Neuropathic Pain is a chronic pain that usually is accompanied by tissue injury and left without effective treatment it can lead to serious disability. This result of pain is generally due to the nerve fibers themselves may be damaged, dysfunctional or injured due to incorrect signals being sent to other pain areas. The impact of nerve fiber injury includes a change in nerve function both at the site of injury and areas around the injury.

• What Causes Neuropathic Pain?
• What Are The Symptoms Of Neuropathic Pain?
• How Is Neuropathic Pain Diagnosed?
• How Is Neuropathic Pain Treated?
• How Common Is Neuropathic Pain?
• Helpful contact Numbers.
• Further Information.

What Causes Neuropathic Pain?

• Trauma
• Vitamin B12 or thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency
• Alcohol abuse
• Multiple sclerosis
• Nerve compression or invasion by a tumour
• Stroke
• Certain medications
• Infections such as shingles and HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes

What Are The Symptoms Of Neuropathic Pain?

• Tingling
• Pain
• Numbness
• Shooting and burning pain
• Itching
• Pins and needles
• Painful cold
• Electric shock sensations
• Aching

How Is Neuropathic Pain Diagnosed?

If your doctor suspects you have neuropathic pain, they will ask you to locate the pain and its severity. The doctor will then perform a physical examination and usually conduct testing on nerves in the affected area. You may need to have blood tests, nerve conduction studies (to measure how quickly your nerves can carry electrical signals) or an MRI scan. Sometimes a nerve biopsy is needed to examine a small portion of nerve fibers for any abnormalities however this is uncommon.

How Is Neuropathic Pain Treated?

The symptoms of neuropathic pain can be mild to incapacitating and are often progressive. Treatments may include antidepressants, opioids, adjuvant drugs and anticonvulsants, however, only a few are approved for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

How Common Is Neuropathic Pain?

Neuropathic pain is an important component of many chronic pain conditions and is commonly caused by drugs, disease, or injury-induced damage or dysfunction in the nervous system. Neuropathic pain features are common in patients with:

• Phantom Limb Pain
• Spinal Cord Injures
• Post Stroke Pain
• Lower Back pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Post Traumatic Neuropathy
• Post Surgical Neuropathy
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Post Herpetic Neuralgia
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Fibromyalgia
• Diabetic Neuropathy
• Cancer-Related Pain
• Nerve Entrapment
• Trigeminal Neuralgia

Helpful contact Numbers:

Multidisciplinary Pain Centre
(Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital)
Ph (switch) 07 3636 8111

Brisbane Private Hospital
Ph 07 3832 1920, www.bph.com.au

The Wesley Hospital Pain
Management Program
Ph 07 3232 6190, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Townsville Hospital Pain Management Clinic
Ph 07 4796 2218 fax 07 4796 2223

Further Information:

The Merck Manuals Online Medical Dictionary- Neuropathic Pain
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch209/ch209c.html

Medicine net- Pain Management: Neuropathic Pain
http://www.medicinenet.com/neuropathic_pain/article.htm

My Dr- Neuropathic Pain
http://www.mydr.com.au/pain/neuropathic-pain

Neuropathic Pain Network
http://www.neuropathicpainnetwork.org/english/members/pdf/Neuropathic_Pain_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Virtual Medicine Centre- Understanding Neuropathic Pain
http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/DrugImages/1557_1344_Understanding_Neuro_Pain.pdf