Have you ever stood up and felt a shooting, stabbing, or burning sensation run suddenly through your leg?
Do you ever experience numbness or tingling in your fingers?
Chances are, you could be experiencing nerve pain.
Nerve pain, also known as neuralgia or neuropathic pain, can occur when an injury or condition (like diabetes or multiple sclerosis) affects the nerves responsible for carrying messages to your brain. It can affect any nerve in your body and may be debilitating, significantly impacting your quality of life.
Your nerve pain might be interfering with your sleep, your ability to exercise, your capacity to perform normal daily tasks, and your work. It’s common for those who suffer from nerve pain to become frustrated and angry with their symptoms, potentially leading to anxiety and depression.
The good news is, physiotherapy can help nerve pain.
At Valens Care, we understand how challenging and frustrating it can be to live with nerve pain. We’re committed to helping our clients restore their quality of life through hands-on, client-centred, goal-oriented treatment, tailored specifically to you.
In this blog, we explain what nerve pain is, its symptoms and causes, and how physiotherapy can help.
What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like?
You have many nerves running through your body, coming from your spinal cord and splitting up into different branches. They supply your body with sensation and function. If your nerves get aggravated, they can carry pain along the pathway they supply.
Nerve pain can vary considerably from person to person depending on the source of the pain, its location, and the type of nerve damage.
The most common symptoms include:
- Stabbing, shooting, prickling, or burning pain.
- A numb, tingling, or ‘pins and needles’ sensation.
- Pain with no cause.
- Feelings of hot or cold.
- Throbbing and weakness.
- Difficulty resting.
- Hypersensitivity or pain caused by touch or pressure that wouldn’t typically be painful (ie. Your clothes touching your skin).
- Emotional and psychological symptoms due to chronic pain and loss of sleep.
For some, these symptoms may be mild but for others, the symptoms of nerve pain greatly impact their ability to function and enjoy life.
What Causes Nerve Pain?
There are many different causes of nerve pain, but most often it’s caused by an injury or disease affecting your central nervous system (your brain and your spinal cord).
Your nerve may be compressed or irritated by a protruding disk or arthritis. Your nerve may be affected by poor circulation (like in diabetes or after an injury).
Common causes include:
- Brain or spinal injury
- Inadequate blood supply
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Infections like shingles and HIV
- Multiple sclerosis
- Diabetes
- Nerve entrapment
- Some cancers
- Cancer treatment
- Stroke
- Sciatica
- Fibromyalgia.
How Does Physiotherapy Help?
Physiotherapy can be a great tool in the management of nerve pain. The physiotherapists at Valens Care may use several techniques to help you manage your nerve pain. These can include:
Massage and Manipulation- this helps to reduce tension in your muscles and tissues which may reduce inflammation and pressure on your nerves.
Spinal Mobilisation- in some cases, manipulation of the spinal joints may improve the alignment, flexibility, and movement of the tissue of your nervous system. This may release pressure on your nerves.
Dry Needling- insertion of small needles into muscles to reduce tension and improve function and mobility.
Exercises and Stretching- your physiotherapist can create a targeted exercise and stretching routine. This helps by strengthening your muscles and optimising their function as well as improving your posture and alignment to take pressure off nerves. This is particularly important in physiotherapy for leg nerve pain.
Education- this is one of the most important aspects of nerve pain physiotherapy. Your physiotherapist can provide advice on posture, ergonomics, and pain management techniques, giving you the knowledge and tools to manage flare-ups yourself.
The Valens Care Difference
At Valens Care, our NDIS-registered physiotherapists provide person-centred, goal-oriented care. This means there is no one size fits all program. We work with you to tailor a treatment program specific to your condition, your needs, and your goals. We collaborate with you and, when required, your medical team, to identify the source of your nerve pain and create a treatment plan directly addressing the cause. We aim to get you back to enjoying your life, without pain.
If you or a loved one are experiencing nerve pain, contact the Valens Care team today to see how physiotherapy may help you.
* All information is general and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Valens Care can consult with you regarding your individual health needs.
