How to Relieve a Pinched Nerve

A pinched nerve is a painful condition caused by compression and swelling of a nerve. Most often, this occurs in the elbows, wrists, and back, but it can actually happen anywhere there are nerves. Luckily, most instances of a pinched nerve can be fixed on their own. This article will show you what you can do to heal yourself of a painful pinched nerve.

Things You'll Need

• Ice pack
• Anti-Inflammatory drug

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Rest your body. A pinched nerve needs time to heal. If you are active in sports, give it a rest for a week. You could make the problem and pain worse by ignoring your symptoms.

• 2

  Stay semi-active. Although you should rest your body and pinched nerve area, you need to get your heart pumping blood to the affected area.Walk around the house or do light aerobic activity to promote healing.

• 3

  Ice the pinched nerve for 20 minutes every 2 hours. This promotes blood flow and healing and reduces your pain in the process. Make sure you don't keep the ice on too long and get frostbite.

• 4

  Take an over the counter anti-inflammatory drug at the recommended dosage. This should actually keep the pinched nerve from swelling any further. Once the pain goes away, you can stop taking the drug because the problem is more than likely gone.