Neuropathy pain is caused by damage to nerves in the body. It can occur after surgery, injury, infection, diabetes, cancer, or other diseases.
What Is Neuropathy?
Neuropathy pain occurs when damage to the nerve fibers in the body. This damage can cause numbness, tingling, burning, or shooting pains. These symptoms can affect any part of the body.
There are two types of it:
1. Peripheral neuropathy
An injury causes it to the A-delta or C-fibers of peripheral nerves. These nerve fibers are responsible for passing pain messages from the peripheral nerves to the brain for interpretation.
2. Central neuropathy
It is a type of pain resulting from sensitization of the central pain-interpreting mechanisms (the Thalamus) to perceive pain in the absence of pain impulses sent to them by peripheral nerve fibers.
Neuropathy pain is estimated to affect 7 out of 100 people worldwide, meaning seven out of 100 suffer from different types of neuropathic pain.
Symptoms include:
- Feeling like ants are crawling under your skin or a tingling sensation.
- The sensation of burning.
- The sensation of an electric current or sharp shooting pain.
- It feels like a stabbing pain.
- Heaviness or numbness with dull pain.
The following factors can cause neuropathy pain:
- Uncontrolled blood sugar levels damage nerve fibers in diabetes mellitus, the most common cause worldwide.
- Smoking and drinking alcohol damage nerve fibers or blood vessels supplying them.
- Experiencing burning pain in the feet.
- Pain in the neck, lower back, and gluteus muscles.
- An insufficient supply of vitamin B12.
- Cancer patients' chemotherapy.
- Infection caused by the Herpes virus.
- After spinal surgery.
- After an amputation.
- The most common are spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, HIV, lead toxicity, and so on.
Special Neuropathies:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The median nerve is compressed at the base of the wrist, causing tingling and burning sensations in the hands. A woman's vulnerability to this condition can be attributed to pregnancy, hypothyroidism, diabetes, etc., while a man's vulnerability can be attributed to improper wrist position while working on a computer.
Cervical Radiculopathy
Neck, shoulder, and hand pain are common symptoms of cervical radiculopathy (which intensifies with neck movements). As a result of disc prolapse, facet subluxations, muscle spasms, and trauma, the cervical nerve root is compressed.
Lumbar Radiculopathy
As a result of Lumbar Radiculopathy or Sciatica, sharp shooting pain can be felt in the lower back or glutei region that radiates down the leg or foot. Disc prolapse, facet joint, trauma, hypertrophied ligamentum flavum, piriformis syndrome, and other factors can cause compression of the lumbar nerve root or sciatic nerve.
Meralgia Paresthetica
It is caused by compression of the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh near the waist, resulting in tingling or burning sensations in front of the thigh. A tight, constrictive waistband, prolonged sitting, a protruding abdomen, and other factors are common causes.
If you suffer from neuropathy pain, some natural remedies can help relieve symptoms.
Neuropathy can be prevented by:
1. Smoking and drinking alcohol should be avoided.
2. Body mass index (BMI) should be maintained at an ideal weight.
3. Adding exercise (more than 30 minutes a day) or walking or swimming regularly; avoiding prolonged standing or sitting for longer than 30 minutes.
4. Dietary components should include:
A wide variety of green vegetables, such as spinach, fenugreek leaves (methi), radish, etc. Vegetables with color, such as tomatoes, carrots, capsicums (green/red), and ladies-finger (bhindi).
5. Milk products, e.g., cheese (paneer), buttermilk, curd.
6. Foods rich in protein: poultry, fish, eggs, and lentils (daal.) Foods are high in fiber, such as brown rice, oats, and bran.
7. Fruits such as apples, oranges, guavas, papayas, pomegranates, and berries.
8. Control of blood sugar (in people with diabetes.)
9. Taking care of your feet:
- Regularly inspect your feet
- Shoes that are comfortable and well-fitted
- Consultation with a podiatrist regularly
- Wound healing, deformity correction
10. A good night's sleep.
11. Take a warm water bath.
12. Massage therapy improves muscle tone and flexibility, easing tension and stress.
13. Meditation relaxes the mind and calms the nervous system.
How To Treat Neuropathy Pain:
- Make an appointment with a pain medicine specialist.
- There are several treatments available for neuropathy pain. One of the most common is gabapentin (Neurontin). This medication works by blocking certain chemicals in the brain that cause pain signals to travel up the spinal cord. Other medicines used to treat neuropathy pain include amitriptyline (Elavil), carbamazepine (Tegretol), pregabalin (Lyrica), and topiramate (Topamax).
- Vitamins. Supplements containing B12, antioxidants, and multivitamins.
- TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.)
- Treatment with acupuncture.
- Yoga and relaxation.
- Neural Prolotherapy.