How I Treat: NeuroDynamics: When the Problem Is Your Nerves

Your nervous system is remarkable. Nerve pathways begin in your brain and spinal cord, then travel all the way out to the tips of your fingers and toes.

That journey is long, and it is also winding. Your nerves weave around, between, and even through your muscles, joints, and fascia (connective tissue). (Curious about fascia? See my first blog post under the NEWS section or on my Substack at therapeuticconnection.substack.com)

All of that weaving creates many places where a nerve can get caught up along the way.

Here is one example. When a nerve passes through muscle tissue that is tight or restricted, it feels more pressure than it would if that same tissue were soft and supple. Nerves are sensitive to pressure. When restricted tissue or swelling presses on a nerve, you may feel referred pain or an altered sensation somewhere along the path that nerve serves.

Something similar can happen closer to the surface. Nerve endings near the skin can become entrapped by nearby restricted fascia, which may bring on numbness, tingling, or referred pain.

You have likely felt a dramatic version of this. When pressure is quick, intense, and direct, the sensation is unmistakable. Think of bumping the "funny bone" at the inside of your elbow, which is really your ulnar nerve. Ouch!

What about adhesions?

In the medical field, we use the word adhesions to describe bands of scar-like tissue that form between two surfaces inside the body and cause them to stick together. We believe nerves can become entrapped by adhesions within their own nerve sheath, the tissue that surrounds and insulates each bundle of nerve fibers. Adhesions can also form outside the nerve sheath, tethering the surrounding connective tissue to the nerve and affecting how well it performs. Chemical irritants released by nearby inflamed tissue can add to the irritation a nerve feels as well.

How I treat it

This is where my approach comes in.

I use a technique called Clinical Neurodynamics to gently ease these adhesions, encourage healthy movement, and help nourish the nerve within its sheath. When a nerve is having trouble gliding through and around the surrounding tissue, these techniques work to restore that motion.

I also draw on myofascial release techniques and other manual therapies, which can free a nerve that has become entrapped within the fascia.

Together, these methods address the nerve itself and the tissue around it, supporting real, lasting progress rather than temporary relief.

Ready to feel the difference?

I see clients at my two private studios in Waikoloa Village, offer concierge Physical Therapy along the Kohala Coast, and provide virtual sessions throughout Hawaiʻi and California.

Move Better. Feel Better. Live Better.

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With aloha, Carolyn