Nerve Damage Evaluation
Pain from unknown Nerve Damage causes that stimulates the nerves continually, if not resolved, can make the nerves more sensitive to pain. This becomes a downward spiral for those with back or neck pain. Over time, there is so much stimulation of the nerve in the form of pain, that it changes the nerve and causes ongoing pain, even after the problem has been resolved. It seems that the pain signal is sent to the nervous system, even without tissue damage. Also, there may not be a definitive point of pain. Perhaps the pain becomes the problem, as the nervous system is somehow misfiring and creating its own pain.
Neuropathic pain results from Nerve Injury or Disease Damage to, or dysfunction, the peripheral or central nervous system, rather than stimulation of the pain receptors. Diagnosis is suggested by pain that is out of proportion to the tissue injury, such as burning or tingling. In other words, rather than an injury causing pain, the nerves themselves are causing the pain because they have become damaged and malfunction. The nerves become the source of pain.
Types of Nerve Damage and Symptoms
The category of pain, pain that persists when there is no apparent physical reason, has only recently been investigated seriously. This type of pain may indicate that the nerves carrying the pain signals to the brain may have been damaged from the previous injury. These Damaged Nerves continue to broadcast messages of pain to the brain even though the tissue damage has healed. For most people, neuropathic pain feels like a severe shooting pain or a shooting, stabbing pain. It can radiate and cause pain along the entire nerve path. A condition associated with nerve pain is Peripheral neuropathy. Many of these patients suffer from symptoms of painful cramping and burning, numbness, weakness of the arms and legs and interruption of sleep. Approximately 20 million American suffer from this debilitating disease, and it is commonly associated with diabetes. Yet, neuropathy symptoms can also occur in patients suffering from, restless leg syndrome, sciatic neuropathy, and recently has been linked to statin drugs which are used to lower cholesterol.