You may have heard that the body is a complex biological machine before. This is true – every part must work together to help you live life to the fullest.
Nerves are the wiring of that machine, carrying electrical impulses to all areas of your body so you can feel and move. Nerve pain can inhibit your ability to experience your favorite sensations, and it can cause debilitating discomfort and numbness.
Read on to understand symptoms better and to get insight into how to stop living with nerve pain and thrive.
What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like?
Nerve pain isn’t one size fits all. The experience will be different from person to person, especially because no two injuries are identical.
It often feels like a sudden, sharp electrical shock. This shooting sensation may feel like an intense stab or a quick burn. These shocks frequently come randomly but may also be an immediate response to movement or pressure on the injury.
Tingling frequently co-occurs with these shock sensations. This tingling can be described as a pins-and-needles feeling. It’s similar to a limb “falling asleep,” but the nerves won’t “wake up” after just a few moments of stretching them out.
Hypersensitivity to touch is a common denominator in many nerve pain types. Those living with nerve pain may experience significant pain even from light touches. These touches don’t need to be human caresses – sometimes, being brushed lightly by a bedsheet can cause significant pain.
Numbness in Nerve Pain Symptoms
There are many types of nerve pain out there, and some will just feel numb. If a small area of your body has localized numbness regularly, the nerves underneath your skin might have issues. Often, numbness will be triggered by warm objects (like the sun or a lamp) or by soft touches.
Sometimes, the numbness goes a step further and becomes paralysis. This is a serious medical emergency that stems from the muscle that’s connected to the nerve no longer receiving signals from it. You may not be able to move the nerve or have great difficulty doing so.
Causes of Nerve Pain
There are several potential causes for nerve pain, a primary one being injuries.
Accidents and falls can crush and compress nerves, so they pinch. This becomes painful and causes a lot of stinging, tingling, and numbness. You also can stretch or cut nerves after an injury, which is painful as well.
Beyond sports injuries and other accidents, nerve pain can also stem from underlying medical issues. Carpal tunnel, Diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most common ones. Infections like HIV/AIDS, shingles, and Lyme disease are also potential factors.
Sometimes, the cause won’t be a severe medical issue but will instead stem from vitamin deficiencies. Specifically, those with low levels of vitamin B and vitamin E might have poor nerve health, and a supplement can help in tandem with other treatments that stimulate nerves.
There are several other causes, too. Sometimes, nerve pain is a medication side effect or stems from heavy alcohol use. It also periodically comes back to poor blood supply to the nerves and post-surgery pain.
You can likely figure out a likely cause based on recent events in your life and other medical issues you have. However, only a Nevada pain treatment expert can accurately diagnose your specific nerve problem. Only this comprehensive understanding can enable you to come up with a treatment plan that boosts your quality of life.
Treating Nerve Pain Symptoms
Sometimes nerve pain is easy to treat with vitamin supplements or massage therapy. It’s important to figure out whether your situation falls into these cases by asking experts who have a comprehensive understanding of nerve pain.
No two people’s treatment plans will be the same because nerve problems aren’t one size fits all. You need to work with a pain care expert to determine your underlying cause and come up with a plan of action that will stimulate the specific nerves that you’re struggling with..
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS)
“Peripheral nerves” are the nerves that move into your body’s extremities. These extremities include your limbs (wrists, hands, feet, and knees).
PNS disrupts the pain signals going into these areas with probes that an expert inserts near the affected areas. These probes will connect to an external device that sits outside of the body. If pain decreases significantly and you have a good response, experts will implant the probes and devices into the affected area.
This doesn’t just help you manage pain in the long term but gives you control over your treatment. This is because you can use a remote control to change the strength of the electrical current in the probes. This lets you alleviate pain based on your specific needs, preferences, and discomfort levels.
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
If you’re having issues with nerves in the neck or back, you can use radiofrequency ablation treatments for minimally invasive long-term relief.
Professionals in Henderson or Las Vegas will place a small, specially designed-needle close to the target nerve in the area where you’re experiencing pain or numbness.
Radiofrequency energy goes through the needle’s electrode and stops pain signal transmission through damaged facet joints. You’ll benefit from improved nerve function and lower pain levels fairly quickly.
Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablations (RFA)
RFA is another minimally invasive treatment that’s specifically tailored to those with knee pain. Experts will block the nerves in the knee by numbing it and use that to diagnose the specific target nerves.
Once they’re found, the professional will insert and guide needles near the knee (genicular) nerves. Then, an electrical current moves through the needle and into the nerve tissue.
This interrupts pain signals going from the nerves into the brain. This alleviates chronic knee pain for several months to over a year.
Get Nerve Pain Treatment in Las Vegas, NV
Now that you know some causes and symptoms of nerve pain, it’s time to explore treatment options. Professionals at Innovative Pain Care Center have the knowledge, resources, and tools needed to address several types of nerve pain.
We assess your unique situation and develop an individual treatment plan that meets your specific needs. Contact us today to get help alleviating discomfort and boosting your quality of life with the help of Nevada experts.
