Complex, chronic and difficult to describe is how one might express the feelings associated with neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is a disease or disorder that directly effects the neuropathic nerve.
The pain involved with these conditions is actually linked to something bigger—a syndrome known as neuropathy which indicates a serious disorder or dysfunction of the peripheral nerves.
When you experience pain in these nerves, it can be devastating and even life-changing. The pain is so acute and complex that it is difficult to know just how to alleviate any discomfort. It is important to understand what is going on behind neuropathic pain before looking to treat it. Here are some facts on the types of neuropathic pain and how it affects people.
What is Neuropathic Pain?
Neurons are pivotal parts of the brain that are responsible for regular cognition and understanding. When a disorder or disease occurs, it causes derangements that can feed into the central nervous system and cause serious complications to be produced.
These imbalances include:
- Sensory Derangements
- Autonomic Fiber Derangements
- Motor Derangements
Of course, these sensory, motor and autonomic understanding are important for the way you perceive the world using the senses to understand, the motor skills to interact, and so on. When central nervous system disorders and problems arise, they are usually the direct consequence of an illness, injury, a stroke, or other congenital conditions that exclusively include the brain and spinal cord.
When debilitating symptoms occur, they are often called neuropathies henceforward. Neuropathies, in their simplest terms, are disorders and conditions effecting the nerve. Not all of these conditions result in pain, but they can still be very dangerous.
In fact, some neuropathies can cause acute muscle paralysis or weakness, sensory numbness, paresthesia, and gastric dysfunction.
Neuropathic Pain Types
Understanding the different types of neuropathies and their causes can help you and your doctor go about finding an effective treatment or maintenance plan for your condition. Some common types of neuropathic pain include:
Trauma: Trauma can cause plenty of dangerous conditions to occur. For example, phantom limb syndromes is just one direct result of severe physical trauma. Phantom limb syndrome occurs when there is an abrupt loss of sensory input, usually at the site of an amputation. This causes the brain to still receive pain signals from the limb(s) that is no longer there.
Metabolic
The metabolic condition diabetes is often the main cause of most neuropathies. Due to certain nutritional deficiencies that are a result of having diabetes, the body may produce pain in order to deal with the absences of essential nutrients. Burning neuropathy is most common in diabetic individuals.
Toxic
Those going through chemo-radiation as a treatment for cancer are most likely to experience toxic neuropathic pain. When the body is exposed to the harsh chemicals often found in cancer treatments, it can cause significant nerve damage as well as other complications that result in chronic pain.
Infectious
Many viral conditions have been proven to cause long-lasting neuropathic pain. Viral problems such as Herpes, Lyme Disease, Leprosy, HIV, and other chronic illnesses can all cause neuropathic pain.
Autoimmune
This category is more varied because of the wide variety of autoimmune problems and antibodies that exist. The antibodies that are included in their pathophysiology are responsive to immune therapy. Painful conditions one might experience here include chronic inflammation and vasculitic neuropathy.
Neuropathic pain can take a toll on your life, so it is important to visit your doctor to discuss your options. Therapies that can bring relief are very rare and only relaxation treatments have been effective for some individuals.
Ask your doctor if you have more questions or want to find ways to manage your pain so that it does not disrupt your life.
