As a specialist in peripheral nerve surgery, Dr. Seruya wants his patients to know that after a period of 12-18 months nerve damage can become permanent.
Nerves recover slowly, and maximal recovery may take many months or several years. You'll need regular checkups to make sure your recovery stays on track. If your injury is caused by a medical condition, your doctor will treat the underlying condition.
The outlook for peripheral neuropathy varies, depending on the underlying cause and which nerves have been damaged. Some cases may improve with time if the underlying cause is treated, whereas in some people the damage may be permanent or may get gradually worse with time.
Left untreated, nerve damage may worsen over time. It can sometimes start in the nerves farthest from the brain and spinal cord -- like those in the feet and hands. Then it may move up into the legs and arms.
The symptoms depend on the type of nerve fibers affected and the type and severity of damage. Symptoms may develop over days, weeks, or years. In some cases, symptoms improve on their own and may not require advanced care.
Most of the time, the pins and needles feeling is a good sign. It's a short-term phase that means nerves are coming back to life.
To achieve full recovery, the nerve must undergo three main processes: Wallerian degeneration (the clearing process of the distal stump), axonal regeneration, and end-organ reinnervation.
Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings. The MRI scan images are obtained with a magnetic field and radio waves. No harmful ionizing radiation is used.
Nerve conduction studies, including an Electromyogram (EMG) may be performed on individuals suffering with nerve pain symptoms. These studies use electrical impulses to determine the level of damage. A final diagnosis will be made by your physician through the help of one or all of these tests.
Unfortunately, chronic nerve pain rarely goes away completely. However, a combination of multidisciplinary treatments, such as physical therapy, regular exercise, medication, and pain management treatment can hopefully provide significant relief.
As a general rule, a muscle which has been weakened due to nerve compression should not be exercised until there is measurable return of muscle strength and there is minimal pain associated with the nerve injury.
Walking can reduce the pain and other symptoms of neuropathy from the nerve damage in your feet and lower legs. Walking and other light aerobic exercises have various benefits for people affected by neuropathy, which is a wide range of conditions involving disease and damage to the peripheral nerves.
It's not that motor nerve fibers don't regrow -- they can -- but they don't grow fast enough. By the time they get to the muscle fibers, they can no longer communicate with them. When a motor nerve is severely damaged, people rarely recover full muscle strength and function.
Continuous training (slow walking at 10 meters/min for one hour per day) was effective in promoting nerve regeneration in males but not females and interval training (four repetitions of short sprints at 20 meters/min for 2 minutes following by 5 minutes of rest) was effective in females and not males. B.
On average, damaged nerves can grow back at a rate of about 1 inch per month or 1 millimeter per day. Surgery is needed if there is significant scar tissue or a gap between cut nerve ends.
Damage and regeneration naturally occur in the peripheral nervous system. The neurotropic B vitamins thiamine (B1), pyridoxine (B6), and cobalamin (B12) are key players, which maintain the neuronal viability in different ways. Firstly, they constantly protect nerves against damaging environmental influences.
A massage helps to reduce effects of injury by relieving compression of nerves an encouraging repair of damaged nervous tissues to increase. Relief of compressed nerves and healing of damaged nervous tissues reduces negative sensations such as pins and needles and numbness to improve sensation.
Nerve pain often feels like a shooting, stabbing or burning sensation. Sometimes it can feel as sharp and sudden as an electric shock. You may be very sensitive to touch or cold. You may also experience pain as a result of touch that would not normally be painful, such as something lightly brushing your skin.
Pinched nerves can last from a few days to about a month, depending on how you treat it. It is typically a temporary condition that you can treat on your own, but it's important to not ignore long-lasting or acute pain as it could be the sign of a bigger problem.
Magnesium ion can promote peripheral nerve repair by inhibiting inflammation.
People with advanced neuropathy may have problems sleeping, experience paralysis, muscle failure or problems with organs or other bodily functions. In many cases, neuropathy may begin with extremities, such as toes and fingers, and work itself up to the core of the body through the hands and feet.
High-sugar products (canned fruit, granola, juice, ketchup, soda, protein bars, etc.) Trans & saturated fats (commercially baked items, coconut oil, fried foods, margarine, etc.)