Stretch injuries to the nerve can range from mild, temporary nerve injury to a more severe, permanent nerve injury.
As a specialist in peripheral nerve surgery, Dr. Seruya wants his patients to know that after a period of 12-18 months nerve damage can become permanent.
Nerves recover slowly, and maximal recovery may take many months or several years. You'll need regular checkups to make sure your recovery stays on track. If your injury is caused by a medical condition, your doctor will treat the underlying condition.
To find out, conclusively, if your nerves are damaged, you need to see a neurologist. He or she will perform tests to determine the health of your muscles and nerves. If there is a problem, the doctor will explain the reason for the damage and its extent. They will follow up by devising a treatment plan.
Your nerves have an ability to heal and regenerate even once they have been damaged, assuming that they have been properly repaired.
Nerve pain often feels like a shooting, stabbing or burning sensation. Sometimes it can feel as sharp and sudden as an electric shock. You may be very sensitive to touch or cold. You may also experience pain as a result of touch that would not normally be painful, such as something lightly brushing your skin.
Seddon2 classified nerve injuries into three broad categories; neurapraxia, axonotmesis, and neurotmesis.
An MRI may be able help identify structural lesions that may be pressing against the nerve so the problem can be corrected before permanent nerve damage occurs. Nerve damage can usually be diagnosed based on a neurological examination and can be correlated by MRI scan findings.
Most of the time, the pins and needles feeling is a good sign. It's a short-term phase that means nerves are coming back to life.
Nerve conduction studies, including an Electromyogram (EMG) may be performed on individuals suffering with nerve pain symptoms. These studies use electrical impulses to determine the level of damage. A final diagnosis will be made by your physician through the help of one or all of these tests.
Left untreated, nerve damage may worsen over time. It can sometimes start in the nerves farthest from the brain and spinal cord -- like those in the feet and hands.
Broccoli, spinach and asparagus all contain vitamin B, a nutrient important for nerve regeneration and nerve function. Spinach, broccoli and kale also contain a micronutrient called alpha-lipoic acid that prevents nerve damage and improves nerve function.
To achieve full recovery, the nerve must undergo three main processes: Wallerian degeneration (the clearing process of the distal stump), axonal regeneration, and end-organ reinnervation.
In many cases, supplementing with vitamin B-12 can reduce the pain associated with neuropathy. More rarely, it can help repair the myelin sheath, depending on the cause of the neuropathy. However, B-12's ability to speed up tissue regeneration and improve nerve function can be helpful for some.
A massage helps to reduce effects of injury by relieving compression of nerves an encouraging repair of damaged nervous tissues to increase. Relief of compressed nerves and healing of damaged nervous tissues reduces negative sensations such as pins and needles and numbness to improve sensation.
If you are older, they grow back at a slower rate. If nerves have not been cut, they take roughly up six to12 months to heal.
Damage and regeneration naturally occur in the peripheral nervous system. The neurotropic B vitamins thiamine (B1), pyridoxine (B6), and cobalamin (B12) are key players, which maintain the neuronal viability in different ways. Firstly, they constantly protect nerves against damaging environmental influences.
For these mild nerve injuries, nonsurgical treatment options include medication, physical therapy or massage therapy. Peripheral nerve surgery can reconstruct or repair damaged nerves. You may need surgery to repair severely compressed nerves, cut nerves or nerves that are not healing on their own.
Peripheral nerves can be damaged in several ways: Injury from an accident, a fall or sports, which can stretch, compress, crush or cut nerves. Medical conditions, such as diabetes, Guillain-Barre syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome. Autoimmune diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome.
Tingling or burning in the arms and legs may be an early sign of nerve damage. These feelings often start in your toes and feet. You may have deep pain. This often happens in the feet and legs.
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), also known as tic douloureux, is sometimes described as the most excruciating pain known to humanity. The pain typically involves the lower face and jaw, although sometimes it affects the area around the nose and above the eye.
The most severe type of nerve injury is an avulsion (A), where the nerve roots are torn away from the spinal cord. Less severe injuries involve a stretching (B) of the nerve fibers or a rupture (C), where the nerve is torn into two pieces.
Damage to motor nerves (nerves that help your muscles to move) can cause: weak or achy muscles that may cause you to lose your balance, trip easily, or have difficulty buttoning shirts or opening jars. muscles that twitch and cramp or muscle wasting (if you don't use your muscles regularly)