Prognosis
In general, the prognosis for chronic nerve pain in terms of complete recovery is rather poor. However, a significant reduction of pain can be achieved by multimodal therapy concepts, which help patients to actively participate in everyday life again and sleep well at night. In general, early pain management is recommended in the treatment of nerve pain in order to prevent pain chronicity.
Drugs
Drugs used in the treatment of nerve pain in the back are classic painkillers such as Diclofenac, Novalgin or opioids. Often these painkillers alone are not effective, which is why so-called “co-analgesics” are used. These are drugs from the class of antidepressants or anticonvulsants.
By directly inhibiting ion channels in the nerve cells, the transmission of pain is blocked, which leads to painlessness. However, these drugs only reach their full effect after about 2-4 weeks. Representatives of these groups are, for example, amitriptyline or pregabalin (Lyrica®).Cortisone also has an analgesic effect through its anti-inflammatory and decongestant components, and is often used in the therapy of herniated discs. Muscle-relaxing drugs such as baclofen often help against painful spasticity and are also used in the treatment of nerve pain.
Nerve pain in the stomach
Nerve pain in the abdomen can have various causes. A common cause is shingles, which occurs mainly on the trunk and face. But diseases of internal organs can also manifest themselves through nerve pain.
Doctors speak of Head‘s zones, areas of skin that are assigned to certain internal organs. For example, stomach pain or diseases of the liver and gallbladder can project into the upper abdomen. Pain around the navel, can speak for diseases of the small intestine.
Diseases of the large intestine, urinary tract or sexual organs project themselves mainly into the lower abdomen. Kidney diseases can appear as nerve pain in the groin. But organs that are not located in the abdomen can also cause nerve pain in the abdomen – for example, a heart attack can sometimes manifest itself as diffuse upper abdominal pain with nausea.
Nerve pain in the hip is often related to herniated discs in the lumbar spine. Damage to the nerve root can lead to a stabbing nerve pain that radiates from the back, via the hip, into the leg. Depending on which side the herniated disc is on, the nerve pain in the hip occurs on the same side.
The “lumbago“, an acute neuropathic pain in the back, often occurs in people aged 30-50 years and is accompanied by severe pain in the back and sometimes even in the legs. Often affected people can hardly stand upright anymore because of the pain. The causes of lumbago can be muscular tension or blockages in the sacroiliac joints, but also herniated discs.
If the symptoms do not disappear within a few hours, or if the condition worsens, a doctor should be consulted. Other causes of nerve pain in the hip can be operations or interventions, such as punctures, on the hip. All invasive procedures can result in injury and damage to the nerves, which then manifests itself as nerve pain. Depending on which side the operation was performed, the pain occurs on the left or right side.
