Nerve Pain

Guide to Find out about Nerve Pain

In medical term, nerve pain known as neuropathic pain. Pain caused by nerves is more commonly regarded as neuralgia is caused and triggered by a number of things and can be very difficult to treat. Sharp pain or tingling feeling accompanies this pain, sometimes accompanied by seizures, especially if experienced in the lower back. However it is possible to achieve nerve pain relief, although it might take some time.

There are the same sentence that described by most of people about chronic nerve pain, Regardless of the cause, nerve pain can feel like any of the following:

- Tingling

- Shooting

- Sharp

- Stabbing

- Prickling

In the intensity of neuropathic pain can vary. For some, it can feel like mildly bothersome pins and needles. For others, the pain may be severe and nearly unbearable. Nerve pain may be localized (felt at or near the area of nerve damage) or referred (felt somewhere else in the body).

Nerve Pain Symptoms

Nerve pain has some medical terms so that makes it unique. The following are terms of nerve pain sensation which include:

- Hyperalgesia: If a person has hyperalgesia, mildly painful stimuli may be felt with greater intensity. 

- Allodynia: When a person experiences pain after a stimulus that shouldn’t cause pain under ordinary circumstances, it is called allodynia. 

- Dysesthesia: Dysesthesia describes some sort of impairment in sensation. It can describe pain that is felt when there is no stimulus present at all, also called spontaneous pain.

Neuropathic conditions often cause other symptoms like other types of chronic pain. If you have any of the following and pain symptoms described above, you may have nerve damage: 

- Partial or complete loss of feeling 

- Muscle weakness 

- Partial or complete paralysis 

- Changes in skin appearance and texture 

- Muscle disuse atrophy 

- Depression and/or anxiety

- Definition: Neuropathic pain is the term for pain caused by nerve irritation, damage or destruction. It is one of the six classes of chronic pain. 

- Often described as sharp, stinging or burning, neuropathic pain is common in diseases such as diabetes that attack sensory nerves. Nerve pain is also present in conditions such as amputation or spinal cord injury, in which nerves are damaged or severed. Swelling associated with conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and sciatica can also irritate nerves, causing neuropathic pain. 

- Other common causes of neuropathic pain. 

- Nerve pain can be treated with medications that change the way the brain interprets pain, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants. If swelling is an issue, NSAIDs may also be effective. 

- Pronunciation: ner-oh-path-ick pain

- Also Known As: nerve pain, neuropathy, neuralgia.

Treatment of Nerve Pain

As much as possible the treatment of nerve pain are based on what is the cause. If the cause is reversible, then the peripheral nerves may regenerate and pain will abate; however, this reduction of pain may take many months to years. To treat neuropathic pain there are many different medicines that can be used. However, it should be noted that there is no specific drug has been approved for treating all kinds of painful neuropathy.

Nerve pain does not respond as well to the usual pain killing medicines such as opoids. It's important to undergone checks with a medical professional particularly a pain management specialist as if it's not diagnosed early as neuropathic pain, the condition might become more persistent. Depending on your condition, most pain management specialists recommend an aggressive early treatment.

Nerve pain relief can come in the form of special drugs from the anti convulsant and anti depressant families which reduce the stimulation and excitement of the nerves, giving them a chance to heal.There are also nerve block injections - these are numbing medications injected around the nerves to interrupt the stream of painful signals. This allows the nervous system to 'reset' itself. The mind can also help in the healing process the mind and body have incredible powers of self-healing and pain management so be sure to take a holistic approach to treatment.


Read my other guide on Chest Wall Pain

References

 Jacques,Erica.”What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like?”. http://pain.about.com/od/typesofchronicpain/a/neuropathic_pain_symptoms.htm. ( August 30 2013 )

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR on 6/24/2013, “Neuropathic Pain”. http://www.onhealth.com/neuropathic_pain/page3.htm. ( September 11, 2013 )