So you think you have a trapped nerve in your neck or a pinched sciatic nerve in your leg and your doctor or chiropractor mentions the words radiculopathy or neuritis as the cause. But what is a radiculopathy and what is a neuritis. Well the medical terminology for a trapped or pinched nerve in your spine can be confusing. So today’s post is a little bit more about the definition of radiculopathy and neuritis used to describe the cause of nerve pain.

Radiculopathy Nerve Pain

According to Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary a radiculopathy (ra·dic·u·lop·a·thy) is:

any pathological condition of the nerve roots

A radiculopathy is a noun that describes, as the definition above shows, any condition that affects the nerve roots as they exist the spinal column. You can have multiple or plural forms called radiculopathies. A radiculopathy is a spinal nerve root, which is different from say a nerve in your arm or leg. This is important to understand when you think you may have a trapped nerve pain in your back. The spinal nerve roots e.g. C5, C7, L5, S1,would show pain or dysfunction differently to say the sciatic nerve or median nerve. It is possible to test between two nerve conditions like having a trapped L5 nerve root (radiculopathy) or tarsal tunnel syndrome (neuritis).

So when it comes to diagnosing and treating a feeling of a trapped nerve in the back then you need to know it could be a radiculopathy or maybe be referred to as a neuritis. What is a Neuritis?

Neuritis Nerve Pain

According to Meriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary again a neuritis (neu·ri·tis) is:

an inflammatory or degenerative lesion of a nerve marked especially by pain, sensory disturbances, and impaired or lost reflexes

A neuritis is also a noun that describes an inflammatory or degenerative problem affecting the nerve or nerves. It is more commonly used to describe conditions like optic neuritis. Now this is where in the case of sciatic nerve pain you could used the word neuritis to explain it more. It is not common to call sciatica or pain in the sciatic nerve, a sciatic neuritis. But, in the case of a low back pain, or neck pain, then neuritis could also be used to describe a trapped or pinched nerve.

Radiculopathy or Neuritis?

Really both are a disturbance to the nerve from inflammation or mechanical irritation like a cervical disc bulge or degenerative disc disease. However, a radiculopathy is typically used when single spinal nerve roots are the cause. Compared to combined peripheral nerves creating a single nerve like the median nerve in the wrist which could be the source of nerve pain. To make it simpler in the case of sciatica, it could be a combination of spinal nerve roots inflamed (radiculopathies) like the L5-S1 nerves. Or it could be a irritation of the peripheral portion of the sciatic nerve (sciatic neuritis) say in buttocks caused by piriformis syndrome.

So the next time you hear someone think their neck pain is a trapped nerve in their shoulder blade then you can wonder is it a radiculopathy where the nerve is pinched at the spine or, is it a neuritis where the nerve is pinched further out anywhere from the neck into the arm.