Pinched Nerve in Lower Back: Feeling and Pain Relief (2024)

A pinched nerve in the lower back results from pressure on the nerve roots that exit from the spinal cord. This results in nerve irritation and pain along the path of the nerves that travel from the back into the legs.

While a pinched nerve in the lower back can result from various conditions, treatment focuses on reducing compression to relieve pain.

This article will review symptoms, causes, and treatment options for a lower back pinched nerve.

How a Pinched Nerve in the Lower Back Feels

The most common symptom of a pinched nerve in the lower back is pain. Pain can be felt in just the low back alone or may also radiate from the back into the hip or down the leg.

Other symptoms of a pinched nerve in the lower back include:

• Shooting pain
• Burning sensations
• Tingling, including electrical sensations or a pins-and-needles feeling
• Numbness, or reduced sensitivity to touch or temperature
• Muscle weakness

Activities and Conditions Linked to Lower Back Pinched Nerve

A pinched nerve can result from a variety of causes. A bulging or herniated disc that presses on a nerve exiting from the spinal cord is one of the most common causes. A bulging or herniated disc can occur over time due toaging, degeneration of the spine, and weakening of the core muscles.

Other times, these types of issues can result from injury to the lower back. Straining the lower back from heavy lifting can easily irritate the discs and nearby nerves of the lumbar spine of the lower back. Heavy lifting includes weight lifting, such as squatting or deadlifting, or bending and lifting heavy objects, like moving boxes or furniture.

Other than bulging or herniated discs, certain other conditions can lead to a pinched nerve in the lower back. These include:

• Arthritis
• Spinal stenosis
• Spinal tumor
• Compression fractures
• Infections
• Inflammatory conditions

Quick Relief for Lower Back Pinched Nerve Pain

A pinched nerve in your lower back can be very uncomfortable. For quick relief, taking nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) medication can help. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen), corticosteroids, and muscle relaxers can help alleviate discomfort.

Applying heat or ice to your lower back can also help ease pain.

How to Treat a Lower Back Pinched Nerve

Treatment for a pinched nerve can vary depending on the severity.Mild pinched nerves are on the milder side and can improve with rest, pain-relieving methods like medication, spinal decompression, and targeted exercise or physical therapy.

Other times, symptoms are longer lasting and less responsive to conservative treatments. In these cases, treatment from a medical professional is needed.

When Pain Keeps You From Walking

If a pinched nerve is so severe that it keeps you from walking, you should seek immediate medical attention. Harsh pain and difficulty walking are signs of severe nerve compression and/or damage, which can lead to neurogenic claudication, a condition in which compressed nerves cause leg pain. Without prompt treatment, these issues can lead to permanent nerve damage, pain, and disability.

Worsening Lower Back Pinched Nerve Pain

If a pinched nerve is not treated properly, it can lead to permanent nerve damage. Permanent damage can destroy the nerve and prevent it from functioning properly. This can result in:

• Chronic pain
• Burning
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Paralysis of the legs (in severe cases)
• Loss of control of bowel and bladder function

For worsening pain and disability from a pinched nerve in the lower back, your healthcare provider may recommend an injection into your lower back. Injections for lower back pinched nerves typically contain a corticosteroid to decrease inflammation and/or a long-lasting anesthetic like Marcaine (bupivacaine hydrochloride) to help numb the pain.

If an injection does not help with your symptoms, surgery is typically considered last as a treatment option. Depending on the cause of your pinched nerve, a surgeon can perform several different surgical procedures to help address the underlying cause. These include:

• Discectomy: Surgery to cut and remove a portion of a disc compressing a nerve
• Laminectomy: Surgery to remove the laminae, portions of the spinal vertebrae, to create more space around the spine to reduce nerve compression
• Foraminotomy: Surgery to widen the foramina, the openings of the spinal vertebrae where the nerve roots exit
• Lumbar fusion: Surgery to join two vertebrae together with metal rods and screws to stabilize the spine after a disc that is compressing a nerve is removed
• Radiofrequency ablation: A procedure in which radio waves create heat to selectively destroy nerve fibers to decrease pain signals being sent to the brain

Physical Therapy for Low-Back Nerve Pain

Physical therapy can help provide relief from a pinched nerve and is often recommended. In addition to methods like heat, ice, and electrical stimulation, targeted exercises and stretches can help manage symptoms of a pinched nerve in the low back.

Exercises

While certain exercises should be avoided to prevent a pinched nerve from getting worse, this doesn’t mean that you should stop exercise altogether. High-impact exercise like running, jumping, and playing contact sports, and heavy weight lifting can make a pinched nerve in the low back worse. It’s best to avoid these activities to allow your body to heal.

Other types of exercises, however, can help ease pain from a pinched nerve. Core strengthening exercises help support your spine and can reduce irritation from pinched nerves by providing stability with movement. Depending on the underlying cause of your pinched nerve, spinal movements of flexion or extension can also provide added benefit.

Exercises that move your spine into flexion (a forward-bending movement) can help alleviate nerve compression from spinal stenosis. Exercises that move your spine into extension (a backward-bending movement), can help alleviate nerve compression from bulging or herniated discs.

In general, gentle, low-impact exercise can help improve blood flow throughout your body and lower levels of inflammation. Try walking or cycling to keep your body moving without stressing your lower back. If pain or weakness limits your ability to walk safely or comfortably, avoid these activities and contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Stretches

Tightness in muscles around the lower back or legs can press on irritated nerves and make nerve compression worse. Gentle stretches can help relieve tension to allow you to move more easily with less discomfort.Regular stretching can also help prevent pinched nerves.

Healing and Resuming Normal Physical Activity

Healing from a lower back pinched nerve will vary from person to person. Some people may find relief after a few days or weeks of at-home treatments. Others may experience longer-lasting symptoms that are less responsive to treatment.

When to Consult a Healthcare Provider

If you continue to have pain from a pinched nerve after a few weeks of trying at-home treatments and exercises, talk to your healthcare provider. Start with seeing your primary care provider if your pinched nerve symptoms are due to an unknown cause or if your symptoms are not improving.

Your primary care provider can recommend some initial treatment options or refer you to a specialist to better manage your care.

Summary

Lower back pinched nerves can cause pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness that travels from the low back down the legs. Herniated discs and spinal stenosis are the most common causes of a pinched nerve in the lower back. Other conditions like fractures, tumors, and infections can bring about symptoms as well.

Treatment focuses on pain relief through rest, medication, and physical therapy and targeted exercise. If pinched nerve pain is bad enough that it prevents you from walking, contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible. Untreated pinched nerves can lead to permanent nerve damage, pain, and disability, and may require more involved treatment like surgery.