Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition caused by damage within the nerve fibers, resulting in the delivery of incorrect signals to the brain. Neuropathic pain, a response to injury to the central nervous or peripheral nervous system, usually causes tissue damage. What makes neuropathic pain so difficult to treat is that it is not only chronic and severe, but unresponsive to simple analgesic relief.
In addition to stabbing, shocking or shooting (not aching) pain, patients may also experience numbness, tingling and weakness in the affected region of the body. They may also, because of exquisite nerve sensitivity, experience allodynia (pain provoked by gentle stimulus) or hyperalgesia (excessive pain provoked by a slight pain stimulus). A further addition to patient misery with neuropathic pain can be the insomnia suffered because of unremitting pain.
Causes of Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain may occur as a result of several different factors, including surgery, certain diseases and underlying conditions. These may include disorders that cause nerve compression, such as:
- Nerve compression Injuries
- Spinal surgery
- Malignant or benign tumors
Neuropathic pain may also be caused by diseases, such as those listed below:
- Alcoholism
- Lyme disease
- Shingles
- Diabetes
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis or lupus
Other miscellaneous causes of neuropathic pain may include chemotherapy or the ingestion of toxins, problems with facial nerves, like the trigeminal nerve, or phantom limb syndrome in which pain is experienced in a non-existent limb after amputation. In certain cases, nutritional deficiencies, especially a lack of sufficient vitamin B6 or B12 may result in neuropathic pain.
Treatments of Neuropathic Pain
At Michigan Integrative Health we see many people who suffer with peripheral and diabetic neuropathy. Our unique exam and evaluation will immediately let you know if you are a candidate for care, and will reveal the drugless, non-surgical options available to resolve or at least greatly reduce your suffering.
