root becomes inflamed or damaged for any reason, you feel pain, numbness, noticeable weakness or poor reflexes. A pinched nerve not only causes pain in your neck, but you may also feel it in your extremities too — wherever that nerve leads to.

Visit the spinal specialist at NU-Spine, The Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Institute spine and pain center, in Edison, New Jersey for a definitive diagnosis. The highly experienced team under a leading spine neurosurgeon Dr. Branko Skovrlj uses the modern facility to diagnose and treat all kinds of spinal problems, from simple back pain to spondylosis.

Am I Suffering from Cervical Radiculopathy?

Symptoms of cervical radiculopathy mostly affect just one side of the body. These signs include:

• A pins-and-needles tingling
• Numbness or weakness in the body areas served by affected nerve roots
• Pain in your neck, shoulder or arm
• Headaches that you feel just above the back of your neck
• Muscle weakness

You may be more at risk for this cervical spinal condition if you’re older than 60, smoke cigarettes, have diabetes or do repetitive strenuous activities with your neck or head. At NU-Spine’s state-of-the-art treatment facility, your spinal specialist completes comprehensive diagnostic tests to identify the root cause of your neck pain. Then you’re treated for the underlying spine problem for long-lasting results.

The first step in your journey toward a pain-free life is through NU-Spine in Edison, NJ. Contact the practice today to schedule your appointment. Tel.: (732) 640-8203

Read more: https://www.nu-spine.com/neck-cervical/cervical-radiculopathy-treatment/

NU-Spine: The Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Institute

8 Brick Plaza,

Brick, NJ 08723

(732) 640-8203

Nearby Locations:

Arrowhead Village | Leisure Village | Leisure Village East | West Osbornsville | Adamston

08724 | 08701 | 08723

Web Address: https://www.nu-spine.com