Pinched Nerve Treatment in Fargo, ND

Pinched Nerve Treatment Near You in Fargo, ND

The word people usually use to describe a pinched nerve is an “electric sensation.” Pain that shoots down the arm or leg. Fingers that go numb overnight. A foot that feels like it’s asleep and won’t wake up. A grip that’s suddenly unreliable, dropping things you’ve held a thousand times.

Nerve symptoms feel different from muscle pain because they are different. Muscles ache. Nerves burn, buzz, shoot, and go numb. And unlike a strained muscle, an irritated nerve doesn’t reliably resolve with rest. Rest doesn’t change the thing that’s compressing it.

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What a Pinched Nerve Actually Is

Nerves exit your spinal cord through openings between the vertebrae called intervertebral foramina, then travel out to your arms, legs, and organs. A “Pinched nerve” describes compression or chemical irritation anywhere along that path which is most commonly right at the exit point.

What narrows the space:

• Disc bulge or herniation – displaced material occupying the exit space. See disc injury
• Loss of disc height – as a disc dehydrates and flattens, the opening it helps create shrinks
• Bone spurs – degenerative bone growth encroaching on the opening. See arthritis.
• Loss of spinal curve – a flattened or reversed curve changes the geometry of every exit space in that region
• Joint restriction and inflammation – swelling in a space is enough
• Peripheral entrapment – the nerve can also be compressed further downstream, at the wrist, elbow, or through the piriformis

The fourth one deserves emphasis, because it’s the one almost nobody checks.

Symptoms of Nerve Compression

• Sharp, shooting, or burning pain that travels along a defined path
• Numbness or reduced sensation in a specific area
• Tingling, pins and needles, or a buzzing feeling
• Muscle weakness in a particular movement
• Symptoms worse at night or first thing in the morning
• Pain that changes with certain neck or back positions
• Muscle wasting in longstanding cases

Get evaluated urgently if you have progressive weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness into the saddle region

Why Your Spinal Curve Determines How Much Room Your Nerves Have

Here’s the mechanical reality that shapes our entire approach.

The size of the opening of a nerve travels through isn’t fixed, it changes with spinal position. When your cervical spine holds its normal lordotic curve, the foramina are at their optimal dimension. When the curve flattens or reverses, the geometry changes and now those openings narrow. The same applies in the lumbar spine.

This means two people with identical disc findings on MRI can have completely different symptoms, because one of them has enough room and one doesn’t.

It also means there’s a lever most treatment approaches never pull. Medication reduces inflammation around the nerve. Injections do the same, more aggressively. Neither creates more space. Restoring the curve does.

How We Treat Pinched Nerves At Peak Spine + Wellness

Locating The Compression Precisely

Every nerve root supplies a predictable territory of skin, a predictable set of muscles, and a predictable reflex. By testing sensation, strength, and reflexes systematically, we can identify which level is involved. Nerve tension tests reproduce and localize symptoms. We also screen for the peripheral entrapment, because treating the neck won’t help a nerve compressed at the wrist.

Imaging That Shows Us The Space

Digital X-rays show disc height, degenerative narrowing, alignment, and the shape of your curves in exact measurements. This is what tells us whether your foramina are compressed by structure rather than only by soft tissue swelling. If your presentation calls for MRI, we’ll refer.

Opening The Space and Keeping It Open

Adjustments restore motion to restricted segments and reduce local inflammation and joint irritation.

Spinal decompression applies controlled distraction to increase the space at the involved level directly – particularly valuable when a disc is the source.

[Spinal remodeling traction] is the structural piece. Working the curve back toward normal changes foraminal dimension throughout the region, and it’s what makes the improvement durable rather than temporary.

Therapeutic exercise and nerve glide work restore mobility to the nerve itself and build the stability that keeps the space open when you’re back to normal activity.

How long does a pinched nerve take to heal?

Mild cases from inflammation or joint restriction often improve within a few weeks. Cases involving disc material, degenerative narrowing, or significant curve loss take longer, because the structural cause takes longer to change. Nerves that have been compressed for a long time also recover more slowly.

Can a chiropractor fix a pinched nerve?

Chiropractic care addresses the mechanical causes of nerve compression, which is what most pinched nerves are. The specific approach depends on what’s compressing the nerve and where, which is why the exam and imaging come first. Some cases need co-management or surgical referral, and we’ll tell you if yours is one.

Will it go away on its own?

Sometimes, if it’s driven by transient inflammation. But if the cause is structural or there is a narrowed disc space, bone spur, or lost curve, it doesn’t resolve on its own. Nothing has changed the anatomy. Recurring episodes are usually a sign of an unaddressed structural cause.

Should I be worried about the numbness?

Numbness means the nerve is compressed enough to affect its function, so it’s worth taking seriously and getting evaluated. Progressive numbness or weakness needs prompt evaluation. Long-standing compression can eventually cause changes that don’t fully reverse, which is the strongest argument for addressing it sooner.

Is it safe to be adjusted with a pinched nerve?

With proper diagnosis, generally yes. The technique is selected based on your findings. Some presentations respond best to decompression or traction rather than manual adjusting. The examination determines the approach, not the other way around.

Stop Guessing About Your Symptoms

Call (701) 532-0823 or schedule online.

References – Moustafa IM, Diab AA, Harrison DE. The efficacy of cervical lordosis rehabilitation for nerve root function and pain in cervical spondylotic radiculopathy: a randomized trial with 2-year follow-up. J clin Med. 2022;11(19):5768. Moustafa IM, Diab AA, Taha S, Harrison DE. Addition of a sagittal cervical posture corrective orthotic device to a multimodal rehabilitation program improves short- and long-term outcomes in patients with discogenic cervical radiculopathy. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016. Oakley PA, Ehsani NN, Moustafa IM, Harrison DE. Restoring lumbar lordosis: a systematic review of controlled trials. J Phys Ther Sci. 2020;32(9):601-610.