{"id":6836,"date":"2026-08-13T23:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/?p=6836"},"modified":"2026-08-13T23:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:20:38","slug":"neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

In This Article<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What Is Neuropathic Pain?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Does Travelling Pain Mean a Pinched Nerve?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  4. How Is Nerve Involvement Assessed?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Does a Disc Herniation Mean You Need Surgery?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  6. What About Cortisone Injections?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Why Can Muscle or Joint Treatment Still Help Temporarily?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  8. When Does the Treatment Approach Need to Change?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  9. When Should You Seek Medical Attention?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  10. The Takeaway<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is the second article in my three-part series exploring nociceptive (musculoskeletal), neuropathic and neuroplastic pain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    In the first article, we looked at nociceptive pain arising from tissues such as muscles, fascia and joints. But what happens when the pain isn’t primarily coming from these tissues?<\/p>\n

    This is where neuropathic pain<\/strong> becomes important.<\/p>\n

    Understanding the difference matters because repeatedly treating muscles and joints when the nervous system itself is involved may provide little benefit\u2014or only temporary symptom relief\u2014keeping you on the “treatment merry-go-round.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The aim isn’t to diagnose yourself, but to help you recognise when your symptoms may warrant a different approach.<\/p>\n

    What Is Neuropathic Pain?<\/h2>\n

    Neuropathic pain is pain caused by a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system<\/strong>\u2014the nerves and pathways responsible for sensations such as touch, temperature and pain.<\/p>\n

    In neck and back pain, an important example is radicular pain<\/strong>, which can occur when a spinal nerve root becomes irritated or compressed.<\/p>\n

    This may occur with conditions such as:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Disc herniation<\/li>\n
    • Degenerative changes around the spine<\/li>\n
    • Narrowing around the nerve (foraminal stenosis)<\/li>\n
    • Less commonly, other conditions affecting nerves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In the neck, symptoms may travel into the shoulder, arm or hand<\/strong>. In the lower back, they may travel into the buttock, leg or foot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like?<\/h2>\n

      Neuropathic pain often has characteristics that differ from typical muscle or joint pain.<\/p>\n

      You may experience:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Burning or electric pain<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Sharp, shooting pain<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Pins and needles or tingling<\/li>\n
      • Numbness or altered sensation<\/li>\n
      • Unusual sensitivity of the skin<\/li>\n
      • Pain travelling into an arm or leg<\/li>\n
      • Sometimes weakness when motor nerve function is affected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        The further symptoms travel into an arm or leg\u2014particularly when accompanied by tingling, numbness or weakness<\/strong>\u2014the more important it becomes to assess possible nerve involvement.<\/p>\n

        Does Travelling Pain Mean a Pinched Nerve?<\/h2>\n

        Not necessarily.<\/p>\n

        Muscles, facet joints and other spinal structures can produce referred pain<\/strong>, where pain is experienced away from the structure producing it.<\/p>\n

        For example, neck structures can refer pain into the shoulder or shoulder blade, while lower-back structures can refer pain into the buttock or thigh.<\/p>\n

        This is different from radicular pain associated with a spinal nerve root.<\/p>\n

        Pain that travels does not automatically mean nerve pain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Neuropathic or radicular pain becomes more likely when travelling pain occurs alongside neurological symptoms such as pins and needles, numbness, altered sensation or weakness<\/strong>, particularly when the distribution is consistent with nerve involvement.<\/p>\n

        How Is Nerve Involvement Assessed?<\/h2>\n

        An MRI isn’t always the first or most important step.<\/p>\n

        A physical examination can provide valuable information by assessing:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Sensation<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • Muscle strength<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • Reflexes<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • Nerve sensitivity or provocation<\/li>\n
        • The distribution of your symptoms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          These findings are considered alongside your history and symptoms.<\/p>\n

          Imaging may then be appropriate when the findings suggest significant nerve involvement, symptoms aren’t improving as expected, or the result would change how the condition is managed.<\/p>\n

          Does a Disc Herniation Mean You Need Surgery?<\/h2>\n

          Not necessarily. The scan needs to be interpreted alongside your symptoms, neurological examination, and how you’re progressing clinically. In my experience, a lot of surgeons will wait and see how you progress, unless the pain is unbearable or worsening; then surgery may be recommended.<\/p>\n

          One of the most frightening things a patient can hear is that an MRI shows a disc bulge, protrusion, extrusion or sequestration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          But the appearance of a disc on an MRI doesn’t automatically determine how much pain you will experience\u2014or whether you’ll need surgery.<\/p>\n

          Many disc herniations improve with conservative management, and herniated disc material can sometimes shrink or be resorbed naturally by the body<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          Interestingly, larger extrusions and sequestrations can be more likely to regress spontaneously<\/strong> than contained protrusions.<\/p>\n

          This means:<\/p>\n

          A dramatic-looking MRI doesn’t automatically mean a poor prognosis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          What About Cortisone Injections?<\/h2>\n

          When nerve-root pain is associated with inflammation from a disc herniation, an epidural corticosteroid injection may sometimes be considered to help control symptoms while the condition settles naturally.<\/strong> For some people, it can provide enough pain relief to improve day-to-day function while giving the irritated nerve time to settle and the disc herniation an opportunity to naturally regress or be resorbed by the body<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          Why Can Muscle Treatment Still Help?<\/h2>\n

          Having neuropathic or radicular pain doesn’t mean muscles and joints can’t also become painful.<\/p>\n

