Diagnosis | Neuralgia

Diagnosis

Until the diagnosis of neuralgia is made, the patient often first goes through a variety of diagnostic procedures. First of all, all other causes that could be responsible for pain in the area in question are excluded. For this purpose, both neurological and physical examinations as well as imaging procedures such as X-rays, CT or MRI are performed.

Sensitivity and muscle strength, reflexes and pain sensation are tested. The latter is attempted with the help of questionnaires and drawings, whereby an objectifiable assessment is complicated. What makes it more difficult is that the extent of a pathological change does not necessarily correlate with the subjective pain sensation of a patient.

Pain is a sensation that is greatly influenced by the experiences and personality of each patient. Neuralgia cannot be diagnosed in the same way as a broken bone. Many different factors come together here, but when combined together they give a relatively reliable picture. Targeted examinations can therefore help to find the right treatment even for diagnostically complicated neuralgia.

What symptoms occur in the context of neuralgia?

Neuralgia is characterized by a characteristic pain symptomatology. The pain occurs only in the area supplied by the affected nerve and is also triggered by it. The pain symptomatology can occur in the form of permanent pain or as a seizure and is often accompanied by sensation and pressure sensitivity of surrounding muscles.

Hyperesthesia, i.e. excessive pain sensitivity, is particularly typical, and in rare cases allodynia is also present. This refers to the perception of pain in response to non-painful stimuli such as touch. The form in which pain occurs in neuralgia is usually described in a similar way by different patients.

The first thing that patients report is an unnaturally strong pain experience, the like of which has never been experienced before. The medical term “pain of destruction” is often used as a synonym for this worst possible pain stimulus. If the symptoms consist primarily of permanent pain, they are often perceived as burning or drilling.

Pain peaks are more likely to be reported in cases of seizure-like nerve pain. These suddenly occurring pain attacks are described as electrifying and stabbing. The patients are taken by surprise by the pain and are often unable to do anything else at the moment of the most severe pain experience.

Due to the primary pain symptomatology, secondary symptoms may occur. These are not caused by the neuralgia, but are increasingly developed in the course of the disease. Classical side symptoms are concentration disorders and fatigue.

Due to the pain, which can also occur at night, the body does not get the rest it needs. On the one hand, this causes permanent tiredness of the patients, on the other hand, the concentration difficulties, which already exist anyway due to the severe pain, are aggravated.A further, often serious side symptom is depression. Due to the permanent pressure of suffering and the reduced quality of life, which is often caused by the pain symptomatology, the affected persons can get into a depressive episode, which should definitely be observed and treated.