Your nervous system is essential to everything your body does and any potential damage to that system can have lasting effects. You have nerves in your body that control involuntary activities, like your heart rate, digestion, and breathing called autonomic nerves. Motor nerves control your body’s movements by passing along messages from your brain to your muscles. Your skin helps pass along information like whether something is hot or cold through sensory nerves. Unfortunately, there are diseases that can impact these nerves and cause you pain. If you experience neurological pain and aren’t sure why, then visit a doctor of neurology in San Antonio to talk about how this is affecting your quality of life.
What Does Neurological Pain Feel Like?
There are many experiences and symptoms of nerve pain and nerve damage. The type of nerve pain you experience may depend on what type of nerves are affected and where they are located in the body. Neurological pain can feel like tingling and numbness, sometimes described as a pins and needles sensation. You may notice muscles twitching or even weakness in a certain muscle or area. Neurological pain might feel like prickling or burning sensations too. People who struggle with neurological pain sometimes experience these painful sensations in one place or notice shooting pains that extend from one area of the body to another.
Top 5 Diseases That Cause Neurological Pain
Nerve pain and damage can be caused by a number of diseases that damage the nerves. Here are five diseases that can cause neurological pain.
1. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful condition that involves inflammation in the joints. This chronic inflammation can cause many uncomfortable symptoms, including neurological pain. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that leads to inflammation, pain, and decreased mobility in the affected joints. It most commonly hands and wrists, as well as elbows, knees, hips, and ankles.
2. Diabetes
A large number of people who have diabetes also suffer from nerve damage that causes neurological pain. Diabetic neuropathy refers to the type of nerve pain people with diabetes may experience and the sensory nerves are most often affected. This can make people with diabetes more sensitive to temperature changes and experience pain, burning, and numbness due to nerve damage.
3. Nerve Compression
An acute injury can lead to nerve compression, where a nerve is put under immense pressure due to trauma. An example of nerve compression is what is more commonly referred to as a pinched nerve, which can occur in the neck, spine, and joints like the wrist. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a type of nerve compression that can cause neurological pain.
4. Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis refers to the narrowing of the spine, which can occur as you age. As the spine narrows, the spaces within the spine decrease which can put more pressure on the spinal cord as well as nearby nerve roots. When nerves are compressed due to spinal stenosis, it can lead to pain in the back and neck as well as tingling and numbness in the arms and legs.
5. Autoimmune Diseases
There are a number of autoimmune diseases that can cause neurological pain, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, ALS, and inflammatory bowel disease. These types of diseases can impact the nerves in different ways, but all can lead to nerve damage, pain, and discomfort.
Managing Neurological Pain with Neurology
Why would you be referred to a neurologist? Meet with a neurologist to learn about how to manage your neurological pain. While sometimes nerve damage doesn’t completely go away, there are still plenty of healthy and safe options to help treat and manage your pain and other symptoms. In order to provide you with relief from your neurological pain, a doctor of neurology will want to diagnose the root cause of your pain. Each disease and condition that causes nerve damage will have its own recommendations for treatment and your doctor can talk with you about what type of treatment is most appropriate for your experience.
It is important to talk to your doctor as soon as you start noticing neurological pain symptoms. These types of symptoms can become progressive, meaning that they can get worse over time. At ProCare Medical Center, we offer services in neurology in San Antonio so you can find relief from your neurological pain with safe and effective treatment.
