How You Can Reduce Neuropathic Pain

If you often experience a shooting or burning pain, which may be constant or intermittent, you could be a victim of neuropathic pain. Chronic pain may occur due to an injury or infection or may be a symptom of progressive nerve disease. Regardless of the cause, you have various options for treating the pain.

Top Treatments for Neuropathic Pain

There are various interventions for nerve pain but you have to consult your physician to determine which treatment is best for you. The best advice is to give priority to those treatments that don’t require surgery. Here are some common options for treating pain:

• Topical treatments: If the pain occurs at specific areas of your skin, consider over-the-counter topical treatments such as gels, patches, lotions, and creams.
• Antidepressants: Some antidepressants may help relieve chronic pain, but you need expert advice from a medical practitioner to identify the most suitable for your pain. You may use them together with anticonvulsant for better outcomes.
• Anticonvulsants: You know them for treating epilepsy, but they also help control nerve pain. They can be more effective when they combine with antidepressants. However, they may not work well with all types of chronic pains.
• Electrical stimulation: Several treatments use electrical signals to stop the damaged nerves from sending pain messages to the brain. Common electrical stimulation technologies include Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), both noninvasive and painless. Other approaches are complex and require surgery to implement. You would rather opt for the noninvasive methods.
• Complementary treatments: You may also want to try alternative approaches to neuropathic pain They include acupuncture, massage, and meditation. You can complement them with other treatments to increase their effectiveness. You may also want to try dietary supplements, but be sure to consult your physician.
• Lifestyle changes: Lifestyle changes may not necessarily cure nerve pain but can help you feel better, ease the discomfort, and even help you forget the pain. Try exercising more and embracing a healthy diet. It could also help to quit smoking and drinking and instead practice some relaxation techniques. Finding new hobbies, such as reading, watching movies, and making new friends, may also help you take your concentration away from the pain.
• Others: If your nerve pain results from the problems with your bones of discs in your back, you could try epidural injections with steroids. It does contain some lidocaine, but it is the steroids that come to your aid. It would help if you still had your doctor’s advice before and when using these injections.

You can engage any of these treatments at home to help stop neuropathic pain, which has become common in people above 50. If you need more details on treating nerve pain, please contact us.