Dr Colum Nolan
Senior Consultant Spine & Neurosurgeon
MB, BCh, BAO, LRCPSI, MRCSI, FRCSI (Neurosurgery)
When pain feels manageable, difficulty with everyday tasks can be unexpected. With radiculopathy, you may notice that familiar movements take more effort, even when discomfort does not stop you from going about your day.
Radiculopathy occurs when a nerve root leaving the spine becomes irritated or compressed, often described as a pinched nerve. Alongside pain, it can cause changes in sensation or muscle strength. This means changes in what you can comfortably or reliably do may be important even when the pain itself feels manageable.
Why Doesn't Pain Always Reflect How Radiculopathy Affects Nerve Function?
Spinal nerve roots carry signals that help muscles contract, as well as signals involved in sensation. Compression can disrupt the signals reaching the muscles supplied by an affected nerve root, reducing their strength.
This weakness can make a movement harder to perform even when pain is not what limits it. Pain and changes in muscle function do not always occur to the same degree, so manageable pain does not necessarily mean that nerve function is unaffected. Which movements become more difficult depends on the nerve root involved and the muscles it supplies.
How Can Radiculopathy Affect Everyday Function?
The impact of radiculopathy often becomes clearer through changes in what someone is able to do. The type of difficulty depends on where the nerve compression occurs and which nerve root is affected.
Arm and Hand Weakness Can Affect Everyday Tasks
When cervical radiculopathy affects nerves supplying the arm, weakness may make it harder to lift objects or maintain a reliable grip during everyday tasks.
Problems with hand coordination may not always be explained by radiculopathy. Cervical myelopathy, for example, affects the spinal cord rather than an individual nerve root and can also interfere with hand function.
Leg Weakness Can Reduce Walking Tolerance
Lumbar radiculopathy may affect the muscles responsible for controlling the leg or foot. Reduced strength can make walking longer distances more tiring or climbing stairs more difficult, depending on which muscles are affected.
How Is Nerve Function Assessed in Radiculopathy?
When radiculopathy is affecting function, assessment can help determine which nerve root may be involved and whether there are signs of neurological impairment.
Checking for Changes in Nerve Function
A neurological examination may be used to assess muscle strength and look for changes in sensation and reflexes in the affected area. Differences between sides or changes that follow a particular nerve-root distribution can help identify which nerve root may be affected.
Comparing Clinical Findings With Imaging
Imaging such as MRI may help identify where a nerve root is being compressed and what may be contributing to the pressure. The scan can then be compared with the examination findings to determine whether the area of compression corresponds with the pattern of nerve-related changes.
How Assessment Findings Help Guide the Next Step
Assessment can help establish whether nerve function appears stable or whether neurological changes are progressing. This may influence whether the current management approach remains appropriate or needs to be reconsidered.
Have Changes in Strength or Daily Function Assessed by Dr Colum Nolan
When familiar tasks become harder, it helps to understand what has changed and whether those difficulties are progressing. Persistent or worsening weakness deserves attention, particularly when it affects activities you previously managed comfortably.
At Oxford Spine & Neurosurgery Centre, Dr Colum Nolan considers changes in your daily function alongside findings from a neurological examination and, where appropriate, imaging. This can help determine whether your difficulties are consistent with nerve-root involvement and whether further management may be needed.
Schedule an appointment with Dr Colum Nolan to discuss changes in strength or daily function that may be related to radiculopathy.
Related Media Features
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Radiculopathy and Disability
Can radiculopathy symptoms come and go even if the nerve is still compressed?
Yes. Symptoms may fluctuate depending on posture, activity and how much irritation is present around the affected nerve root. Periods of improvement do not necessarily mean that the underlying nerve compression has completely resolved.
Does the length of time a nerve has been compressed affect recovery?
It can. Recovery can vary depending on how the nerve has been affected and how long the compression has been present. Some nerve-related symptoms may improve gradually after pressure is relieved, while others can take longer to recover.
Can persistent weakness from radiculopathy lead to muscle loss?
It can in some cases. If nerve compression continues to interfere with the signals controlling a muscle, the affected muscle may gradually lose strength and, over time, some muscle bulk. However, this does not happen in every case of radiculopathy.
Noticeable muscle wasting or progressively worsening weakness should be assessed rather than judged by the level of pain alone.
Meet Our Spine Specialist in Singapore
Dr Colum Nolan
Senior Consultant Spine & Neurosurgeon
MB, BCh, BAO, LRCPSI, MRCSI, FRCSI (Neurosurgery)
Dr Colum Nolan is a senior consultant spine and neurosurgeon, as well as the Medical Director of Oxford Spine & Neurosurgery Centre. He undertook specialist neurosurgery training in Ireland and Australia, and later on completed a complex spine surgery fellowship at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK.
Dr Colum held key leadership roles including Director of the Spine and Spinal Disorders Programme at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI), as well as the Head of Neurosurgery Service at Sengkang General Hospital.
With his depth of experience, Dr Colum is committed to guiding each patient towards the safest and most effective treatment for their needs.
