Why, the Nerve

Why, the Nerve

    The saying above originally had a bit more of a twang, a relic of the Roaring 20s and later; it became a phrase that was taken as something small, or something large, an insult or a backsided compliment.  But it's a strange idiom, that is, a word with many meanings.  You can lose your nerve or have nerves of steel, be a bundle of nerves or hit a nerve.  All of these reflect back to emotions, indicating bravery or hesitancy.  But medically, when an actual nerve is involved, there is little bravado.  A pinched nerve in any portion of the body can bring down the strongest person.  Block the nerve and you have numbness or a lack of feeling (think of getting your cavities filled at the dentist); sever the nerve and you likely have paralysis.

   This from the book, Adventures in Being Human, by Dr. Gavin Francis (and you'll have to temporarily forgive the extended quotation format but as I begin my vacation travels, this is all coming from my tablet which doesn't have quite the capabilities of a computer so one works with what one gets): "If the nerves  behind the collarbone have been wrenched out of the spinal cord itself, there is almost no chance of recovery.  If they've been ruptured, there's a small chance that some may heal, and nerve transplants sometimes help regain some weaker function.  Nerves are in some respect similar to copper wiring surrounded by plastic insulation sheathing: a nerve that has been severely stretched may regrow if it's outer sheath has remained intact and only the inner 'axon' corresponding to the copper of the wire, has split."

     Okay so far?  But it grows a bit more complicated as you dive deeper, as if you're seeing a preview of the inner body working so effortlessly but not really knowing the how or the why. Blood clotting, muscles tearing and repairing, saliva protecting your teeth (among other things), all happening  somewhat like an elaborate set of stage hands working behind the scenes, our bodies flowing effortlessly day to day, month to month, year to year...until something goes wrong.  A blood clot unexpectedly plugs a vital flow to the brain, or an aneurysm occurs when the clot breaks free instead of dissolving.  Stroke, something no one can anticipate, then happens and slurs speech, reduces thinking and signals, and leaves the now-puzzled body searching for an answer from the brain, as if the curtain has fallen on the audience but none of the actors and actresses are aware of it.  

      So, back to the nerves.  Remember the collarbone, that sheath of protection and the inner "axon?"  Dr. Francis provides a bit more detail: "Five nerve roots from five vertebrae in the neck unite to form three 'trunks,' which divide into anterior and posterior divisions.  Those divisions perform  an elegant interleaving with one another before braiding into three 'cords':  'medial,' 'lateral' and 'posterior.'  The posterior cord supplies those muscles that straighten the arm and wrist, as well as supply sensation to the back of the hand and forearm, while the medial and lateral cords activate those muscles that flex the biceps and wrists, and operate the small muscles of the hand...The arrangement seems overly complicated, but arises from the way the arm forms in the womb.  Brachium in Latin has the same root as our word branch  --  it starts as a bud, sprouting straight out from the trunk the way a branch grows from a tree.  It begins to bud at just four weeks' gestation, and over three subsequent weeks divides into a rudimentary hand, forearm and upper arm, then rotates  through ninety degrees.  It's the movement of those muscles as the arm grows and rotates, and the fixed origin of the nerves in the neck, which provide the warp and weave of the brachial plexus.

    I bring this all up because just before my trip, an old injury popped up, a small pinched nerve in my neck from years ago when I slipped on the ice one winter.  You have all likely had one of these, that waking up in the morning and your neck feeling a bit achy as if you've slept in the wrong position.  But move it up a notch, and just a notch, and you have the reduced ability to turn your neck in either direction, or to look up.  As if wearing one of those therapy collars, turning to face someone meant turning my entire body, and not my head, all in an effort to not irritate my neck any further.  When this originally happened, I tried everything, eventually ending up at an acupuncturist.  She pinched my earlobe, hard, and it hurt (ask most any acupuncturist and you will likely be told that both the inside and outside of the visible ear connects to every point in our body).  Treatment began and before long, as in about five weeks, my neck was fine.  Pinching my ear lobe now did nothing.  It was no magic or special cure, she told me, only the body being given a chance to heal itself.  The fall, she said, likely caused a bit of irritation along the spinal portion of my neck; this eventually began emerging near the place where the bones meet and with each movement of my neck, only grew worse.  The goal, she said, was to let the area rest (the acupuncture merely accelerated this) and allow the nerve to return to its normal position, the swelling being reduced and the bones thus returning to moving as normal (think of a blister forming and you continuing to irritate it; eventually it will grow until it fills with fluid.  Continue to irritate it and you will break the skin; but leave it alone and the water will usually recede and fade away).

    But that was then, and my grumbling was because of it all happening again so near to my travels.  A long plane ride with a stiff neck would not be fun.  But as you can tell, I made it and yes, my neck is far better.  All of this being just a small excuse to ask that you thus understand and pardon the sporadic nature of these posts as I write from near and far.  I will post these as I get to different spots, taking time to enjoy the sights and yet finding an occasional quiet moment to jot down a few thoughts.  The words will be there, even if perhaps the format might not be.  But simply getting away will continue to improve my neck and my outlook, as it would for anyone.  Perhaps now is also a good time for all of you to just stop or pause your life for a bit, to try something or some place new, even locally; to break from the routine.  It just might heal a few old injuries...