Everything your body does is monitored by your nervous system, from respiration to controlling muscles to perceiving heat and cold. There are 3 types of nerves in the body, namely autonomic, motor and sensory nerves. All of these are responsible for controlling the voluntary and involuntary activities of your body, your movements and relaying information to your brain and muscles. Because nerves are essential for everything  that you do, damage to them can seriously affect the quality of your life. Nerve damage causes are usually associated with diabetes, although it can also occur as a result of an injury. Peripheral neuropathy is another name for nerve injury. The nerves in your arms, feet, and hands are the most likely to be harmed, however other regions of your body may also be impacted. Nerves are made up of fibres, called axons. These fibres are surrounded by tissues that act as insulators. Sometimes an injury occurs which only destroys the fibres. In more severe cases, both the fibres and tissues are affected. The nerve can be entirely damaged or cut in some situations, in which nerve damage repair becomes very difficult.

Nerve Damage Symptoms

You’re likely to get unpleasant or even painful sensations if your nerves aren’t functioning properly. These develop when the nerves carrying the necessary signals from the brain to the spinal cord cease to function. The following are symptoms of nerve damage:

  • Feeling a tingling or numbing sensation in your hands and feet
  • Feeling as if you are wearing a tight sock or glove in your feet or hands
  • Weakness in the muscles of arms and legs
  • Frequently dropping objects that you are holding
  • Feeling sharp nerve damage neck pain, also in your hands, feet and arms
  • Buzzing sensation that feels like a mild electric shock

Damage to autonomic nerves can cause lightheadedness, inability to sense chest pain, too much sweating or too little sweating, dry eyes and mouth, sexual and bladder dysfunction. Damage to motor nerves can cause twitching, paralysis, muscle weakness and atrophy. Damage to the sensory nerve can cause pain, numbness, sensitivity, tingling, burning, and interfere with positional awareness.

Nerve Damage Treatment

Nerve injury is not always fully treatable. However, there are a number of medications that might help you manage your symptoms. Because nerve damage is progressive, it’s crucial to seek medical advice from a neuro physician in Jaipur near you as soon as you discover symptoms. This way, you can reduce the risk of an irreversible injury. Nerve damage can have several underlying causes like autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer, trauma, drug side effects, nutritional deficiencies or an infectious disease. The first objective of nerve damage back treatment is to target these causes with the help of proper practices like:

  • Managing blood sugar levels for people suffering from diabetes
  • Correcting any nutritional deficiencies
  • When drugs are the underlying cause, the only way is to change medications
  • Surgery or physical therapy to manage trauma to the nerves
  • Medications for autoimmune diseases

Additionally, your doctor may also prescribe you certain nerve damage medicine including pain relievers, antiseizure drugs, and antidepressants of several types. Always consider taking an appointment with the best brain specialist doctor in Faridabad for any nerve damage neck, headaches or other symptoms.

Case Study on Nerve Damage

Case Review

A 30 year old man presented himself to our clinic after a road traffic accident. He complained of right arm pain and was unable to move his extremities. With the help of X-Ray reports we diagnosed that it was due to an injury to the ulnar nerve following a humeral shaft fracture. This injury manifested and was later diagnosed a day after the accident.

Clinical Symptoms

The patient initially complained of pain in his right arm and that he was unable to move it. There was marked swelling and tender area in the middle part of his right arm which are associated with a closed injury. After due tests were taken, the next day he complained of tingling and numbness in his right hand fingers and later, he was unable to move them.

Management

As soon as the patient arrived with the symptoms typical of nerve damage and other injury, the top neurosurgeon in Patna at our clinic called for an X-Ray and radiograph of his right upper arm and a CT scan for his head. He was taken care of well by our expert team led by a skilled neurosurgeon in Patna. Being suspicious of an ulnar nerve injury, our team conducted studies of the nerves in his right upper arm and he was suggested for surgery when they found a severe ulnar nerve conduction block. He was taken to the operating room and treated by our head neurosurgeon. Post surgery, his symptoms of tingling and numbing subsided. He was given regular physiotherapy and was discharged two weeks after the surgery. He came for a follow up every three months for a year, as suggested by our doctors.

Case Discussion

A humeral shaft fracture usually occurs during high speed trauma, wherein the radial nerve is usually injured. In our case, we detected an ulnar nerve damage due to the humeral shaft fracture. A fragment of the bone from the humerus shaft fracture was held responsible for causing the ulnar nerve damage, which is quite rare. The symptoms were manifested in our patient and diagnosed a day after his accident.

FAQs

What are nerve damage causes?

Nerve damage has several underlying causes like nutritional deficiencies, injury, trauma, infectious disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer and others.

How to prevent nerve damage?

You can take the following steps to prevent or delay nerve damage:

  • Keep your blood sugar levels regulated if you are diabetic
  • Report any symptoms of diabetic neuropathy
  • Take care of your feet and check for any sensations like numbness or tingling
  • Consult your doctor immediately on noticing any nerve damage symptoms
  • Be careful while exercising as some exercises are not suitable for people with neuropathy