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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThe most frequently recommended treatment for pinched nerve is rest for the affected area. Your doctor will ask you to stop any activities that cause or aggravate the compression.
Depending on the location of the pinched nerve, you may need a splint or brace to immobilize the area. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, your doctor may recommend wearing a splint at night as well as during the day because wrists flex and extend frequently during sleep.
Physical therapy
A physical therapist can teach you exercises that strengthen and stretch the muscles in the affected area in order to relieve pressure on the nerve. He or she may also recommend modifications to activities that aggravate the nerve.
Medications
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) and naproxen (Aleve, others) can help relieve pain and alleviate inflammation around the nerve. Your doctor may recommend a prescription-strength NSAID if your pain is severe.
Corticosteroid injections into the affected area can help minimize pain and inflammation.
Surgery
If the pinched nerve doesn't improve after several weeks to a few months with conservative treatments, surgery to take pressure off the nerve may be necessary. The type of surgery varies depending on the location of the pinched nerve. Surgery may entail removing bone spurs or a part of a herniated disk in the spine, for example, or severing the carpal ligament to allow more room for the nerve to pass through the wrist.
- NINDS pinched nerve information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pinchednerve/pinchednerve.htm. Oct. 21, 2008.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/carpal_tunnel/detail_carpal_tunnel.htm. Nov. 6, 2008.
- Tsai P, et al. Median and radial nerve compression about the elbow. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 2008;90:420.
- Spinner RJ. Outcomes for peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes. Clinical Neurosurgery. 2006;53:285.
- Swanson JW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 11, 2008.
