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What is Nerve (Neuropathic) Pain?

Neuropathic pain if a form of chronic pain condition that is accompanied by, or caused by an infection, disease, or injury. On the other hand, the condition cannot be attributed to any one single factor. Pain normally comes about due to an illness or injury. For instance, dropping a heavy item on your hand, leg, or foot will cause your nervous system to transmit pain signals immediately your body is hit by the item.

With nerve pain/pinched nerve pain, there’s no single injury or event that can be said to be behind the pain. What happens is that the body just begins to transmit pain signals to your body without being prompted. A person suffering from this condition is likely to routinely experience burning or shooting pain.

It’s a pain that can either come randomly or remain constant. You may also experience a loss of sensation or numbness in the affected area. With time, this condition may either start to improve or become worse.

Statistics indicate that one out of every three people in Australia suffers from chronic pain. Of this, every one out of five will suffer from neuropathic pain. A certain study estimated that about 10percent of the Australian population experiences a particular kind of neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic Pain Causes

The causes of this form of pain can be divided into:

 I. Accidents

Neuropathic pain can be brought about by injuries to joints, muscles, or tissues. Similarly, problems in your hips, legs, and back, or injuries in these areas can also lead to long-term nerve damage. Even though the injury will begin to heal with time, the damage to your nerves cannot be reversed.

This may lead to you experiencing persistent pain for the next few years.

 II. Infection

Infections are a popular cause of this condition. Individuals living with AIDS or HIV are highly likely to experience this kind of pain. It’s also possible for you to experience a stinging and unexplained pain when you have a syphilis infection. Long-term neuropathic pain may also be caused by shingles, brought about by a chickenpox outbreak.

III. Surgery

Phantom limb syndrome is an uncommon condition that tends to occur when your leg or arm gets amputated. In spite of losing a vital limb, the brain will still continue to assume that the pain signals are coming from the part that has already been amputated.

In reality, what will be happening is that the nerves located in this area will be misfiring, and in the process will start to transmit defective warning signs. Apart from your legs and arms, the phantom pain can also be felt in your ears, fingers, penis, and toes.

Symptoms of Nerve Pain/Pinched Nerve Pain

The symptoms experienced by each person are bound to vary. But all conditions tend to have popular symptoms that occur in many of its sufferers. In this case, the common symptoms include:

  • Difficulty resting or sleeping
  • Spontaneous pain
  • A chronic sensation of being abnormal or unpleasant
  • Stabbing, burning or shooting pain
  • Loss of sleep

How to Manage Neuropathic Pain

This type of pain tends to manifest itself in the form of a long-lasting condition. It, therefore, doesn’t react well to modern types of treatment. While it may not be able to permanently get rid of the problem, a few lifestyle changes can help relieve the symptoms.

Massage, relaxation, and physical therapies can assist you to ease its symptoms. Therapies help the muscles to relax, and this, in turn, assists to reduce your nerve-related issues.