Painful trigger points are definitely more common than neuropathy, and at least some of those muscle knots feel enough like nerve pain that they are easily mistaken for the more familiar bogeyman. Do you feel burning pain in your feet? Or uncomfortable tingling, numbness, stabbing, or shooting sensations?
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.
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common, impacting 7 in 10 diabetics, among others. PN is often mistaken for another common illness, multiple sclerosis (MS).
If the pain started after an injury and it's a dull ache, it's likely muscle pain. If your pain seemed to come out of nowhere or it's been ongoing, and it feels like your skin is on fire, you're likely experiencing nerve pain. If you're experiencing any kind of pain, you'll definitely want to contact your doctor.
A variety of different types of autoimmune diseases can produce symptoms of nerve pain and nerve damage. These include: multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nerves), lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disorder in which your immune system mistakenly attacks part of the peripheral nervous system—the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord.
Injections, such as peripheral nerve injections and epidurals may be recommended. We also offer spinal cord stimulation, an implanted device, which sends electrical pulses to the spinal cord to mask the pain. In some cases, surgery will be necessary.
Neurologists are specialists who treat diseases of the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerves and muscles. Neurological conditions include epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease.
About 30% of all nerve pain (neuropathic pain) happens because of diabetes, but other diseases like alcoholism and shingles can cause neuropathic pain. Treatment might include medicines, physical therapy, psychological counseling, and even surgery.
Your nerves can become irritated, compressed or tethered (pinched) by: Tight muscles or muscle spasm.
Electromyography (EMG) is used to record the electrical activity in muscle. It can identify abnormalities in the muscles or nerves resulting from peripheral neuropathy, nerve degeneration or damage to the protective covering (myelin sheath) that surrounds the nerves in your brain or spinal cord.
a nerve conduction test (NCS), where small metal wires called electrodes are placed on your skin that release tiny electric shocks to stimulate your nerves; the speed and strength of the nerve signal is measured.
An MRI may be able help identify structural lesions that may be pressing against the nerve so the problem can be corrected before permanent nerve damage occurs. Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings.
When you injure a part of the body surrounded by nerves, you can damage the nerves as well. In return, you may experience sensations of tingling, numbness, or burning. Some people feel weakness in a spot that has sustained nerve damage.
In some types of cancer, the body may make substances that damage peripheral nerves. This is called paraneoplastic syndrome. It may happen in people with lung cancer, myeloma or lymphoma.
People with nerve pain feel it in different ways. For some, it's a stabbing pain in the middle of the night. For others, symptoms can include a chronic prickling, tingling, or burning they feel all day. Uncontrolled nerve pain can be hard to bear.
Peripheral nerves can be damaged in several ways: Injury from an accident, a fall or sports, which can stretch, compress, crush or cut nerves. Medical conditions, such as diabetes, Guillain-Barre syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome. Autoimmune diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome.
Numbness or decreased sensation in the area supplied by the nerve. Sharp, aching or burning pain, which may radiate outward. Tingling, pins and needles sensations (paresthesia) Muscle weakness in the affected area.
Your doctor will need to examine you, run tests and determine the cause of your nerve pain first. Once the cause is located, your doctor can recommend targeted treatments such as medication or pain relieving injections, or surgery to help treat your nerve pain.
Since neurologists are basically nerve experts, they are able to effectively determine if your pain is being caused by nerve damage or compression. Furthermore, a neurologist can use certain diagnostic tests to pinpoint the specific location of the affected nerve, which allows for more direct treatment.
Guillain-Barre (gee-YAH-buh-RAY) syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your hands and feet are usually the first symptoms. These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralyzing your whole body.
Lupus can damage nerves in the body by causing inflammation of the nerves or the tissue around the nerves. This nerve damage is sometimes called peripheral neuropathy. The main symptoms are numbness, tingling, and being unable to move a part of your body.