Consider the symptoms and treatment of neuralgia at home. What is this pathology?
Neuralgia is a variety of pathological conditions that progress due to damage to certain parts of the peripheral nerves. These diseases are characterized by the development of acute and intense pain along the nerve fiber and in the zone of its innervation. Neuralgia can occur in people of all ages, but women over 40 are more susceptible to it.
In the peripheral nerves there are certain receptors that receive information about the state of systems and organs and then transmit it to the brain and spinal cord. In cases of compression or irritation of any part of the nerve, this information is distorted, which leads to the development of a pronounced pain syndrome. As a rule, this pathology occurs against the background of an already existing pathological process.
Muscular neuralgia most often occurs in those parts of the body where nerve fibers pass through narrow channels. It is in these areas that there is a high probability of squeezing or infringement. It should be noted that this disease can affect absolutely any nerve, but the most common cases of neuralgia of the back, sciatic nerve, glossopharyngeal, and trigeminal. Symptoms of occipital neuralgia are presented below. The identification, as well as the treatment of this disease, is handled by a specialist neurologist.
Neuralgia and neuritis should not be confused, as these are two completely different diseases. With neuritis, there is a direct inflammation of the nerve fiber, which is manifested not only by a pronounced pain syndrome, but also by a decrease in sensitivity in a certain area of \u200b\u200bthe skin, which is innervated by the affected nerve. It is very important for the development of signs of cardiac neuralgia, the trigeminal nerve, as well as the back and other tissues and organs, immediately consult a doctor.
It is important to recognize the symptoms of neuralgia in a timely manner.
Varieties
This pathology can affect any nerve, but most often doctors diagnose the following types of neuralgia:
- facial or trigeminal nerve;
- backs;
- sciatic nerve;
- glossopharyngeal nerve;
- occipital nerve.
The areas of localization of the pain syndrome depend precisely on the type of this disease. Symptoms and treatment of neuralgia on the left and right side of the face will also be considered.
Causes of pathology
The causes of the progression of the pathology may differ depending on which nerve fiber was damaged.
The causes of occipital nerve damage are:
- Tumor processes of a benign or malignant nature, which are localized in the region of the cervical vertebrae.
- Osteochondrosis.
- Cervical injuries of varying severity.
- Gout.
- Hypocooling of the back of the head.
Causes of facial neuralgia:
- Aneurysm of the arteries that feed the brain.
- Tumours that are malignant or benign in the brain.
- Face hypothermia.
- Chronic infectious processes in the face (for example, sinusitis, sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, etc.).
- Atherosclerosis.
The causes of the pathology of the sciatic nerve can be considered:
- Osteochondrosis.
- Intervertebral hernias.
- Various lower back injuries.
- Fracture of the pelvis or femur.
- Malignant whether benign tumors localized in the areas of the passage of the nerve.
- Hypercooling of the lower back, buttocks and thighs.
- Excessive exercise on the lower back.
- Inactivity.
- Obesity.
- Pregnancy period.
- The presence of any diseases of the pelvic organs of an infectious or inflammatory nature.
Causes for the development of pathologies of the glossopharyngeal nerve:
- The presence of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis,influenza, parainfluenza, etc.
- Allergic reactions.
- Metabolic disorder.
- Severe intoxication in the body.
- Alcohol abuse.
- Diabetes mellitus.
Neuralgia symptoms
The main manifestations of neuralgia, as well as the causes of its occurrence, directly depend on the nerve fiber that was affected. Next, consider the symptoms of the disease in detail.
Facial neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia symptoms are quite common.
The reason for this is that the nerve leaves the brain through a very narrow opening, as a result of which the tissues located nearby can squeeze it. This nerve is responsible for the innervation of the face. Usually, the pathology begins to develop very sharply - an intense pain syndrome appears in this area. The pain is usually paroxysmal in nature. At the same time, patients note that this phenomenon is similar to the passage of an electric current through the skin, therefore, during such an attack, a person may freeze and try not to make unnecessary movements.
Symptoms of neuralgia on the right and left are equally unpleasant.
