Effective Pain Management Strategies for Neuropathy

Neuropathy can be characterized by peripheral nerve damage. Its symptoms often include numbness, tingling, and pain, affecting your quality of life and your ability to perform daily activities. Pain management services, such as peripheral nerve stimulation, help alleviate pain from this condition. At St. Louis Pain Consultants, we offer a comprehensive approach to effectively manage pain resulting from neuropathy.

Understanding Neuropathy

Neuropathy can result from various underlying causes, including diabetes, trauma, alcoholism, and autoimmune diseases. It’s possible for neuropathy to affect one nerve or many peripheral nerves throughout the body. The main symptoms include numbness or tingling in your feet or hands, sharp pain, lack of coordination, and muscle weakness. Patients can help prevent or slow the progression of neuropathy by managing conditions with pain management.

If you are experiencing neuropathy symptoms, our doctors can diagnose the condition by performing a physical exam. They may check your reflexes, balance, sensation, and muscle strength. They can also order tests such as Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyograms to measure electrical activity in your nerves and muscles. The results from these tests help the doctor determine a plan to treat and manage your pain.

Pain Management Strategies for Neuropathy

The providers at St. Louis Pain Consultants can help develop a care plan to reduce or eliminate neuropathy pain. Depending on the severity of your neuropathy, recommendations may include lifestyle modifications, medications, and peripheral nerve stimulation which are described below:

Lifestyle Modifications

Lifestyle modifications are able to slow the progression of neuropathy and manage your symptoms. Your provider may recommend exercising to improve muscle strength, limiting alcohol intake, and controlling your blood sugar. They may also recommend a balanced diet to support nerve health and reduce inflammation. 

Medications

Your provider may prescribe antidepressants and anti-seizure medications to control pain. Antidepressants, such as duloxetine and nortriptyline, can relieve pain by altering the brain’s perception of pain signals. Anti-seizure medications such as gabapentin and pregabalin help treat pain associated with neuropathy by reducing abnormal electrical activity.

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

Diagnostic testing allows your provider to identify the nerve or nerves that are damaged and causing pain. Peripheral nerve stimulation targets these specific nerves to alleviate pain. A trial using temporary leads can help determine if the treatment is effective. If it is, we can place a permanent stimulator for long-term pain relief.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation may be used to treat chronic nerve pain in the arms, legs, and back. The treatment uses electrodes to block incoming pain signals as they move through the spinal cord to the brain. Temporary leads are used to determine whether the therapy is effective. If the leads provide pain relief, we replace them with permanent leads.

Find Relief From Neuropathy Pain at St. Louis Pain Consultants

Combining lifestyle modifications with pain management treatments can help you find relief from Neuropathy pain. St. Louis Pain Consultants offers state of the art pain services that reduce or eliminate neuropathy pain, including peripheral nerve and spinal cord stimulation. Our providers help you find the best treatment options to prevent long-term disability and help you return to your maximal activity level. Request an appointment and see us at our Chesterfield, MO, or Maryville, IL, location.