Radiculopathy is the medical word for what happens when a nerve root is pinched or irritated where it exits the spine. It's not a disease by itself — it's the result of something (most often a herniated disc or bone spurs) pressing on a nerve. When it shoots down the leg, it's commonly called sciatica.
Symptoms
- Pain that travels along the nerve's path — down the back or side of a leg (lumbar) or down the arm (cervical).
- Numbness or tingling ("pins and needles") in a specific patch of skin.
- Weakness in specific muscles — like difficulty lifting the front of the foot, or a weak grip.
How it's diagnosed
A physical exam that maps your symptoms to a specific nerve root, MRI to see what's compressing it, and occasionally an EMG/nerve conduction study.
Treatment
Most pinched nerves improve over weeks to months with anti-inflammatory and nerve-pain medicines, physical therapy, and epidural steroid injections for stubborn pain. Surgery is considered when symptoms don't improve after a reasonable trial, or with significant or worsening weakness — aimed at taking pressure off the nerve.
You have rapidly worsening weakness, or loss of bladder or bowel control.