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Pain Management: Neuropathic Pain

Introduction

Neuropathic pain is a complex, chronic pain state that usually is accompanied by tissue injury. With neuropathic pain, the nerve fibers themselves may be damaged, dysfunctional or injured. These damaged nerve fibers send incorrect signals to other pain centers. The impact of nerve fiber injury includes a change in nerve function both at the site of injury and areas around the injury.

One example of neuropathic pain is called phantom limb syndrome. This occurs when an arm or a leg has been removed because of illness or injury, but the brain still gets pain messages from the nerves that originally carried impulses from the missing limb. These nerves now misfire and cause pain.

What causes neuropathic pain?

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Neuropathic pain often seems to have no obvious cause; but, some common causes of neuropathic pain include:

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Neuropathic Pain - Symptoms Question: What is your symptoms of neuropathic pain?
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Diabetic Neuropathy

What are treatment options for a patient with diabetic neuropathy?

There are newer medications on the market that may be of benefit called duloxetine (Cymbalta) and Lyrica. You should speak with your doctor about the possibility of trying these agents either alone or in combination with other medication. I would also suggest having a referral to a neurologist for a full evaluation to make certain there is nothing else exacerbating your condition (for example, underlying never disorders, sciatica, etc) and perhaps consider getting an evaluation to look at the blood circulation in the legs. Claudication (an intermittent, cramping pain in the legs that occurs with walking that is related to poor blood circulation) can exacerbate neuropathic pain.

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