How do You Treat a Pinched Nerve?

1Recognize the symptoms of a pinched nerve: numbness, sharp pain, muscle weakness and muscle spasms or tingling. 2Expedite the healing process by allowing the strained nerve plenty of time to rest. Repeated use of the muscle could cause additional damage and strain, while relief of pain and inflammation will help healing begin.

3Keep the rest of your body active via aerobic exercise like walking or swimming. You can rest the pinched nerve while keeping your blood pumping. In fact, good blood and oxygen circulation and toned muscles can actually help heal the pinched nerve.

Inactivity, on the other hand, can lead to loss of muscle strength and decreases in the body's basic senses. 4Apply the hot-then-cold method for relaxing and soothing the muscles. Start with some form of heat applied to the pinched nerve to help the muscle relax: a hot water bottle, hot shower spray directed at the pinched nerve or a soak in the bathtub or hot tub.

Follow the heat with an ice pack for about 20 minutes. Then repeat every two hours or so. The ice increases blood flow to the deeper structures of the nerves and muscles to help reduce the swelling.

5Make an appointment for a hot oil massage. Ask the massage therapist to spend additional time and effort on the pinched nerve area of your body to help it relax. Even gentle massage with warm oil will help, but if the nerve isn't relaxing, talk to the therapist about additional pressure to the nerves surrounding the pinched area.

However, massaging all areas of the body will help you with overall relaxation, which will help reduce stress from the pinched nerve. 6Increase calcium intake either through food or medication supplements, as calcium will help prevent and cure calcium deficiencies as well as pinched nerves that result from a lack of calcium in the body. 7Watch your intake of acidic foods if you are prone to suffer from pinched nerves.

Food and beverages with a high acidic content can contribute to the pain. Foods such as cucumber, apples, watermelon, papaya and bananas will help eliminate acidity in the body, especially when eaten 2 to 3 hours prior to sleep, as will eating breakfast every day. 8Consume potassium-rich foods to help alleviate pinched nerves often caused by a lack of potassium.

Add to your diet such foods as apricots, bananas, avocados, melon, figs and dates. Nuts, such as roasted peanuts and almonds, and beverages, including skim milk and orange juice, help increase potassium absorption. 9Consider surgery to repair the pinched nerve only as a last resort.

Surgical intervention can help you resume normal activity, but it can only take care of about 10 percent of the problem; you'll still need to do the remaining work to rebuild your strength and keep your body moving.