Nerve Pain
Nerve pain can be scary and debilitating and 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.
What causes nerve pain?
Nerve pain, also known as neuropathic pain, can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
Injury or trauma to nerves: This can be caused by accidents, surgeries, or repetitive motion injuries.
Chronic conditions: Certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and cancer can damage nerves and cause pain.
Infections: Certain infections such as shingles, Lyme disease, and HIV can cause nerve pain.
Medications: Certain medications such as chemotherapy drugs and antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV can cause nerve damage and pain.
How can physiotherapy help manage nerve pain?
Depending on the driver of your nerve pain physiotherapy can help in several ways. Acutely injured nerves have the capacity to heal depending on the degree of damage they have sustained, although this is a long process which can take months to years. Physiotherapy can help facilitate the regaining of strength lost due to nerve injury and teach desensitization techniques to painful hypersensitive nerves. For more chronic or progressive nerve conditions, physiotherapy helps maintain function at the highest possible level for you.
Specifically, physiotherapy can help manage nerve pain in several ways, including:
Accurate diagnosis and education on the condition.
Pain and symptom management: We can use a variety of physiotherapy techniques such as the prescription of graded nerve gliding exercises and activity modification techniques to help desensitise the irritated nerve. This in turn reduces the need for or reliance on medication. It should be noted however that sometimes prescription medications are required and if a medical review is indicated we will always refer to them when necessary.
Graded exercise rehabilitation: Movement is medicine so figuring out how to move safely and what exercises you should be doing in what order is the key. We will tailor exercises specifically to you and your symptoms. These may include nerve desensitisation exercises as well as exercises to help with secondary symptoms that occur after a nerve injury such as muscle weakness or tightness.
Functional rehabilitation: Ultimately the goal of any rehabilitation program is to get back to doing the things you love as well as the basics that you need for day-to-day life. We will work with you to create a personalised program that will help you to regain your functional abilities.
What can I expect during my physiotherapy treatment?
During your initial assessment, you will receive a comprehensive assessment to determine the drivers of your pain and dysfunction. We will then work through your goals to make a rehabilitation plan. Rehabilitation is always individualised and varies from person to person. Sessions will generally last between 30 and 60 minutes and may include hands-on modalities such as massage as well as education, exercise therapy and functional goal-related rehabilitation. We will closely monitor you throughout the rehabilitation journey, making any changes and adjustments to your rehabilitation plan as necessary.
At Best Physiotherapy, our team provides empathetic, expert care. We understand that nerve pain can often be scary, incredibly painful and the recovery process can be frustrating. We pride ourselves on having the skills and knowledge to help you achieve your rehabilitation goals.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you manage your nerve pain and improve your quality of life at Best Physiotherapy, 72 Maribyrnong Street, Footscray.
