What is the difference between radiculopathy vs neuropathy. Many car accident victims can sustain radiculopathy or neuropathy. Many people falsely believe that radiculopathy and neuropathy are the same health condition. While they are similar, radiculopathy vs neuropathy symptoms are notably different. Here, our personal injury attorneys discuss the differences between neuropathy vs radiculopathy. We also discuss what radiculopathy vs neuropathy symptoms mean for personal injury lawsuits.
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Difference Between Neuropathy and Radiculopathy
When comparing radiculopathy vs neuropathy, both radiculopathy and neuropathy are nerve conditions. However, the nerve damage differs in location and cause, depending on the health condition sustained.
A radiculopathy diagnosis refers to pinched or inflamed nerves at the spine, often caused by a disc herniation, spur, or spinal stenosis. It leads to pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that radiates along the path of the pinched nerve in the neck (cervical), mid-back (thoracic), or lower back (lumbar).
Neuropathy involves damage to the peripheral nervous system outside the spinal cord and brain. It is commonly caused by diabetes, infections, toxins, or autoimmune disorders. This results in burning, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hands or feet.
So, when comparing the different symptoms of radiculopathy vs neuropathy:
- Experiencing radiculopathy = spinal nerve root issue in one area
- Experiencing neuropathy = a peripheral nerve issue where numerous nerves are damaged
Peripheral Neuropathy vs Radiculopathy
Peripheral neuropathy and radiculopathy both involve nerve damage but affect different parts of the nervous system. Peripheral neuropathy occurs when a person has damaged multiple peripheral nerves.
In contrast, if you’ve suffered radiculopathy, you will have radiating pain and numbness and feel weak in one area of your body.
The underlying cause and treatment differ for the two health conditions.
Radiculopathy vs Neuropathy in Feet
Radiculopathy in the feet comes from a compressed nerve root in the spine, causing radiating pain or weakness. In contrast, peripheral neuropathy involves direct damage to nerves in the feet, leading to tingling, burning, or numbness.
Myelopathy vs Radiculopathy vs Neuropathy
- Myelopathy is spinal cord compression, usually from trauma, herniation, or stenosis. It can cause weakness, poor coordination, and balance issues.
- Radiculopathy involves nerve root compression.
- Neuropathy is damage to the peripheral nervous system outside the spinal cord and roots.
Each condition affects a different part of the nervous system and requires a distinct diagnostic and treatment approach.
Can Radiculopathy Cause Neuropathy?
Radiculopathy is not one of the causes of neuropathy, but the two can overlap. If radiculopathy is severe or prolonged, it can result in dysfunction that resembles or contributes to common symptoms, but they are not the same condition.
Which is Worse: Neuropathy or Radiculopathy?
Neuropathy and radiculopathy both cause nerve-related symptoms, but neuropathy can be more widespread and harder to treat. Neuropathy often results from several nervous system disorders involving multiple peripheral nerves across the body. It requires a distinct treatment, unlike radiculopathy, which usually responds to targeted spinal decompression or surgery. The severity depends on the cause, but neuropathy is typically more difficult to reverse and manage long-term.
Can You Have Both Neuropathy and Radiculopathy?
Yes, it is possible. When both nerve conditions occur together, having the conditions diagnosed correctly is critical to determine the most effective treatments.
What Is Radiculopathy?
There is more than one type of radiculopathy, but all types of radiculopathy involve pinching of the nerve roots that split off from the spinal cord. These travel between the vertebrae in your spine to the other areas of your body. If these are pinched or inflamed, the signs that result is what we call radiculopathy.
Symptoms of Radiculopathy
The symptoms and pain resulting from the types of radiculopathy depend on the location of the compressed nerve root. Usually, any radicular pain is described as a sharp or burning pain that begins in the neck and travels to other affected nerves. Specific symptoms include:
- Decrease in motor skills
- Numbness or tingling in the fingers and hands
- Weakness in the hand, arm, or shoulder
- Pain while straining or moving the neck
- Loss of sensation
What Causes Radiculopathy?
Generally, any trauma or changes that occur to the tissue around the nerve roots could cause radiculopathy. The tissues involved could be the bones, the tendons, or even the discs between vertebrae. If the tissues shift or are compressed by a narrowing of the space around them, this can lead to radiculopathy symptoms.
Ossification is another common cause of radiculopathy. This condition occurs when the ligaments of the spine start to thicken. When these ligaments get thicker, the available space around the nerve roots is reduced. This leads to pinched nerve roots and radicular pain. Other causes of radiculopathy include the following.
