Neuropathic pain is also known as a shooting, burning, or stabbing pain that takes place when your nerves are either damaged or are unable to work properly. It is like you are receiving electric shocks that are running through your body, and it affects millions of people every day. Compared to the normal pain which is occasioned by injuries, nerve pain will send you the wrong signals in your brain even when you are not experiencing any pain.
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What Is Neuropathic Pain?
In case your nervous system fails to work or is destroyed, you may experience pain in other body parts. This kind of nerve pain may occur in either your peripheral nerves (ones distributed throughout your legs and arms, as well as in your fingers and toes), in your spinal cord, or in your brain. The injured nerve fibers transmit the wrong messages to the pain centers, resulting in a rare form of pain unlike the ones caused by normal injuries.
One out of three people in America reports having chronic pain. Also, one in every 5 individuals who have chronic pain has neuropathic pain. Research has approximated that one out of every ten Americans experiences some type of nerve pain at some point in their lives.
Neuropathic Pain Causes
It is possible to understand what causes nerve pain to find better treatments. The major reasons for this pain are the following:
Disease-Related Causes
- Diabetes: 30 percent of the total cases of nerve pain occur in diabetics, and nerve damage occurs in diabetic patients in the long term.
- Multiple sclerosis: May result in nerve pain as one of the complications.
- Cancer and chemotherapy: The cancer disease and the treatment may destroy your nervous system.
- Alcoholism: Excessive drinking that is sustained over a long period of time results in nerve damage that is permanent.
- HIV/AIDS and Syphilis: They are infections capable of provoking burning and stinging pain.
- Shingles: The chickenpox virus causes weeks of neuropathic pain following the reactivation of the virus.
Injury-Related Causes
- The contraction of herniated discs and compression of the spine destroy nerve fibers surrounding your spine.
- Permanent nerve damage may result from back, leg injuries and hip injuries.
- The spine-related accidents provoke prolonged nerve pain following healing.
- Complications after the surgery, such as a mastectomy or lung surgery.
Other Causes
- Vitamin B deficiency
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Thyroid problems
- Post amputated phantom limb syndrome.
- Facial nerve problems
- Arthritis in the spine
Neuropathic Pain Symptoms
Neuropathic pain symptoms can be identified and, by doing this, aid in obtaining timely treatment. Common signs include:
- Sensations of shooting, burning, or stabbing, which have the sensation of being electric shocks.
- Sensations of tingling and numbness or pains and needles.
- Sensations of pain that do not have an antecedent.
- Sensitivity to touch (allodynia), in which even light touch will bring pain.
- Brush is sensitive to cold temperatures or touching your hair.
- Permanent and unpleasant or abnormal feelings.
- Problems with sleep due to pain all the time.
- Human emotional issues due to long-term pain and insomnia.
The pain could be either persistent or intermittent. The pain, in some cases, is not sharp but deep and aching.
Neuropathic Pain in Feet
Foot nerve pain is primarily prevalent in diabetic patients. Patients with diabetes also experience neuropathic pain in feet, but the symptoms undergo the stages of loss of sensation, numbness, burning, stinging, and sharp pains in the toes and soles. This is because high blood sugar kills the nerves in your legs and feet in the long run.
Foot nerve pain may be avoided or subsided by proper management of diabetes through healthy food and exercise. Maintaining the level of sugar in the blood also does not allow the pain to aggravate.
Neuropathic Pain Treatment
Nerve pain cannot be treated in a general manner since what is effective for one individual may not be effective for another. The reasons are to treat the cause, relieve pain, and enhance your lifestyle.
Neuropathic Pain Medicine
There are several neuropathic pain medicine products:
- Antidepressants: This is used to treat the pain as well as the emotional symptoms. Common types include:
- Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and desipramine.
- The serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, such as venlafaxine.
- Anticonvulsants: Anti-seizure drugs have a disruptive effect on the pain. This pain is usually treated with Gabapentin and pregabalin.
- Topical measures: Lidocaine patches and capsaicin cream that are applied to the skin may be useful.
- NSAIDs: Over-the-counter painkillers such as Aleve and Motrin could also help a few individuals, but they do not necessarily work on nerve pain.
- Opioids: These analgesics are partial pain relievers that are associated with the dangers of side effects and addiction.
Which Pain reliever is a good one to use with nerve pain?
The best pain killer depends on your case of nerve pain. The first-line drug is usually antidepressants and anticonvulsants since these drugs affect the way the nerves transmit pain. Gabapentin, pregabalin, or amitriptyline may also be prescribed by your physician as the initial medications. Many individuals require taking various drugs together to help them control their neuropathic pain.
Advanced Treatment Options
When the medications fail to give appropriate relief, they may resort to other forms of treatment. Other neuropathic pain treatment options include:
- Nerve blocks: When painkillers, steroids, or anesthetics are injected into the specific nerves, they prevent pain temporarily. These should be done regularly so that they can continue working.
- Electrical stimulation: TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), on the other hand, peripheral nerve or spinal cord stimulation delivers small electrical impulses that alter the transmission of pain to your brain.
- Implantable devices: Doctors are capable of installing devices in your body acting to regulate irregular neural communications. They are applied where other therapies have been unsuccessful.
- Surgery: This may be needed in case the tumor, herniated disc, or other physical issue is pushing on your nerves.
Lifestyle and Supportive Therapies
Physical therapy will help you continue moving the painful part and eliminate muscle wasting. Occupational therapy gives you skills on how to sit, stretch, and stand so as to minimize neuropathic pain.
Other viable solutions are:
- Massage to take tension off the muscles.
- The art of stress management and stress relaxation.
- Emotional counseling to overcome the problem of chronic pain.
- Complementary therapy: Acupuncture.
Prevention Tips
Although you can never avoid nerve pain, you can minimize your exposure to nerve pain by:
- Precautionary management of such chronic diseases as diabetes.
- Avoiding alcohol overdrinking.
- Eating well with a sufficient amount of vitamin B.
- Vaccination against infections such as shingles.
- Preventing nerve compression by applying correct ergonomics.
When to See a Doctor
When you have the neuropathic pain symptoms, which include the shooting pain, burning pain, numbness, or tingling pain that would not go away, contact your medical expert. In case of severe pain, numbness, or weakness that rapidly worsens, emergency treatment is required due to the possibility of severe nerve damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans. These medicine targets how nerves process and send pain signals to your brain. They change nerve function and reduce pain intensity.
Ans. Treatment effectiveness varies by person. While complete pain relief can be difficult to achieve, combining different approaches, such as medications, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes, gives the best results.
Ans. The most common neuropathic pain symptoms include shooting or burning sensations, tingling, numbness, and hypersensitivity to touch.
Ans. Neuropathic pain in the feet happens most often due to diabetes, which damages nerves in the legs and feet over time. High blood sugar levels cause nerve dysfunction that leads to numbness.
Ans. Neuropathic pain causes include diseases, injuries, infections, and other factors like vitamin deficiencies or nerve compression. About 30% of cases result from diabetes.
Ans. A good painkiller for nerve pain depends on your condition, but doctors typically start with gabapentin, pregabalin, or tricyclic antidepressants. Your healthcare provider will create a personalized plan based on your symptoms and response to treatment.
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