The duration of the pain syndrome varies from person to person – for some it lasts a few seconds, while for others it lasts much longer. It should be noted that such attacks can occur up to 300 times a day. The pain is most often localized on the right side of the face. Bilateral neuralgia in this case is very rare. A trigeminal attack may begin withphysical impact on certain points on the face. This is also observed when chewing food, applying makeup, brushing your teeth or shaving.
Since all patients who suffer from trigeminal neuralgia use only the he althy half of their mouth to chew, muscle compactions occur on the opposite side. If the course of the disease is long, the development of dystrophic changes in the masticatory muscles, as well as a decrease in sensitivity on the affected side of the face, is not excluded.
What other symptoms of neuralgia occur? Consider further.
Sciatic neuralgia
This pathology can manifest itself with the following symptoms:
- Shooting pain along the length of the nerve.
- Severe burning sensation in the lumbar region, as well as in the buttocks.
- The only branch of the nerve is mainly affected.
- Crawling sensation in the area of the pathological process.
Symptoms of back neuralgia are very unpleasant.
Pain sensations develop, as a rule, in the sacral and lumbar region, then they go along the length of the nerve fiber to the thigh, as well as to the knee, foot. The pain in this case can be jerking, pulling, shooting, often boring and burning, not giving the person peace, especially at night. The pain syndrome can intensify during movement of the limbs, with an uncomfortable position of the body, with sneezing and pressure on pain points. Patients often adopt a particular posture when the body is arched as they lean on their good leg when standing.
Consider alsosymptoms of occipital neuralgia.
Occipital neuralgia
Pain syndrome overtakes a person very suddenly. In some cases, this may be preceded by a slight irritation of the nerves, for example, a person may simply scratch his head or spontaneously turn it. Severe pain syndromes in the form of peculiar lumbago occur, as a rule, in the back of the head on the back of the neck or behind the ears. The pain in this case is localized only on one side of the head or neck, but cases of bilateral neuralgia of the occipital nerve are not excluded. The symptoms don't stop there.
Intercostal neuralgia
With this pathology, there is a sharp girdle pain, and pain attacks develop spontaneously. However, most often it is preceded by a change in body position, a strong cough or a deep breath. The duration of such pain can vary from hours to days. In the area of localization of the pinched nerve fiber, a decrease in skin sensitivity is often noted.
The main symptom of thoracic neuralgia is pain in the intercostal space. The intensity of this pain can be different: from sharp, pronounced, shooting to constant, characterized by medium intensity. It is aggravated by movement, coughing and swallowing. The patient can take a specific body position, leaning towards the nerve lesion in order to minimize the range of motion in it. Some people, when coughing, sneezing, press their palm to the intercostal space for the same purpose.
Often pain syndromes in intercostal neuralgiaaggravated under the fingers of a doctor who performs palpation: he probes the direction of such pain along the length of the nerve fiber. It is worth noting that patients can characterize their feelings not only as pain, but also as tingling, burning, and in the later stages of the disease - numbness in the intercostal space.
Thoracic neuralgia symptoms are also common.
Glossopharyngeal nerve injury
Glossopharyngeal nerve symptoms can be triggered by eating, yawning, or coughing. As a result, the patient may experience severe pain at the root of the tongue, as well as at the site of the pharynx and tonsils. During such an attack, dryness of the mucous membrane in the mouth is noted, and after it - increased salivation. An interesting fact is that the food that a person takes during this period seems bitter to him.
Similar neuralgia occurs with alternating periods of exacerbation and remission, and the duration of these periods in some cases is up to a year or more. Over time, attacks may occur more often, remissions are shortened, and the pain syndrome becomes more intense. In some cases, the pain is so severe that the person groans or screams, opens their mouth, and rubs the neck under the lower jaw.
Patients with experience often complain of pain of a permanent nature, which is aggravated, as a rule, by chewing, during swallowing, and also when talking. In such people, a decrease in sensitivity can be determined in areas innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve.fiber: in the posterior third of the tongue, tonsils, pharynx, soft palate and ear. They also have a violation of taste in the area of the root of the tongue, a decrease in the amount of saliva. All this is due to nerve damage. Symptoms of neuralgia, namely, sensitivity disorders only progress over time.
