What are the symptoms of a pinched nerve

What are the symptoms of a pinched nerve?

The symptoms of a pinched nerve depend on what nerve is affected. Each nerve is responsible for sending information to or from specific parts of the body.

The most common symptoms of a pinched nerve are:

• pain,
  
  
• numbness,
  
  
• tingling (pins and needles), or
  
  
• weakness of the muscles along the path of the nerve.

A pinched nerve sensation may feel like, for example, the sensation when a part of your body has "fallen asleep." A pinched nerve can cause symptoms at the site of damage, or any location further down the path from the affected nerve.

• A pinched nerve in the neck can cause neck pain or stiffness, along with symptoms down the arm.
  
  
• A pinched nerve in the lower back causes back pain and stiffness with symptoms down the leg. A doctor can often identify which nerve is pinched in the neck or lower back based on what portion of the patient's arm or leg is affected.
  
  
• A pinched nerve in the wrist from carpal tunnel syndrome typically affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers. It can also cause a weakness in the patient's grip strength, and atrophy of the muscle of the palm near the thumb. A pinched nerve in the elbow from cubital tunnel syndrome affects the forearm, the ring (fourth finger), and the small fingers of the hand.

          If the patient develops additional weakness in the muscles, or if the particular nerves being pinched cause      loss of control of the bowel or bladder (cauda equina syndrome). These are signs of more severe nerve damage.