Nerve pain, numbness and tingling
When it is a nerve, the pain rarely stays where it started.
Burning, tingling, numbness and shooting pain travel — down a leg, into the feet, along an arm. Some of it starts in the spine and some of it does not, and those are treated very differently. The examination is what tells them apart.
Sciatica and neuropathy are not the same thing
Sciatica is a nerve being compressed, usually low in the back. Neuropathy is nerve damage, and it has causes chiropractic does not treat. Which one you have changes everything that follows.
Numb is not the same as harmless
Loss of feeling in the hands or feet is worth having looked at properly, even when it does not hurt. Numbness is information.
If it is not coming from the spine, you will hear that
Diabetes, thyroid problems and some medications cause neuropathy too. If the examination points that way, you get told plainly.
What people describe
Nerves complain a long way from the problem.
A nerve leaves the spine and can be felt along its whole length, so pressure at the root shows up somewhere else entirely. That is why a disc low in the back is felt behind the knee, and why rubbing the calf never fixes it.
- Sharp or shooting pain down the back of the leg
- Numbness or soreness in the legs, feet or hands
- Burning or prickling — pins and needles that come and go
- Shooting hip or thigh pain
- Weakness — a foot that catches on a step, a grip that gives out
- Symptoms that are worse at night, or that wake you up
Nerve symptoms are worth taking seriously and worth not panicking about. An examination is how you find out which.
How we work
Work out which nerve, and where.
Dr. Morgan’s standard is plain: we only accept patients for care when we believe we have found the underlying cause, and we only continue care when we are helping.
01
We map where the symptoms actually are
Which toes, which fingers, one side or both, constant or intermittent. The pattern narrows down where the nerve is being affected before anything else happens.
02
Then we examine and image
Reflexes, muscle strength, sensation testing and range of motion, with digital x-rays on site where they are warranted.
03
You get told what we found
Including if the cause looks like it sits outside the spine. A nerve problem coming from diabetes is a different conversation, and you should know that before care begins.
04
Care starts, and gets reviewed
Adjustment to take pressure off the nerve, with cold laser or rehab work where it helps. Nerve symptoms often change before they resolve, so we track them.
Your first visit
Bring what you have.
- Insurance card and driver’s license
- A list of the medications you take
- Previous medical records
- Previous x-rays, MRI or CT scans
If your symptoms are in the hands or feet
These help us most.
- Any nerve conduction study or EMG results
- A diabetes, thyroid or autoimmune diagnosis, if you have one
- Medications you take — some cause nerve symptoms
- Roughly when it started, and where it started first
- Whether it is one side or both
If you have been told your tests are normal and you still have symptoms, bring that too. It is useful information, not a dead end.
Patient stories
What changed for them.
“Before I started my treatments with Dr. Morgan I had a hard time standing up properly due to muscle cramps as well as a stiff and sore neck. After several treatments with Dr. Morgan, I can walk longer distances without pain and I no longer have neck pain or cramps in my back.”
J. R. Shirley
Muscle cramps and neck pain
“Before coming in for treatment, I could not sit, walk or sleep. Now I feel young again. I’m more relaxed when I sleep and walk. I can ride in the car with more distance without hurting. This is the first and only place I will come from now on.”
J.J.
Back pain and mobility
Tell us where the numbness is.
Call and describe what you are feeling and where. We will get you in, take a proper look, and tell you plainly what we find.