In short, yes!

What is the definition of a pinched nerve?

Basically, the laymans term explanation of it is: 2 muscles get naffed off, get more tense and tight than usual, and make a jam sandwich out of the nerve.

It feels awful, like a lightning bolt going through your limb or wherever it is, and it can make a person feel really nauseous. My own personal experience that comes to mind is one time I had a pinched nerve in my neck and shoulder as the discomfort was coming down my arm to my middle finger (median nerve) and it just made me want to jump up and down and shake my arm till the feeling went away. Jumping up and down didn’t help, but a really effective massage DID.

I booked in with my colleague Trevor Chisman who, quite frankly, is a nerve geek. I’m more into the muscles of the head and neck and that is where I have put my extra study into, where as Trevor with nerve pain is just a master.

I gave Trevor as much information as I could about how long I had symptoms, can I remember if anything set it off, and what it feels like when it did kick off, and then basically he got to work. He pinpointed a problem in a very specific area of my neck where the nerves come out of the spinal column, and it immediately felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Getting out of pain should not, in my opinion be a traumatic experience, it should feel precise, and effective without beating the client up.

Last week I had a client come in with sciatic type discomfort. The reason I am not writing ‘my client had sciatica’ is because, as a massage therapist, it’s not in my remit to diagnose!

The most important thing about treating any kind of nerve discomfort is listening to the client, what makes it feel worse, what makes it feel bette, how long have you been feeling this way.

My roll as a massage therapist is to then try to smooth out whatever is causing that sensation, and almost tease the muscles apart gently by applying appropriate pressure. It really is quite an intuitive process and enormously satisfying when you find the trouble maker.

So there we have it, it’s a resounding yes, that soft tissue work and massage therapy can have a positive effect on nerve pain and a pinched nerve

Book here if you are suffering from a pinched nerve, and let’s get you back to optimum wellness.