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.
Diabetes is the leading cause of polyneuropathy in the U.S. About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve problems that can cause numb, tingling, or burning feet, one-sided bands or pain, and numbness and weakness on the trunk or pelvis.
Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage caused by a number of different conditions. Health conditions that can cause peripheral neuropathy include: Autoimmune diseases. These include Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and vasculitis.
Among the most common are epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and stroke.
Neurological disorders are central and peripheral nervous system diseases, that is, they occur in the brain, spine, and multiple nerves that connect both.
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.
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.
When to see a doctor. If you experience weakness, tingling, numbness or a total loss of feeling in a limb, see your health care provider to determine the cause. It's important to treat peripheral nerve injuries early.
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.
1. Headache. Headaches are one of the most common neurological disorders—and there are a variety of different kinds of headaches, such as migraines, cluster headaches, and tension headaches.
Simply, chronic stress can also lead to neuropathy by causing or worsening diabetes. This condition occurs when the body cannot properly regulate blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels are high, it can damage the nerves. This damage can cause pain, numbness, tingling, and other neuropathy symptoms.
It's difficult or impossible to move part of your body.
If motor nerves are affected, then muscle weakness or even paralysis may occur, says Dr. Smith. These same symptoms could also indicate that there's an underlying issue that needs urgent attention, so it's best to head to the ER.
Nerve damage can become permanent
The pain may reach a high point before reaching a state of constant numbness. Once your nerves become too damaged, they can't send signals to your brain. The constant state of numbness can make walking difficult 一 if not impossible.
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Seddon2 classified nerve injuries into three broad categories; neurapraxia, axonotmesis, and neurotmesis.
A variety of blood tests may be performed to determine the cause of nerve damage. These tests may look for high blood glucose levels, diabetes onset, vitamin deficiencies, etc.
Diagnosing neuropathy
Your doctor may order an electromyography, or EMG, to see how well your nerves are working. If your EMG is normal and you continue to have symptoms of neuropathy, your doctor may order a skin biopsy to look at nerves that are too small to be tested with an EMG.
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.
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)
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common, impacting 7 in 10 diabetics, among others. PN is often mistaken for another common illness, multiple sclerosis (MS).
Injections, such as peripheral nerve injections and epidurals may be recommended. We also offer spinal cord stimulation, an implanted device, which sends electrical pulses to the spinal cord to mask the pain. In some cases, surgery will be necessary.
If your nerve is bruised or traumatized but is not cut, it should recover over 6-12 weeks. A nerve that is cut will grow at 1mm per day, after about a 4 week period of 'rest' following your injury. Some people notice continued improvement over many months.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, rapidly worsening brain disorder that causes unique changes in brain tissue and affects muscle coordination thinking, and memory. There are about 350 cases per year in the U.S. The two main symptoms of CJD are: Severe mental deterioration and dementia.