Peripheral Nerve Entrapment

There are many areas in the body where nerves have to pass through or in between adjacent structures. Since muscles are always expanding and contracting to allow movement, the nerves utilize slippery sheaths to  guide them though these muscles.  When damage occurs to these nerves  and protective sheaths, scar tissue  is laid down to repair the damage  causing the muscles to adhere to the nerve like an area of glue.  This  area of  glue is called an adhesion and often causes numbness, tingling, pain and weakness.  This type of restriction can impact the function of many parts of the body, from the muscles that move you, to how your organs and tissues function.   

An  area of adhesion and nerve entrapment is often exacerbated by certain movements and repetitive motions.  Repetitive motion of soft-tissues  or  chronic contraction of a damaged muscle can lead to a worsening of  an injury, thus forming more  adhesion (scar tissue).  Repetitive motion injuries and cumulative  trauma  disorders could develop over moths, years or, even, decades before the  first symptom is ever experienced! As the  condition progresses, the  adhesion or “area of glue” between soft  tissues can grow in spaces  between the tissues forcing them to become “stuck” to one another. When  this happens near or  around nerves, it can cause a peripheral  entrapment and pinch the nerve  between or around the soft tissues.   

The good news is that with proper diagnosis and treatment from an expert muscular adhesion and soft tissue injuries are reversible.   

Adhesion can not be broken down by foam rolling or massage. There are two main methods of achieving this goal: 

1.     Manually - where we use our hands using a manual therapy (myofascial release) technique.

2.     Instruments - where we use an instrument to assistant the manual therapy (myofascial release) technique.

The key to breaking down adhesion in a muscle is finding it. This may seem very obvious but adhesion is very common and finding the relevant adhesion takes years of training. Once the proper diagnosis is made,  treatment can begin.  The manual therapy techniques we use in our office take advantage of the different attachment points of muscles to achieve maximum tension on the adhesion. These techniques are non-invasive and done exclusively through a skilled  doctor’s hands.   Once the adhesion is broken down over a series of  visits, the muscles can function normally again.  They can lengthen and  contract with the appropriate force to allow for normal  joint motion  resulting in less pain for you. 

If you have pain or stiffness, get the proper diagnosis first by calling our office for a consultation at 616-956-1112 or request an appointment by pressing here