Author: Clayton Adams, MD
Neuropathy is a dysfunction that usually occurs in the peripheral nervous system, or the nerves located outside the brain and spinal cord. It can manifest as pain, weakness, and numbness. While neuralgia is simply nerve pain, patients may feel burning, stinging, pins and needles, and electric shocks at the slightest stimulation. Neuralgia is a type of neuropathy, but neuropathy often affects moving parts, causing, for example, slow digestion, nausea, or dizziness.
Both indicate conditions that affect the nerves and may cause pain where the nerves are damaged. If not treated early, both conditions can become chronic and gradually worsen. Patients may suffer permanent damage resulting in permanent loss of sensation or pain in the affected area. It is important for patients to see a doctor as soon as they think they may be experiencing symptoms of neuropathy or nerve pain so they can develop an effective treatment plan to extract the damaged nerves or relieve pain.
What are the symptoms of neuropathy?
Neuropathy is quite common in older patients, especially those with chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. In fact, 60%-70% of people with diabetes will be diagnosed with neuropathy. It may also affect patients of any age who abuse alcohol or other drugs.
It can be caused by certain autoimmune diseases (such as lupus) and certain infections (such as syphilis (if left untreated), hepatitis B and C). May be unavoidable; such as surgery involving anywhere around the spine and neck. It is also important to note that patients may be more susceptible to neuropathy if they are vitamin deficient or receive chemotherapy.
Neuropathy can cause patients to feel like something is burning, painful, sharp, or throbbing. It may also cause numbness in the affected part of the patient’s body or weakness in the muscles surrounding the nerves. If a patient has neuropathy in the autonomic nerves, which control things outside of our conscious control, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion, the patient may feel dizzy or sweat abnormally.
What are the symptoms of neuralgia?
Neuralgia is most commonly caused by damage to the nerves under the skin. Nerve pain has similar origins, such as diabetes, surgery, and infections such as HIV/AIDS. It can also be caused by shingles and cause mild to severe pain at the site of the shingles in the body. It can be caused by side effects of certain medications that help the heart and blood pressure, fight cancer, HIV/AIDS, and fight diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy.
Nerve pain can manifest as pain, tingling, burning, or electric shock in the affected area. For example, if a patient has trigeminal neuralgia, they may experience pain in the head, mouth, teeth, and nose areas.
What are the medical treatments for nerve pain and neuropathy?
Treatment of neuropathy and nerve pain depends largely on the underlying disease that may be causing the condition, as well as its symptoms. Doctors often develop a treatment plan to support management of the underlying disease and resolve symptoms.
There are over-the-counter and prescription medications available to relieve pain. For example, anti-inflammatory medications may help reduce nerve pain. Doctors may also prescribe anticonvulsants or even antidepressants as effective prescription treatments.
Your doctor may also recommend procedural intervention, such as nerve-blocking injections, to block pain in certain nerves or groups of nerves. Radiofrequency ablation is very useful because it heats the affected area and burns away the affected nerves. Doctors may also prescribe physical therapy or even surgery to relieve a patient’s pain. Doctors may decide to give patients spinal cord stimulation, which can be beneficial for patients who experience burning or electric shock sensations; however, since patients don’t actually experience these symptoms from typical stimulation, their brains are trying to make sense of the signal.
What is at-home neuropathy and nerve pain treatment?
Generally speaking, if neuropathy or nerve pain is caused by an underlying condition, the patient will benefit from having their underlying condition managed. For example, if someone develops neuropathy as a side effect of diabetes, it is best to control blood sugar levels, get enough exercise, eat a low-sugar diet, etc. If a patient’s doctor indicates that they have a vitamin deficiency, they should increase their intake at home.
Exercise can also help, as neuropathy and nerve pain often cause inflammation of the nerves. The greater the blood flow to the affected area, the less likely the nerve will become trapped by developed scar tissue, making the pain worse. There are also specific exercises called nerve flossing that can improve the motor function of your nerves and reduce pain.
The bottom line is that people should see their doctor even if their neuropathy or nerve pain is mild or occurs only occasionally. Typically, these conditions occur sporadically and appear more quickly and consistently over time; especially if they are caused by trauma or infection. Waiting will only cause further problems.
Dr. Adams
Dr. Adams graduated from Texas Tech University with a medical degree. Dr. Adams served as chief resident in anesthesiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and completed a pain management fellowship. He is dual board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Management. View profile
