Duncan, 41, is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He gained notoriety as the one of five members from the UK boy band, Blue and also made a name for himself as an actor appearing on Hollyoaks in 2016. It was during his stint on the local soap however, when Duncan had to postpone filming due to a serious medical condition. Duncan had woken up and had no feeling in his left leg as it had gone numb. Fearing it could be something serious, he went to the hospital and underwent an MRI scan. His fears came true as the doctors discovered a trapped nerve in this back and was subsequently rushed into surgery. Speaking to the Mirror, Duncan described his ordeal: “They said if they didn’t operate that same day I’d be paralysed because a nerve that was trapped would die.”
A pinched or trapped nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues, such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons.
The pressure disrupts the nerve’s function thus causing extreme pain, tingling, numbness and weakness.
After Duncan’s operation all seemed well until a week later when he suddenly fell ill.
“I was getting headaches like I’ve never had before. I was throbbing. It was agony and I felt sick.
“And I could feel a swelling in my back that I knew wasn’t right,” he explained.
It turned out the wound from his operation had opened up and again Duncan was rushed to the hospital for another emergency operation.
“My back had opened, and all this fluid, called cerebrospinal fluid was just pouring out of me.”
Doctor Faisel Zaman said: “The human nervous system is broken down broadly into two parts.
These are the central nervous system or CNS and the peripheral nervous system or PNS.
The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord, which branches off into the spinal nerves, feeding the rest of the body. When these spinal nerves exit the spine, the PNS starts.
Thousands of nerves exist in the human body, in essentially every body part; these nerves are all part of the PNS.
“Pinched spinal nerves can develop suddenly or gradually.
“Sudden compression usually occurs in the setting of an acute joint problem called a “herniated disc”.
“More gradual compression usually occurs over time due to bony changes that develop with the ageing process and development of bony overgrowth and bone spurs.”
Thankfully after Duncan’s second operation, he made a full recovery and was able to go back to filming.
Trapped nerves can sometimes be the reason for back pain. According to the NHS, sciatica – when the sciatic nerve is irritated – usually gets better in four to six weeks.
