Nerve Pain
Causes of nerve pain
“Burning”, “boring”, “stabbing”, and “constant” are the most common descriptors of nerve pain. This pain typically follows some sort of trauma or is the result of degeneration of the nervous system. The trauma may be a direct injury to a nerve following an accident or surgery, or it may occur on a more microscopic level leading to complex regional pain syndrome.
Degenerative causes of nerve pain include peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and ALS. As a group, these types of pain are some of the most severe that we treat. We are fortunate to be able to offer promising, newer therapies.
Understanding nerve pain
Nerve pain occurs when your nervous system becomes damaged or isn’t working properly for whatever reason. Nerve pain can originate from any level of the nervous system, like the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, or brain. The spinal cord and the brain make up the central nervous system, while peripheral nerves include nerves that spread throughout the rest of your body. Peripheral nerves serve the organs, arms, legs, fingers, and toes.
Because of the difficulty in treating this type of pain, we frequently encounter patients who have suffered for decades with an identical pain syndrome. When nerve pain results from trauma, the patient can usually remember the exact day their pain began. There is nothing more gratifying for our team than to hear patients tell us that the pain they have been living with for so long is now essentially gone.
Common Symptoms
Nerve pain can be felt in a variety of symptoms, including:
- Shooting, burning, stabbing, or electric shock-like pain
- Tingling, numbness, or a “pins and needles” feeling
- Allodynia: pain caused by non-painful stimuli like cold air, gentle brushing of the skin, light pressure, etc.
- Hyperalgesia: an increased feeling of pain brought on by normally painful stimuli like heat or pinpricks
- Dysesthesia: an unpleasant and abnormal sensation that may be spontaneous or evoked
- Trouble sleeping, emotional issues caused by disturbed sleep resulting from continuous nerve pain
- Lack of coordination and falling
- An extremity or area with excessive or absent sweating
- An extremity or area with abnormal hair growth and skin texture
- An extremity or area with skin temperature and color changes
Diagnosis
Successful treatment of nerve pain hinges on a precise diagnosis. Getting this diagnosis can be complicated by a variety of factors, but we will persist in identifying the root cause of your pain. After your diagnosis, we will review your treatment options and seek to maximize your chance of achieving a long-term reduction in your pain with the least risk.