- Spinal stenosis
- Cancer growths
- Spinal infections
- Other swelling or growth that pinches the nerves
- Bulging or herniated discs
- Bone spurs
- Compressed nerves
- Thickening ligaments in the surrounding area
The lack of space leads to nerve compression and then radiculopathy occurs. Herniated and bulging discs are by far the most common causes of radiculopathy.
Is Radiculopathy Nerve Damage?
Yes. It is one of many forms of nerve damage. However, the condition is usually not permanent and is caused by a number of events or conditions. Conditions that can cause radiculopathy include arthritis, ossification, herniated discs, inflammation, and even spinal bone spurs. This can also occur after a number of personal injury cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, and pedestrian accidents.
What Is the Difference Between Sciatica and Radiculopathy?
Sciatica is a type of radiculopathy. Radiculopathy is a broad category of symptoms that result from pinched nerve roots in the spinal column. Sciatica is a form of nerve root pain that begins in the lower back. It is characterized by pain traveling down the buttocks along the sciatic nerve.
Types of Radiculopathy
The symptoms of radiculopathy depend on exactly which spinal nerve root is affected. They range from mild to severe, with the potential to affect someone’s daily life. There is more than one type of radiculopathy. Below, we outline the common types of radiculopathy and their symptoms.
Lumbar Radiculopathy
Lumbar radiculopathy is a condition caused by compression or irritation of a spinal nerve root in the lower back, often due to disc issues, spinal stenosis, or degenerative disc disease. It can result in sharp pain, feeling numb, tingling, or weakness that radiates from the lower back down into the leg, commonly referred to as sciatica. Diagnosis of lumbar radiculopathy typically involves MRI imaging, and lumbar radiculopathy treatment may include physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections,or, in severe cases, surgery.
Thoracic Radiculopathy
Thoracic radiculopathy occurs when a nerve root in the spine becomes compressed or irritated, often due to a disc herniation, bone spur, or degenerative changes. Unlike lumbar or cervical radiculopathy, thoracic radiculopathy can cause sharp, burning, or shooting pain that wraps around the chest or upper extremities, sometimes mimicking other health conditions, such as cardiac or gastrointestinal conditions. Thoracic radiculopathy diagnosis may involve MRI or CT imaging, and treatment options include physical therapy, pain management, or, in severe cases, surgery.
Cervical Radiculopathy
Cervical radiculopathy is a condition caused by compression or inflammation of a nerve root in the cervical spine, often due to a disc herniation or degenerative disc disease. It typically results in pain, feeling numb, tingling, or weakness that radiates from the neck into the shoulder, arm, or hand. Cervical radiculopathy symptoms depend on the specific nerve root affected. Diagnosis involves physical exams and imaging such as MRI or CT scans, and treatment may include physical therapy, medications, epidural injections, or surgery in severe cases.
What Is Neuropathy?
This is a broad term that describes a group of disorders or malfunctioning of the nervous system. The different types of neuropathy are classified by the locations, functions, and types of nerves affected.
The main difference between radiculopathy and neuropathy is which nerves the condition involves. Radiculopathy affects the root nerves of the spinal column. Neuropathy affects the peripheral nerves of the spinal column.
Symptoms of Neuropathy
The symptoms of this condition vary depending on the location and type of affected nerves. Acute neuropathy occurs when symptoms arise suddenly. Chronic neuropathy develops over time. In many cases, the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy overlap with the symptoms of radiculopathy.
Below, we list other common symptoms of neuropathy.
- Pins and needles sensation
- Numbness, particularly in the hands and feet
- Throbbing, burning, or sharp pain
- Changes in physical sensation, such as heightened sensitivity or an inability to feel sensations
- Loss of coordination
- Muscle weakness
- Issues with urination, digestion, and bowel movements
- Sexual dysfunction
What Causes Neuropathy?
These types of nerve injuries usually happen due to physical injuries and trauma. Sudden injuries, such as those in car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, or sports injuries, are the most common specific causes.
Additionally, even broken bones can put too much pressure on a peripheral nerve and cause pain. When compression of a nerve causes the pain, we call it entrapment neuropathy.
What Is the Difference Between Neuropathy and Polyneuropathy?
Forms of neuropathy that affect only one nerve are called mononeuropathy. Neuropathy that affects multiple peripheral nerves is polyneuropathy.
Types of Neuropathy
As with radiculopathy, the types of neuropathy are sorted and categorized according to which nerves are affected. Below, we outline some common forms of neuropathy.
