Which condition involves radiating pain along a nerve root?

• A. Neuropathy
• B. Myelopathy
• C. Radiculopathy
• D. Tendinopathy

Answer: (C)

Radiculopathy is the pattern you get when a nerve root is irritated or compressed at the spine, so pain travels along the path of that nerve into the limb. This radiating, shooting pain follows the dermatomal distribution of the affected root, and may be accompanied by sensory changes or weakness in that same area. Common causes include a herniated disc or foraminal stenosis pressing on a spinal nerve root.

Neuropathy, by contrast, is a peripheral nerve issue that often causes numbness, tingling, or burning in a more distal, stocking-glove pattern and isn’t tied to a single spinal root. Myelopathy involves the spinal cord itself and tends to present with broader signs like gait disturbance, hyperreflexia, or coordinated movement problems rather than isolated radicular pain. Tendinopathy is localized tendon pain at the site of the tendon, with no nerve root–level radiation.

So the hallmark radiating pain along a nerve root points to radiculopathy.