Diabetes is responsible for approximately 30% of all nerve pain (neuropathic pain), though other disorders such as alcoholism and shingles can also cause neuropathic pain. Treatment options include medication, physical therapy, psychological counselling, and even surgery.
Causes and Symptoms Diagnosis and Test Management
What is neuropathic pain, exactly?
If your nervous system is injured or not functioning properly, you may experience neuropathic pain. Pain can be experienced at any level of the nervous system, including the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and brain. The spinal cord and the brain comprise the central nervous system. Peripheral nerves connect organs, arms, legs, fingers, and toes throughout the rest of your body.
Damaged nerve fibres send incorrect information to pain areas. The nerve function may differ at the site of nerve damage as well as in other parts of the central nervous system (central sensitization).
Neuropathy is a malfunction or change in one or more of the nerves. Diabetes is responsible for approximately 30% of all neuropathy cases. It is not always easy to pinpoint the source of neuropathic pain. This type of discomfort is linked to hundreds of diseases.
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES
What are some of the possible causes of neuropathic pain?
- Alcoholism is one disease that can cause neuropathic pain.
- Issues with the facial nerves
- HIV infection, also referred to as AIDS.
- Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other problems with the central nervous system
- Complex regional pain syndrome
- (Postherpetic neuralgia is pain that persists after a shingles attack.)
- Other considerations include: • Chemotherapy medications (cisplatin, paclitaxel, vincristine, etc.).
- Radiation therapy.
- Amputation may cause phantom pain.
- Spinal cord compression or inflammation
- Nerve damage caused by trauma or surgery
- Invasion of a tumour or nerve compression
What are the symptoms of neuropathic pain?
Many symptoms may be present in the case of neuropathic pain. Among these indicators are:
- Spontaneous pain (pain that occurs without any external stimulus): Shooting, scorching, stabbing, or electric shock-like pain; tingling, numbness, or a “pins and needles” sensation
- The pain was induced: Pain induced by non-painful stimuli such as cold, light skin contact, pressure, and so on. This is referred to as allodynia. Evoked pain can also refer to a pain increase caused by normally painful stimuli such as pinpricks and heat. This is known as hyperalgesia.
- An unpleasant, unpleasant sensation that occurs naturally or is induced (dysesthesia).
- Sleeping problems and mental problems as a result of sleep disruption and pain
- Pain alleviation as a result of typically unpleasant stimuli (hypoalgesia).
ANALYSIS AND TESTING
What are the manifestations of neuropathic pain?
Your doctor will take a medical history and conduct a physical examination. If your doctor is aware or suspects that you have nerve damage, they will recognise typical neuropathic pain symptoms. Your doctor will then try to figure out what’s causing your neuropathy and keep track of your symptoms.
MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT
What are the options for treating neuropathic pain?
The treatment’s goals are as follows:
Take care of the underlying condition (for example, radiation or surgery to shrink a tumour that is pressing on a nerve).
- Provide pain relief.
- Maintain functionality.
- Improve your quality of life.
Multimodal therapy (medications, physical therapy, psychological counselling, and, in some cases, surgery) is frequently required to treat neuropathic pain.
Generic Lyrica is frequently prescribed to treat neuropathic pain.
- Neurontin (gabapentin).
- Lyrica (pregabalin).
- Topamax (topiramate).
- Tegretol (carbamazepine).
- Lamotrigine (marketed as Lamictal®).
Antidepressants such as
- Elavil® may also be prescribed by doctors (amitriptyline).
- Pamelor (nortriptyline).
- Effexor (venlafaxine).
- Cymbalta (duloxetine).
Obtaining a Pregalin 50mg prescription from your pain specialist does not imply that you are having seizures or are depressed. Anxiety or sadness, on the other hand, can aggravate chronic pain.
Topical therapies such as lidocaine
capsaicin—patches, lotions, or ointments—can be applied to the sore area.
Opioid analgesics are less effective in treating neuropathic pain, and their side effects may make them unsuitable for long-term use.
Experts in pain management can also perform nerve blocks, which involve injecting steroids, local anaesthetics, or other medications into the affected nerves.
To treat neuropathic pain that has not responded to previous therapies, spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, and brain stimulation can be used.
What is the outlook for those suffering from neuropathic pain?
Neuropathic pain is difficult to completely treat, but it is rarely fatal. The best results will be obtained by combining rehabilitation with emotional, social, and mental health support. You will be able to control your pain to a level that improves your quality of life with the help of a pain specialist and some or all of the approaches mentioned above.
When medication alone is insufficient, physical therapy modalities and rehabilitation strategies must be examined.
Physical therapy addresses the physical aspects of inflammation, stiffness, and soreness through exercise, manipulation, and massage, but it also aims to assist the body in healing itself by promoting the creation of the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals. This two-pronged strategy contributes to physical therapy’s effectiveness as a pain treatment.
