Treatments include antidepressants such as amitriptyline, pain relievers such as oxycodone, anti-seizure medications, and pain-relieving creams. It is also important to treat the underlying condition. Surgical treatment may be recommended for people with nerve damage due to nerve injury or compression. Mobility aids, such as a cane, walker, or wheelchair, may be helpful.
For pain, the doctor may prescribe painkillers. Treatment begins with identifying and treating any underlying medical problems, such as diabetes or infections. Treatment of peripheral neuropathy may include treatment of any underlying cause or symptoms. Treatment may be more effective for certain underlying causes.
For example, making sure diabetes is well controlled can help improve neuropathy or at least prevent it from getting worse. Nerve pain can be treated with prescription medications called neuropathic pain relievers, because standard pain relievers often don't work. Surgery is the recommended treatment for some types of neuropathies. Protruding discs (“pinched nerve”) in the back or neck that compress the nerve roots are commonly treated surgically to release the affected nerve root and allow it to heal.
Trigeminal neuralgia on the face is also often treated with neurosurgical decompression. Injuries to a single nerve (mononeuropathy) caused by compression, entrapment, or, in rare cases, tumors or infections, may require surgery to release nerve compression. Surgical intervention does not help polyneuropathies that involve more diffuse nerve damage, such as diabetic neuropathy. Surgeries or interventional procedures that try to reduce pain by cutting or injuring nerves are often not effective because they worsen nerve damage and the parts of the peripheral and central nervous system above the cut often continue to generate pain signals (“phantom pain”).
More sophisticated and less damaging procedures, such as electrical stimulation of the remaining peripheral nerve fibers or pain processing areas of the spinal cord or brain, have largely replaced these. Peripheral neuropathy is a type of damage to the nervous system. Specifically, it is a problem with the peripheral nervous system. This is the network of nerves that send information from the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) to the rest of the body.
Peripheral neuropathy has many different causes. Some people inherit the disorder from their parents. Others develop it because of an injury or other disorder. In many cases, a different type of problem, such as a kidney condition or hormonal imbalance, leads to peripheral neuropathy.
One of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy in the US. UU. You may have a combination of 2 or 3 of these other types of neuropathies, such as sensorimotor neuropathy. The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy vary depending on the type you have and the part of your body affected.
Symptoms can range from tingling or numbness in a certain part of the body to more serious effects, such as burning, pain, or paralysis. Life-threatening symptoms, such as difficulty breathing or an irregular heartbeat Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may look like other medical conditions or problems. Always consult your health care provider for a diagnosis. Peripheral neuropathy usually can't be cured, but there are many things you can do to keep it from getting worse.
If an underlying condition such as diabetes is the culprit, your healthcare provider will treat it first and then treat the pain and other symptoms of neuropathy. Lidocaine injections and patches may help with pain in other cases. And in extreme cases, surgery can be used to destroy nerves or repair injuries that cause pain and neuropathic symptoms. Lifestyle Choices May Influence Prevention of Peripheral Neuropathy.
You can lower your risk of many of these conditions by avoiding alcohol, correcting vitamin deficiencies, eating a healthy diet, losing weight, avoiding toxins, and exercising regularly. If you have kidney disease, diabetes, or another chronic health condition, it's important to work with your healthcare provider to manage your condition, which can prevent or delay the onset of peripheral neuropathy. Even if you already have some form of peripheral neuropathy, healthy lifestyle measures can help you feel better and reduce pain and symptoms related to the disorder. You'll also want to quit smoking, not let injuries get treated, and be meticulous in caring for your feet and treating wounds to avoid complications, such as loss of a limb.
In some cases, over-the-counter hand and foot braces can help you compensate for muscle weakness. Braces can help you walk better. Relaxation techniques, such as yoga, can help relieve emotional and physical symptoms. Johns Hopkins Researchers Find Common Preservative May Thwart Pain and Damage from Peripheral Neuropathy.
Blood vessels narrow and less oxygenated blood can pass through. Without proper blood circulation, you may experience increased numbness and pain from peripheral neuropathy. Eliminating smoking habits can help improve your symptoms. Let this motivate you to make positive changes.
Regular exercise can help fight pain and improve your overall health. Being active can lower blood sugar, which in turn can reduce or slow nerve damage. Exercise also increases blood flow to the arms and legs and reduces stress. These are all factors that help reduce discomfort and pain.
Meditation techniques can help people struggling with the symptoms of neuropathy overcome their. It can help reduce stress, improve your coping skills, and decrease the intensity of pain. Taking a mind-body approach is a non-invasive technique that gives you more control over your condition. Peripheral neuropathy causes pain, usually in the hands and feet.
Learn about simple exercises you can do at home to treat peripheral neuropathy pain. Early diagnosis and treatment of peripheral neuropathy is important, because peripheral nerves have a limited ability to regenerate and treatment can only stop progression, not reverse damage. If neuropathy is caused by a treatable condition, managing the condition may cause the neuropathy to stop or prevent it from getting worse. If the underlying cause of neuropathy cannot be treated, then the goal is to control the symptoms of neuropathy and improve your quality of life.
The effective prognosis and treatment of peripheral neuropathy largely depends on the cause of nerve damage. Understanding the causes of neuropathy provides the basis for finding effective prevention and treatment strategies. Talk to your doctor before trying these treatments if they might interfere with your ongoing treatment. When a person's neuropathy occurs as a result of compression of a single nerve, the treatment is similar, regardless of which nerve is affected.
If the underlying cause of neuropathy can be treated and cured (such as neuropathy caused by vitamin deficiency), neuropathy may also be reversed. It has been estimated that more than 20 million people in the United States have some form of peripheral neuropathy, but this figure may be significantly higher, not everyone with symptoms of neuropathy is tested for the disease, and testing does not currently look for all forms of neuropathy. NINDS-funded research ranges from clinical studies of the genetics and natural history of hereditary neuropathies to discoveries of new causes and treatments for neuropathy, to basic scientific research on the biological mechanisms responsible for chronic neuropathic pain. .
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