Nerve root

A nerve root is the part of a spinal nerve where it leaves the spinal cord and passes out of the spine between two vertebrae. There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves: 8 in the neck (C1 to C8), 12 in the chest (T1 to T12), 5 in the lower back (L1 to L5), 5 in the sacrum and 1 at the tailbone. Each carries both sensory and motor fibres, linking the spinal cord with the rest of the body (Kaiser & Lugo-Pico, 2023). When people talk about a “trapped” or “pinched nerve” in the neck or back, they usually mean a nerve root.

Where are the nerve roots?

Each nerve leaves through an opening framed by the disc in front and the bony parts of the neighbouring vertebrae around it (Waxenbaum et al., 2026). A bulging disc or a bony outgrowth next to this opening can press on the root. Roots are named after the level where they exit, so “C6” is the sixth nerve of the cervical spine and “L5” the fifth of the lumbar spine.

What happens when a nerve root is pinched?

The medical name is radiculopathy. In the neck, a compressed or irritated root sends pain beyond the neck into the arm, chest, upper back or shoulder, often with muscle weakness and reduced reflexes. Its course is generally favourable (Margetis et al., 2025).

In the lower back, spine-related leg pain is often due to a nerve root. It is described as a dull ache or a sharp, electric-shock feeling, sometimes with numbness, tingling and weakness in some muscles (WHO). When the sciatic nerve is affected, this is sciatica. Its pain usually runs down the back of one leg, is often worse than any back pain, and usually settles in a few weeks to a few months (NHS).

Nerve root pain at the shoulder blade

This matters for desk workers because nerve root pain doesn’t always start in the arm. In 50 people with a single compressed neck root, pain in the neck or around the shoulder blade came before arm or finger symptoms in 70% of them, and eased soon after surgery in 92%. Pain above the shoulder blade was most often linked with the C5 or C6 root, and pain between the shoulder blades with C7 or C8 (Tanaka et al., 2006). A review of 86 studies agreed that shoulder blade pain is a common feature and may come weeks before arm pain (Carmichael et al., 2025).

So an ache at the shoulder blade that later spreads down the arm with tingling is worth getting checked. See pain between the shoulder blades.

What presses on nerve roots?

• Discs. A herniated disc is the most common cause of sciatica (NHS). The NHS lists ageing, lifting badly and sitting or driving for long periods among the things that can contribute to a slipped disc, and notes that many people with one never know (NHS).
• Narrowing and bony changes. Spinal stenosis and slipped vertebrae can cause sciatica (NHS), and the age-related changes of osteoarthritis in the neck can compress nerve roots (Margetis & Tadi, 2025).

When to see a doctor

See a GP if neck pain comes with pins and needles or a cold arm (NHS), or if sciatica hasn’t improved after a few weeks, is getting worse or is stopping your normal activities. Ask for an urgent appointment or call NHS 111 for heaviness or weakness in your arms or legs, or pins and needles in an arm with neck or arm pain. Call 999 for new problems walking, loss of bladder or bowel control, or sudden clumsiness such as trouble buttoning a shirt (NHS). Go to A&E or call 999 for sciatica on both sides, worsening weakness or numbness in both legs, or numbness around the genitals or anus (NHS). These are among the red flags for the spine.