Nerve (neuropathic) pain occurs when pain nerves are damaged or malfunctioning.
Pain nerves then become more sensitive than they should be. Some neuropathic pain types are well understood (shingles, diabetic peripheral neuropathy) and others aren't (CRPS). Patients with nerve pain report feeling painful sensations such as burning, shooting, electric shock and pinching in the pain area.
There are many types:
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Shingles
- Sciatica
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
- Post-Surgical Neuropathic Pain
- Post-Amputation Pain
- Multiple Sclerosis related neuropathic pain
- Spinal Cord Injury related neuropathic pain
- Post Stroke neuropathic Pain
Treatment of neuropathic pain features the following strategies:
- Physical therapy and psychological strategies to improve function and quality of life when living with nerve pain.
- Optimising medication use. Some medications work specifically on nerve pain. They are often more useful than non-specific pain-killers.
- Pain management procedures to reduce neuropathic pain. There are some potentially very effective procedural techniques for reducing nerve pain.
