Nerve conditions can be hard to diagnose, and many patients live for years without an explanation or effective treatment for their muscle weakness or pain. Our specialists understand that the cause of a nerve condition is not always obvious and often requires a bit of detective work to uncover.
What Evidence May Prove the Accident Caused Your Nerve Damage? Proving you suffered nerve damage is difficult. Part of the reason for this is that some nerve damage, such as a whiplash injury, is not visible. Even when you have a diagnosis, it can be challenging to prove the injury was the result of your car accident.
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.
In order to fully determine the extent of the damage to the nerve, the doctor may order an electrical conduction test to determine the passage of electrical currents through the nerves. Two of these tests are electromyography and nerve conduction velocity.
Because nerve damage can have many silent symptoms, it often goes undiagnosed in the early stages. And if you've never experienced nerve pain before, you may not even recognize the other signs.
Does an MRI scan show nerve damage? A neurological examination can diagnose nerve damage, but an MRI scan can pinpoint it. It's crucial to get tested if symptoms worsen to avoid any permanent nerve damage.
MRI is one of the best imaging tests for revealing soft tissue damage, but it can't show nerve compression or other spinal cord issues. Nerve conduction studies measure how fast an impulse travels from the brain to muscles and sensory organs in your body.
A blood test can detect conditions that may be causing peripheral neuropathy, such as diabetes, nutrient deficiencies, liver or kidney dysfunction, and abnormal immune system activity.
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.
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.
Nerve conduction tests may take from 15 minutes to 1 hour or more. It depends on how many nerves and muscles your doctor tests.
1.1.
Seddon2 classified nerve injuries into three broad categories; neurapraxia, axonotmesis, and neurotmesis.
The most common cause of nerve damage is diabetes. Diabetes can damage the nerves by causing them to swell and press against blood vessels. Since sensory nerves are the most likely to be affected, this can cause a loss of sensation or weakness in the affected area.
Some nerve-related problems do not interfere with daily life. Others get worse quickly and may lead to long-term, severe symptoms and problems. When a medical condition can be found and treated, your outlook may be excellent. But sometimes, nerve damage can be permanent, even if the cause is treated.
Answer: Damaged nerves cannot be seen on a regular X-ray. They can be seen on CAT scan or MRI, and in fact, MRI is recommended for examining details of the spinal cord.
A nerve injury can affect the brain's ability to communicate with muscles and organs. Damage to the peripheral nerves is called peripheral neuropathy. It's important to get medical care for a peripheral nerve injury as soon as possible. Early diagnosis and treatment may prevent complications and permanent damage.
It Can Lead to Other Health Problems When nerve pain is ignored, it throws your entire body off. The system our body used to signal and acknowledge pain begins to break down, which can lead to other health problems. You may begin to feel more fatigued and experience weakening of your muscles.
It is a versatile imaging technique with a high sensitivity of 93% for detecting focal nerve lesions. Ultrasound can assess the structural integrity of the nerve, neuroma formation and other surrounding abnormalities of bone or foreign bodies impeding the nerve.
It's difficult or impossible to move part of your body.
For instance, if this weakness or numbness comes on suddenly (particularly on one side of the body)—and you also experience sudden confusion, trouble walking or seeing, and a severe headache—you may be having a stroke, and you'll need medical attention ASAP.
To find out, conclusively, if your nerves are damaged, you need to see a neurologist. He or she will perform tests to determine the health of your muscles and nerves. If there is a problem, the doctor will explain the reason for the damage and its extent.
MRIs are able to provide in-depth information on not only the spinal cord but individual nerves as well. There is a good chance that an MRI should be able to detect a pinched nerve. This can confirm the suspicions of a doctor.
Your surgeon can remove the damaged section and reconnect healthy nerve ends (nerve repair) or implant a piece of nerve from another part of your body (nerve graft). These procedures can help your nerves regrow.
The most severe type of nerve injury is an avulsion (A), where the nerve roots are torn away from the spinal cord. Less severe injuries involve a stretching (B) of the nerve fibers or a rupture (C), where the nerve is torn into two pieces.
Neurapraxia is the mildest form of peripheral nerve injury commonly induced by focal demyelination or ischemia. In neurapraxia, the conduction of nerve impulses is blocked in the injured area.