Neuropathic back pain, also known as ‘neuralgia’ is a form of chronic back pain. As with chronic pain symptoms include; a continuous numbness in the lower back area, a sharp or stabbing pain, a deep burning or coldness in the effected area and may cause pain in the arms and or legs as well as the back. However other symptoms include; being hypersensitive to touch, a loss of bowel or bladder control and coordination difficulties. Neuropathy is any type of pain that is caused by a compression of the nerves. In some cases Neuropathic back pain results from damage to the central nervous system and can be caused by, phantom limb pain, diabetes, tumours or regional pain syndrome (RPS).
As with chronic back pain Neuropathic pain causes the sufferer to have a limited daily life, for example they may be unable to perform their job or even get to their job and it may limit their social life or activities. This can lead to the patient feeling worse and worse, causing; sleeplessness, stress and depression. Therefore it is extremely important that sufferers consult their general practitioner in order to be refered to a specialist Orthopedic Pysician.
As neuropathic back pain is a symptom of another medical condition it is often difficult for a GP to diagnose, therefore it may be necassery for the doctor to carry out an electromyography. An electromyography measures the electrical discharges from the muscle and nerves in order to establish how quickly signals are being carried from the muscles to the brain.
If the neorpathic pain is relatively mild it may be possible that the pain can be treated with prescription pain killers and over the counter medicines. However these should only be used as short term measure in order to avoid long term risks of the medication itself. Treatment may also come in the form of medication that is classed as anti-seizure medicine as this kind of medication works by blocking off the pain signals to the brain. Some anti-depressant medication also works by blocking off pain signals and so this can also be precribed as a treatment for neuropathic back pain.
