Radiculopathy is a clinical condition which involves one or more nerves resulting in impaired function (a neuropathy). The site of injury in radiculopathy is at the level of the spinal nerve root. The result is pain (known as radicular pain), weakness in limbs, numbness/paresthesia, and difficulty in controlling specific muscles.
In radiculopathy, the problem occurs at or near the site of the origin of the nerve root as it exits from the spinal cord, but the pain and accompanying symptoms usually radiate to the part of the body that is supplied by that specific nerve. For example, a nerve root impingement in the cervical spine may result in pain and weakness in the forearm. Similarly, an impingement in the lumbar region can be manifested with symptoms in the foot.
The radicular pain that results from radiculopathy should not be confused with referred pain, which is different both in mechanism and clinical features. Polyradiculopathy is a condition in which more than one spinal nerve root is affected.