Cranial Neuropathy
Cranial neuropathy affects one or more of the twelve cranial nerves, which control functions such as vision, hearing, taste, and facial movement. When the cranial nerves are damaged or inflamed, cranial neuropathy can lead to symptoms like facial paralysis, double vision, or hearing loss. Cranial nerve damage may result from diabetes, infections, tumors, or trauma, and the severity depends on which of the cranial nerves is damaged.
Optic Neuropathy
Optic neuropathy refers to damage to the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. This condition can lead to vision loss, blurred vision, or color vision deficits and is often caused by reduced blood flow (ischemic), inflammation (optic neuritis), or pressure from tumors or trauma. Early diagnosis is critical to managing the condition.
Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy occurs when a person has damaged multiple peripheral nerves, disrupting communication between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. This condition affects the peripheral nervous system and often leads to symptoms like pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hands and feet. When multiple nerves are involved, it is called polyneuropathy. In many cases, peripheral neuropathy overlap occurs, where individuals experience a combination of sensory, motor, or autonomic nerve damage depending on the underlying cause, such as diabetes, infections, or exposure to toxins.
If the neuropathy symptoms result from nerve problems outside the brain and spinal cord, this is peripheral neuropathy. In other words, if the peripheral nervous system suffers damage, this causes peripheral neuropathy. The peripheral nerves, when damaged, can lead to leg pain, hip pain, and thigh pain.
One common type of peripheral neuropathy is diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy is caused by nerve damage that occurs from diabetes. In diabetics, high blood sugar and fat levels can damage nerves over time.
Autonomic Neuropathy
If the involuntary nervous system nerves suffer damage, we refer to it as autonomic neuropathy or autonomic nerve neuropathy. These nerves control the autonomous functions of the body, such as the following.
- Bladder function
- Sexual response
- Heart muscles
- Circulatory system
- Gastrointestinal system
- Digestive system
- Perspiration
Focal Neuropathy
Focal neuropathy affects a single nerve or group of nerves, causing sharp, sudden pain or weakness in a specific area of your body, such as the face, hand, or leg. In many cases, focal neuropathy results from trauma, compression, or health conditions like diabetes. Unlike polyneuropathy, it does not affect multiple nerves symmetrically and may resolve on its own or require targeted treatment.
Motor Neuropathy and Sensory Neuropathy
Motor neuropathy affects movement, causing weakness, cramps, or muscle atrophy. Sensory neuropathy affects sensation, leading to numbness, tingling, or balance issues. Most cases are sensorimotor, combining both.
When to File a Radiculopathy Lawsuit in Houston, Texas
If you developed radiculopathy nerve damage after a car accident, workplace injury, or medical procedure, our Houston spinal injury lawyers can investigate whether another person’s negligence played a role.
Common causes of radiculopathy include auto accidents, surgical errors during spine operations, and traumatic lifting injuries on the job in Houston, TX. When a spinal injury results from preventable harm, you may be entitled to full and fair compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and long-term mobility issues. We provide personal injury, car accident, and medical malpractice claims assistance in Houston on behalf of clients suffering from cervical, thoracic, or lumbar radiculopathy.
Radiculopathy from Car Accidents
Many people who suffer nerve damage during a car accident will experience radiculopathy in some form or another. Even if they don’t notice it right away, the pain can worsen over time. If you got into a serious accident and are experiencing back or neck pain, you might be suffering from radiculopathy. If so, it’s important that you speak with a Houston car wreck lawyer to begin fighting for compensation for your injuries and pain.
When to File a Neuropathy Lawsuit in Houston, Texas
Neuropathy lawsuits often involve cases where peripheral nerve damage results from external negligence or harmful exposures. Examples include:
- Defective drug claims in Houston from chemotherapy, antibiotics, or diabetes medications that cause optic nerve damage or peripheral neuropathy.
- Toxic exposure claims in Houston, such as to heavy metals, pesticides, or industrial chemicals
- Defective medical devices, like defective hip implants or spinal stimulators, causing one or several types of neuropathy
- Medical negligence, including failure to diagnose or manage diabetes, leading to diabetic neuropathy
- Nursing home neglect claims in Houston, where pressure ulcers or vitamin deficiencies go untreated, resulting in nerve damage
Houston Radiculopathy and Neuropathy Lawyers
Understanding the difference between radiculopathy vs neuropathy is essential for diagnosing and treating complex nerve disorders affecting the spine, peripheral nervous system, or cranial nerves. Patients suffering from either or both should be evaluated promptly to prevent worsening damage and to begin targeted care. If you’ve experienced radiculopathy or neuropathy due to a spinal injury, accident, or other trauma, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and ongoing treatment. Speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer today to protect your rights and seek full and fair compensation.
To schedule a free consultation, call 713-622-7271.