Diagnosis of neuralgia
If the above symptoms occur for each specific type of neuralgia, you must contact a medical facility to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis and select the correct treatment regimen. The doctor can determine the presence of such pathologies only after an initial examination and an adequate assessment of the patient's complaints.
In order to confirm the preliminary diagnosis, the patient is usually referred for additional methods.
Methods for diagnosing all types of neuralgia:
- X-ray examination.
- CT.
- NMR.
- Common blood and urine laboratory tests.
- Biochemical blood test.
Treatment measures for neuralgia
Therapeutic procedures in the event of such pathological processes should be started immediately after the diagnosis is established. Many people believe that such conditions are not dangerous for the body, but this is not so, since neuralgia develops secondarily, therefore, any serious pathological process has already progressed before its manifestation. It is he who poses a threat to he alth, and it is first of all necessary to treat him.
Especially dangerous neuralgia during pregnancy, as they can significantly complicate its course and even provoke spontaneous miscarriage.
All methods of treatment of neuralgia are divided into conservative and surgical. Specialists, as a rule, initially prescribe conservative methods of treatment, and only after the doctor is convinced of their ineffectiveness, he can resort to surgical methods of treatment.
Conservative ways to treat these pathologies are:
- Prescribing anti-inflammatory and painkillers. It is necessary to treat all types of neuralgia with such drugs, as they will help to stop pain syndromes and eliminate the inflammatory process in the affected nerve fiber.
- Acupuncture. This technique gives very good results in the treatment of these types of diseases.
- Physiotherapeutic methods of treatment. In this case, a laser, ultraviolet, various magnetic fields, etc. are used.
An example of complex treatment is the addition of NSAIDs with certain neurotropic vitamins. B vitamins help to urgently eliminate pain and inflammation faster than when taking only NSAIDs. In addition, they have a beneficial effect on the natural physiological processes in nerve fibers, stimulate their nutrition and help restore the structure of the tissue of these fibers.
The best addition to NSAIDs is the drug Neuromultivit in the forminjections, which includes vitamins B1, B6 and B12 in certain therapeutic dosages. The use of neurotropic vitamins in high doses allows you to consolidate the effect of the treatment, and also promotes regenerative processes in nerve fibers, so you can achieve long periods of remission in pain syndrome.
Treatment with this medication should begin with daily injections, which are done for 5 or 10 days. The field of this is usually switched to maintenance treatment with this remedy, which consists of 2-3 injections per week.
Therapy of symptoms of neuralgia on the left or right can also be supplemented with other drugs, depending on what type of pathology was diagnosed in each case. For example, with intercostal neuralgia, traction of the spinal column, wearing special corsets and swimming are recommended. In addition, sedative medications are included in the treatment plan.
When squeezing the trigeminal nerve, as a rule, anticonvulsant drugs are prescribed. In some cases, doctors resort to surgical destruction of certain parts of the affected nerve.
With the development of pathologies of the sciatic nerve are shown:
- Bed rest.
- Taking anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Electrical stimulation.
- Nerve blockades.
Special care should be taken to treat various types of neuralgia during pregnancy, andthis is done exclusively in stationary conditions, so that specialists can constantly monitor the condition of the woman.
Treating the symptoms of neuralgia at home can be quite effective.
Home Therapy
- In the first 2-3 days, bed rest is needed, as swelling and pain increase with unnecessary movements.
- Preferably use a hard mattress.
- If you have a semi-rigid corset, you can wear it during the day. It will be able to protect against sudden movement and unload the muscles of the back.
- Showing dry and light heat. This will reduce muscle spasm and pain. It is better to use a heating pad or a bag of heated sand or s alt. Use heat for no more than half an hour.
- Then, an anti-inflammatory ointment is applied to the affected surface and wrapped in a belt made of dog and camel hair.
