Nerve Pain Treatment

Finding Relief For Nerve Pain Or Neuralgia

This can be more complicated with nerve pain, also known as neuralgia, because sometimes you feel the pain in a place that's different from the actual location of the problem. This is called "referred pain" because the pain travels along the path of a nerve. Sciatic nerve pain is an example. There can be damage to the sciatic nerve in the lower back, but you'll feel the pain in your buttocks or somewhere in the legs.

Other times, however, you'll feel the pain in the place where the nerve is affected by injury, damage or disease. Such is usually the case with a pinched nerve.

Often, neuralgia results from a tumor that has grown large enough to place pressure on a nerve or a group of nerves. Swollen blood vessels can cause nerve pain for the same reason.

Diabetes can also cause a number of types of nerve pain. Strict control of blood sugar may is critical with diabetics who develop neuralgia.

Nerve pain treatment options

Once the source has been identified, you can your doctor can consider nerve pain treatment options. Here are some the of the most frequently used possibilities.

For mild to moderate neuralgia, over-the-counter pain relievers may reduce discomfort until the problem cures itself or responds to treatment.

A topical creams like capsaicin can reduce discomfort from certain types of nerve pain.

Where pain is more intense, a prescription pain reliever may be appropriate. In certain instances, your doctor may decide that antidepressant medications will help. Three of the most frequently used include amitriptyline, duloxitine and nortriptyline.

Antiviral medications are often used to treat shingles, which looks like a skin disease but is actually a viral infection involving nerve ending in the skin. There's also a complication of shingles called postherpetic neuralgia which can be treated with an oral form of prednisone.

Another option is known as a nerve block. This type of nerve pain treatment involves injecting medications into a nerve or group of nerves (known as a plexus or ganglion).

A procedure called motor cortex stimulation or MCS will sometimes work for cases involving nerve pain. In this procedure, an electrode is placed over the sensory cortex of the brain and is hooked to a pulse generator under the skin.

Physical therapy can be an effective form of nerve pain treatment in certain cases. Physical therapy is often used when postherpetic neuralgia is the problem.

Surgery

Surgery is sometimes the surest way to treat nerve pain, but it also carries the greatest risk because of the possible loss of feeling in the area where the surgery needs to be done.

Common surgical procedures include the following.

Ablation using radiofrequency - This procedure involves radio waves which produce heat. Heat can destroy the ability of the nerves to transmit pain.

Balloon compression - You doctor inserts a hollow needle into the area where the nerve pain is originating. The doctor inserts a tiny catheter with a balloon threaded through it. When the balloon is sufficiently inflated, it damages the nerve to the extent that no more pain signals come from it.

Trigeminal neuralgia pain relief

If you have a condition known as trigeminal neuralgia pain, your doctor may prescribe an anti-seizure or anti-convulsant medication. Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of nerve pain that causes sudden, unpredictable jab of excruciating pain that shoots through your face There are medications available that block the pain signals sent to your brain. Medications that are typically used include carbamazepine, gabapentin, lamotrigine or phenytoin.

Injecting alcohol into the area where certain nerves are located can numb these nerves and lower your discomfort.

However, in some trigeminal neuralgia cases, as in other disorders involving nerve pain, surgery may be the only way to obtain long term relief.

Conclusion

Many types of nerve pain respond to the treatments listed above. But neuralgia has a way of coming and going, especially as we age.

Nerve pain can drive you to distraction, and sometimes even make it nearly impossible for you to function. But it is rarely life-threatening. Sometimes it's necessary to see a pain specialist to get relief.