An experience with nerve compression

It's been a while since I've been on about my sister's health condition.

It happens that I got a few things wrong with the actual diagnosis of her condition. I have been extracting information from her without actually sitting down with the physician to understand the whole thing. I depended on my own residual knowledge to arrive at conclusions.

The last test she did was an MRI scan. Even though the conclusion was that she will be having surgery. I still did not understand the full extent of her condition. I've been too busy running around for money.

I requested the MRI scan result and sent it to a friend of mine who happens to be a medical doctor. It was he that told me the actual condition my sister is in. She's suffering from nerve compression. As a scientist, I set out to investigate the condition and decided to make an informed article on my blog to correct some of the misinformation in my previous publication.

A bit about nerves

The human body contains over 7 trillion nerves each serving important functions by forming a part of the body's nervous system. The nerves in the human body can be comparable to the wiring of a big house. Each wire serves the important function of carrying electric current from one place to another in the wiring system. A fault in one can bring about a major problem for the entire wiring system.

Except that instead of carrying electric currents like wire, the nerves in the human body carry electric signals from one part of the body to another. They form a link between the brain, the spinal cord, and the rest of the body.

There are two types of nerves in the human body:

• Sensory nerves
• Motor nerves

The former help with the conduction of signals from the body to the brain. In essence, they put 'sense' in the sense organs. No human can feel, see, smell, or taste without the sensory nerves. The latter helps the conduction of signals to the muscles or glands to effect movements in the body.

Thus, without properly functioning nerves, there can never be properly functioning humans.

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Nerve compression

When one of the wires in an electrical system is compressed, it creates problems for the wire, and the functions of such a wire may be severely impacted. The same thing is applicable to nerves in the body.

Nerve compression is a phenomenon that has to do with the excessive pressure being put on nerves, usually by the surrounding tissues which could be bones, cartilages, muscles, or even tendons.

Nerve compression can occur in different parts of the body including:

• Wrists
• Elbows
• Shoulders
• Back of legs

The nerve compression that my sister is suffering from is the one that affects the back of the leg. It is otherwise known as Sciatic Compression because it involves the sciatic nerve that runs between the lower back to the knee.

According to my investigation, this condition is caused by a problem with one of the herniated discs in the lower back. The herniated discs are located in between the vertebral bones to serve a cushion purpose.

If too much pressure is exerted on the vertebral bones, it may cause one or more of the discs to bulge. The bulging, in my sister's case, is what is compressing the sciatic nerve and causing her all sorts of discomforts, including chronic pain.

Causes and Risk factors

My sister has been working as a hairdresser before being grounded by the nerve compression issue. As I pointed out in my earlier post, the work requires standing or sitting for a long time in order to attend to customers. According to the doctors, this has caused a lot of wear and tear to her spinal bones and the consequence is a bone spur that is putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Apart from stress from repetitive work, some other risk factors and causes of nerve compression according to my investigation include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Tumor or cystic growth around nerves
• Injuries
• Narrowing of the space inside the spinal canal, otherwise known as spinal stenosis (for sciatic compression)
• Pregnancy
• Age
• Sedentary lifestyle

Way forward

The pressure on the affected nerve just has to be removed as soon as possible. If this is not done, permanent damage may be done to the nerve.

Some of the recommended treatments for nerve compression include:

• Rest or a change to lifestyle to remove pressure from the nerve.
• Exercise and physical therapy.
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
• Surgery as a last option.

In my sister's case, the last option is what is recommended. The lower spine surgery will cost us about $4,000 and we are currently all over the place for the fund.

For anyone willing to assist, I will make a post with all the details in the coming days.

Thank you all for the audience.