Spinal Radiculopathy

The pain and tingling of spinal radiculopathy often extend beyond the neck or lower back, radiating through the nerve to cause symptoms in the shoulders, arms, and legs. When you need relief from the pain, Amanda Carpenter, MD, and Duncan Carpenter, MD, at North Jersey Neurosurgical Associates provide expert care. Call the Ridgewood, New Jersey, office today or connect online to request an appointment.

What is spinal radiculopathy?

Spinal radiculopathy refers to a pinched (compressed) nerve root. Nerve roots are bundles of nerves outside the spinal cord and between each vertebra.  

As nerves leave your spine, they go through nerve roots before branching out to reach different body areas. The nerves returning to your spine with sensory information from the body also cluster into a nerve root before entering the spinal cord and carrying messages to your brain.

What does it feel like to have radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy can affect the neck (cervical spine), midback (thoracic spine), and lower back (lumbar spine). However, thoracic radiculopathy is rare.

Symptoms include:

• Pain in the spine near the pinched nerve
• Tingling and numbness in the spine
• Pain, tingling, weakness, and numbness radiating beyond the spine

Damaged nerves can transmit symptoms along the entire nerve. As a result, you may experience pain, tingling, muscle weakness, or numbness in your: 

• Shoulder and arm (cervical radiculopathy)
• Chest (thoracic radiculopathy)
• Buttocks and leg (lumbar radiculopathy)

Nerve pain that begins in your lower back and shoots down one leg is called sciatica.

What causes spinal radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy may occur after a traumatic accident, like a fall or motor vehicle accident. However, degenerative spinal conditions that develop with aging are the most common causes.

Degenerative causes include:

• Herniated disc
• Spinal stenosis
• Bone spurs (caused by spinal arthritis)
• Spondylolisthesis (a vertebra slips out of position)

Though uncommon, a spinal tumor may also pinch the nerve roots.

How is spinal radiculopathy treated?

North Jersey Neurosurgical Associates completes a physical and neurological exam, and then may order X-rays, a CT scan, or MRI to view the spine and diagnose the underlying problem.

Then, your North Jersey Neurosurgical Associates provider recommends personalized treatment based on the cause of your pinched nerve root and the severity of your symptoms.

They begin your care with conservative therapies like physical therapy, medications, and spinal injections. If conservative care doesn’t improve your pain, your provider may recommend spine surgery to repair the underlying problem.

There are several minimally invasive spine surgery procedures for treating radiculopathy. A few examples include:

• Microdiscectomy (to treat a herniated disc)
• Discectomy and fusion (removing a damaged disc and fusing the two vertebrae)
• Laminectomy (to relieve pressure on the nerve root)
• Foraminotomy (another procedure to relieve pressure)

North Jersey Neurosurgical Associates offers expert care for spinal radiculopathy. Call the office today or book an appointment online.