Pinched nerve pain can be mimicked from trigger points. The fact that the muscle will radiate pain away from the irritated area can often resemble the pain cause by pinching a nerve in the body. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a good example. A trigger point in the forearm or shoulder rotator cuff can send pain, numbness or tingling to the wrist, hand and fingers. Carpal tunnel pain can present the same way, but the pain originates from pinching the median nerve and not a muscle. Trigger points in the piriformis muscle can radiate down the buttocks, back of the thigh and to the calf muscles just like sciatica. A pinched sciatic nerve originates from the lower vertebrae and disc in the lumbar spine and not the muscles, although differentiating the two can sometimes be challenging. Any muscle can form a trigger point, therefore the potential to mimic any pinched nerve condition.