The most severe form of injury is called neurotmesis, which is a full transection of the axons and connective tissue layers wherein complete discontinuity of the nerve is observed.
Axonotmesis is a more severe grade of nerve injury than neurapraxia, and neurotmesis is the most severe grade of peripheral nerve injury.
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.
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.
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.
Injury to a nerve can stop signals to and from the brain. This can cause muscles to stop working properly and result in loss of feeling. In many cases, nerve injuries can be treated to improve outcomes. However, nerves are very complex structures and do not recover as well as ligaments, tendons, and bones.
A damaged nerve has the capacity to grow up to a third of an inch in length during recovery, meaning severed nerves can potentially heal and come back together (although it's unlikely they do so without human intervention and stitching).
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.
Stage Five: Total Loss of Feeling
By stage five, you've lost all feeling in your lower legs and feet. You're not in any pain because there are no longer any nerves capable of sending signals to your brain. It's hard to walk, and you feel unsteady most of the time.
What's the best painkiller for nerve pain? Tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline and anti-epileptic drugs like gabapentin and pregabalin are very effective at treating nerve pain.
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.
In fourth-degree injury there is disruption of axon, endoneurium and perineurium. There is a complete loss of continuity of nerve in fifth-degree corresponding to neurotmesis. While Seddon classification is simpler to follow, Sunderland grading is more often used by surgeons to take a decision on nerve repair.
The SSA considers neuropathy a disability if the condition is severe enough to cause extreme limitations in the motor function of two extremities. Alternatively, it qualifies as a disability if it results in marked limitations in mental and behavioral work-related skills.
Stage Four: Complete Numbness/ Loss of Sensation
If a patient does not seek treatment for their neuropathy, they will begin to lose all feeling, and their risk of recurrent wounds and subsequent amputation will increase.
Symptoms can range from mild to disabling, but are rarely life-threatening. The symptoms depend on the type of nerve fibers affected and the type and severity of damage. Symptoms may develop over days, weeks, or years. In some cases, symptoms improve on their own and may not require advanced care.
The outlook for peripheral neuropathy varies, depending on the underlying cause and which nerves have been damaged. Some cases may improve with time if the underlying cause is treated, whereas in some people the damage may be permanent or may get gradually worse with time.
The good news for those living with neuropathy is that it is sometimes reversible. Peripheral nerves do regenerate. Simply by addressing contributing causes such as underlying infections, exposure to toxins, or vitamin and hormonal deficiencies, neuropathy symptoms frequently resolve themselves.
This is because these neurons have a different lining, or sheath, made up of Schwann cells. The central nervous system does not have these cells. Schwann cells can help damaged nerves regenerate and restore function. On average, damaged nerves can grow back at a rate of about 1 inch per month or 1 millimeter per day.
Because each nerve injury is unique, the settlements could also vary. Estimates by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) put the average for all workers' comp settlements around $20,000 with a small percentage of nerve damage awards being more than $61,000.
Nerve Grafting: Patients may receive a nerve graft following a brachial plexus or traumatic nerve injury. During this procedure, your surgeon takes a healthy piece of nerve from another location on your body and uses it to reconnect the two ends of the damaged nerve.
PN was strongly associated with earlier mortality. Mean survival time for those with PN was 10.8 years, compared with 13.9 years for subjects without PN. PN was also indirectly associated through impaired balance.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disorder in which your immune system mistakenly attacks part of the peripheral nervous system—the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord.
For some, neuropathy symptoms progress rapidly—from asymptomatic to wheelchair-bound within a year or two. For others, neuropathy evolves slowly over many years. However, in each case, the problem will not go away on its own.
If you have nerve damage from a work-related injury, you may be entitled to workers' compensation and temporary or permanent disability benefits. If the damage is severe enough, you may not be able to perform your job like you once did.