Radiculopathy

Nerve damage or pressure from the structures in your spine can cause radiculopathy – pain and other unpleasant sensations. If you're experiencing symptoms of radiculopathy, the skilled team at Austin Sports Medicine, serving the community in and around Central and South Austin, as well as Bee Cave, Cedar Park, and Pflugerville, Texas, can help. The practice provides a range of cutting-edge treatments. Get prompt relief for radiculopathy by calling the office nearest you or booking an appointment online today.

What is radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy is a term for nerve damage or compression in your spine that causes pain and other unpleasant symptoms. It can affect any part of your spine, but is most common in the neck (cervical radiculopathy) and lower back (lumbar radiculopathy).

In addition to pain, you might have numbness, tingling, "pins-and-needles" sensations, and weakness. If you have cervical radiculopathy, these symptoms can affect your neck, arms, and hands. If you have lumbar radiculopathy, you may feel the effects in your buttocks, hips, and legs.

Radiculopathy can sometimes cause mysterious symptoms in other parts of your body that you probably wouldn't realize were due to a spinal problem. Examples of these symptoms include:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping
• Sinus infections
• Digestive upsets

One of the more common forms of radiculopathy is sciatica (lumbar radiculopathy).

What causes radiculopathy?

Spinal stenosis (narrowing of your spinal canal) or anything that alters the alignment of your spinal column can put pressure on the nerves and lead to radiculopathy. Some of the more common causes include:

• Herniated discs
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spinal fractures
• Spinal osteoarthritis
• Bone spurs

These problems may result from aging and overuse, trauma, obesity, or events like pregnancy and childbirth.

How is radiculopathy treated?

The Austin Sports Medicine team typically begins radiculopathy treatment using conservative approaches. Anti-inflammatory medications, activity modification, and physical therapy at their on-site facility can effectively reduce inflammation and relieve nerve pressure.

If these methods aren't working, there are several minimally invasive options available:

Injections

One treatment is epidural or facet joint injections containing a steroid medication and a local anesthetic. These medications provide a short-term break from your back or neck pain as well as a longer-term reduction in inflammation. Nerve blocks are injections that contain just the anesthetic and are useful in diagnosis as well as being a potential treatment.

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation uses heat delivered via a needle into your spinal nerves. The heat destroys the nerves to stop them from relaying pain messages to your brain. The nerves do eventually grow back, but ablation offers many months of pain relief.

Spinal cord stimulation

A spinal cord stimulator is an implantable unit that sends electrical impulses to the target nerves. These impulses interfere with the pain messages going to your brain.

Would I need surgery for radiculopathy?

If your radiculopathy is due to a disc problem that isn't treatable using less invasive means, surgery could be your best option.

The Austin Sports Medicine team performs a range of surgeries to address serious herniated discs, including microdiscectomy, discectomy and fusion, and artificial disc replacement.

For the most effective resolution of painful radiculopathy, call Austin Sports Medicine or book an appointment online today.