All you need to know about nerve pain

Your body sends warning signals, and if you can listen to them and understand them, you may prevent complications. Several nerves connect various parts of your body to the brain, and when a nerve is pinched or compressed, the typical warning sign that can be felt is a pain.

Damage due to a pinched nerve can be minor or severe. However, it is crucial to have it checked and not to ignore the pain.

Neuropathic pain is observed when the nerves are damaged. Medical conditions such as diabetes, chemotherapy, side effects of medications, wounds, and injuries can cause nerve pain. When the nerves are damaged due to an underlying medical condition, they will probably send pain signals, even when there is no reason for the pain. They can similarly pose a threat of more significant issues like foot infections. Irrespective of the reason, nerve pain can be a genuine and incapacitating condition. Individuals who have it frequently require assistance from a specialist and take prescription medications to avail pain relief for nerve damage.

Primary causes of a pinched nerve

Anything that increases weight around a nerve can bring about a pinched nerve. Not-so-serious, common causes that can cause a pinched nerve are leaning on elbows, crossing legs habitually, or a weak posture. Several treatments are available to treat pinched nerve; the doctor would suggest the best pinched nerve pain treatment depending on the condition of the patient.

Other factors that can cause pinched nerves are:

• Pregnancy is one of the causes as it is related to an increase in weight and is sporadically connected with water retention.
• Disc herniation or arthritis and bulging discs in the spine can put weight on the nerve, which prompts the torment or inconvenience related to a pinched nerve.
• Certain exercises can increase the swelling around particular nerves and prompt indications of a pinched nerve.
• Thyroid (particularly hypothyroidism, or low thyroid hormone levels) can add to both water retention and weight gain that increase the chances of getting pinched nerves.

How is the condition treated?
Depending on the reason for nerve pain, the condition may remain for a short span or persist for a longer duration. This also depends on the nerve pain treatment. In less severe cases, just resting the injured area along with a few home remedies will provide a cure. In more severe cases, your doctor may prescribe painkillers, or the pain specialist may prescribe different methodologies.

Several alternative pinched nerve treatment methods are available as well, that may help soothe the indications of nerve pain. Patients may make use of some of these methodologies alongside the recommended nerve pain treatment. In fact, when the nerve pain is not severe, then you can deal with it with the help of any alternative nerve pain treatment option like physical therapy.

Nerve pain – Treatment
Listed below are the common treatment methods that offer relief from nerve pain:

Topical medications
A lot of over-the-counter ointments are available on the market to mitigate nerve pain. They incorporate elements that work as a local anesthetic, desensitizing the pain in the area where it is applied. Some contain capsaicin, a painkiller made from chili peppers. Others make use of diverse characteristic elements, similar to herbal oils. One favorable aspect of topical medications is that you can apply them exactly at the place where there is a pain, and thus they form an excellent pinched nerve pain treatment option.

Vitamin and mineral supplements
Different supplements are sometimes used as medicines for nerve pain treatment. At times, nerve pain can be intensified or be caused by a lack of vitamin B12. In such a case, the specialist would suggest infusions of vitamin B12 or supplements. There’s some preparatory proof that a couple of them such as acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, and gamma-linolenic acid might soothe nerve pain caused by diabetes. Nonetheless, the confirmation isn’t clear, and there is a need for more research. Remember to seek medical guidance before taking any supplement.

Prescribed medications
Painkillers help curb or subside the pain. A few people with neuropathic pain switch to recognizable over-the-counter painkillers which include paracetamol, headache medicine, and ibuprofen.

While these painkillers may help curb mild or infrequent pain, they may not provide relief from serious nerve pain. In such cases, the doctor may prescribe oral corticosteroids to reduce inflammation. Sometimes, they may suggest steroidal injections to enable nerve recovery. , Surgery is the last resort, in case the pain does not respond to any of these treatments.

The treatment would vary on a case by case basis. Hence, discuss with your doctor on the option most suitable for your case to avail relief.