          Someone with an irritated nerve root may develop muscular guarding, stiffness and secondary musculoskeletal pain<\/strong> around the neck or back.<\/p>\n

          Massage and mobilisation may therefore make you temporarily feel better by reducing these associated symptoms and altering pain sensitivity.<\/p>\n

          But feeling better after treatment doesn’t necessarily prove that a muscle or facet joint was the primary cause.<\/p>\n

          If the characteristic shooting, burning, tingling or neurological symptoms continue to return<\/strong>, the neurological component needs to be considered.<\/p>\n

          When Does the Treatment Approach Need to Change?<\/h2>\n

          If you’ve repeatedly received muscle or joint treatment but continue to experience:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Shooting or electric pain into an arm or leg<\/li>\n
          • Persistent pins and needles<\/li>\n
          • Numbness or altered sensation<\/li>\n
          • Progressive symptoms<\/li>\n
          • Weakness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            The underlying diagnosis and treatment approach may need to be reassessed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            Depending on the presentation, management may involve education, maintaining appropriate activity, exercise and rehabilitation, medication or medical assessment, and in selected cases injections or surgical consultation.<\/p>\n

            The appropriate approach depends on what is affecting the nerve and how severely neurological function is affected<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            When Should You Seek Medical Attention?<\/h2>\n

            Most episodes of radicular pain don’t require emergency treatment, but certain neurological symptoms require prompt assessment.<\/p>\n

            Seek medical attention if you develop new or progressive muscle weakness, significant worsening numbness, major changes in coordination or walking, or rapidly worsening neurological symptoms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            Certain combinations of lower-back pain with changes in bladder or bowel function or numbness around the saddle or genital region require urgent medical assessment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            The Takeaway<\/h2>\n

            Neuropathic pain is fundamentally different from ordinary muscle or joint pain.<\/p>\n

            If your symptoms include burning, shooting or electric pain, pins and needles, numbness, altered sensation or weakness<\/strong>, particularly when travelling into an arm or leg, nerve involvement should be considered.<\/p>\n

            Just as importantly:<\/p>\n

            Finding a disc problem on an MRI doesn’t automatically mean surgery, while temporary improvement following muscle or joint treatment doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is musculoskeletal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            If treatment repeatedly provides only short-term relief, the answer isn’t automatically more treatment<\/strong>. It may be time to reconsider what type of pain is actually being treated<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            In Part 3, we’ll look at neuroplastic pain<\/strong>\u2014where persistent pain can become increasingly influenced by changes in how the brain and nervous system process threat and pain, even when ongoing tissue injury doesn’t adequately explain the symptoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            In This Article What Is Neuropathic Pain? What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like? Does Travelling Pain Mean a Pinched Nerve? How Is Nerve Involvement Assessed? Does a Disc Herniation Mean…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNeuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain - Sydney Chiropractic & Massage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In This Article What Is Neuropathic Pain? What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like? Does Travelling Pain Mean a Pinched Nerve? How Is Nerve Involvement Assessed? Does a Disc Herniation Mean...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sydney Chiropractic & Massage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sydneychiroandmassage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T23:18:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T23:20:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM-1024x683.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kieran Finnegan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SydneyChiroprac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SydneyChiroprac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kieran Finnegan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain - Sydney Chiropractic & Massage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain","og_description":"In This Article What Is Neuropathic Pain? What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like? Does Travelling Pain Mean a Pinched Nerve? How Is Nerve Involvement Assessed? Does a Disc Herniation Mean...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/","og_site_name":"Sydney Chiropractic & Massage","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sydneychiroandmassage\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-13T23:18:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-13T23:20:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM-1024x683.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kieran Finnegan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SydneyChiroprac","twitter_site":"@SydneyChiroprac","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kieran Finnegan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/"},"author":{"name":"Kieran Finnegan","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cd3c44a170c4cc76c9e3b7059d920b2d"},"headline":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain","datePublished":"2026-08-13T23:18:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T23:20:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/"},"wordCount":1169,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/","name":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain - Sydney Chiropractic & Massage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM.png","datePublished":"2026-08-13T23:18:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T23:20:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-14-2026-09_15_02-AM.png","width":1536,"height":1024,"caption":"ChatGPT Image Aug 14 2026 09 15 02 AM"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/neuropthic-pain-nerve-pain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Neuropthic Pain\/Nerve Pain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/","name":"Sydney Chiropratic and Massage","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#organization","name":"Sydney Chiropratic and Massage","url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Untitled-design-40.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Untitled-design-40.png","width":400,"height":200,"caption":"Sydney Chiropratic and Massage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sydneychiroandmassage\/","https:\/\/x.com\/SydneyChiroprac","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sydneychiroandmassage\/","https:\/\/myspace.com\/kieranfinnegan","https:\/\/au.pinterest.com\/sydneychiro\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cd3c44a170c4cc76c9e3b7059d920b2d","name":"Kieran Finnegan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1a8aa9ad4796a952bac493a9d3837fca3393aff7af4567687048fb1e082e770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1a8aa9ad4796a952bac493a9d3837fca3393aff7af4567687048fb1e082e770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1a8aa9ad4796a952bac493a9d3837fca3393aff7af4567687048fb1e082e770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kieran Finnegan"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/","https:\/\/x.com\/SydneyChiroprac"],"url":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6836"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6843,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836\/revisions\/6843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sydneychiroandmassage.com.au\/12oct2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}