Neuralgia. Causes, symptoms and treatment of neuralgia

Causes

A person's lifestyle influences the development of this disease.
Lack of sufficient physical activity, incorrect posture, prolonged static position in an awkward position, alcohol and smoking, tight clothing, stress - all this causes the development of clinical manifestations. The key link in the development of neuralgia is osteochondrosis, in which nerves are pinched due to degenerative processes in cartilage tissue. Concomitant diseases affect: tumors, injuries, deficiency of B vitamins.

Drugs for trigeminal neuralgia

Drug therapy for inflammation of the trigeminal nerve is aimed mainly at eliminating the inflammatory process and pain - neuralgia.

Pharmaceuticals can temporarily improve the condition, but, unfortunately, do not affect the likelihood of relapse. Meanwhile, trigeminal neuritis is a recurrent disease, and with each new exacerbation its pain symptom - neuralgia - can become stronger and longer lasting.

Another significant drawback of drug therapy is the almost inevitable side effects.

1. Analgesics. Purely symptomatic drugs have a universal analgesic effect. Analgin is usually used as an injection in combination with diphenhydramine.
2. Non-steroidal drugs based on ibuprofen and diclofenac have an anti-inflammatory effect. Used in the form of ointments, capsules, tablets.
3. Corticosteroid (hormonal) drugs are used for severe swelling and inflammation, including allergic inflammation.
4. Anticonvulsants. Prevents voluntary contractions, nerve pulsation, and reduces pain. They have an inhibitory effect on the nervous system, so they usually cause drowsiness.
5. Antispasmodic drugs. Reduce muscle spasms, including those that occur as a response to pain (neuralgia). They reduce pinching and compression of the trigeminal nerve and help improve its blood supply. Usually used in combination with non-steroidal drugs (NSAIDs).
6. Vascular drugs. They are used to improve blood supply to the nerve, for example, in atherosclerosis.
7. Antihistamines. They have an inhibitory effect and are prescribed for allergic neuritis, and also as an adjunct in the treatment of neuralgia.
8. Sedatives, tranquilizers, neuroleptics. They are used for stimulation of the nervous system and psyche, which often provokes facial neuritis. They have a calming effect, but quickly become addictive.
9. Vitamin complexes based on B vitamins. They are used to strengthen and restore nerve tissue.
10. Antibiotics. They are used in cases where neuralgia develops against the background of bacterial infections, in particular with otitis, sinusitis, sinusitis, and meningitis.
11. Antivirus products. They are used in cases where the cause of inflammation is a viral infection, for example, herpes. Along with these drugs, the doctor can use local injections of glycerin, which reduce pain.

Diagnostics

The main thing is to distinguish this pathology from diseases of the cardiovascular and digestive systems.
A neurologist can correctly differentiate neuralgia. Unlike heart diseases, intercostal neuralgia has characteristic symptoms: increased pain with movement, lack of effect from cardiac medications, for example, nitroglycerin. Additionally, an ECG or ECHO KG is performed according to indications. Pain in the chest area when coughing resembles pneumonia. To avoid missing this pathology, a chest x-ray may be required.

It is better not to self-medicate, as there is a risk of missing a serious illness. A competent doctor, using the necessary medical equipment, will make a diagnosis correctly and quickly.

1.General information

The word “neuralgia” is one of those terms that are constantly heard even outside of medicine: you can hear about neuralgia from employees in the office, or from all-knowing grandmothers at the entrance, or from a neurologist, to whom we were eventually redirected “according to our profile.” “, although initially we complained of pain in the heart. In general, neuralgia is a fairly common phenomenon, and in everyday speech it is most often used and perceived as a diagnosis, i.e. as the name of a disease.

The concepts of “neuralgia” and “neuritis” are often confused (the first indicates a tangible manifestation in the form of pain; in the second word, the suffix “-itis” identifies the inflammatory process). Many sources emphasize that neuralgia is only a symptom, a consequence of some mechanical causes and/or organic, pathomorphological changes that have their own logic and dynamics. However, in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the independent nosological code “neuralgia” is found in three categories at once, incl. with the definitions “unspecified” and “not elsewhere classified”. Finally, a distinction is made between secondary (symptomatic) neuralgia, which develops as part of a clearly diagnosed disease, and primary (essential), in which a more general, basic pathology cannot be identified - which, however, does not mean its absence.

Despite all the discrepancies, the phenomenon of neuralgia itself has been known for a very long time and has been fairly well studied. As the literal translation from Latin defines, it is “nerve pain”, i.e. pain on any part of the conducting nerve, usually located in a narrow canal. The localization can theoretically be anything, but in practice some options - intercostal neuralgia, neuralgia of the trigeminal, occipital, femoral cutaneous, sciatic nerves - are more common than others. Thus, according to statistics, over a million people suffer from neuralgia of the trigeminal facial nerve and its branches alone.

A must read! Help with treatment and hospitalization!

Treatment

The therapy is carried out by a neurologist.
The choice of medications is carried out for each patient separately, taking into account concomitant diseases, his age, and allergic history. Therapy consists of several stages:

• Rest to relieve swelling of the nerves and muscles and reduce pain. It is better to limit physical activity in the first 3 days and maintain bed rest. Sports and other strenuous activities should be avoided.
• Prescribing painkillers orally or intramuscularly. Among the anti-inflammatory drugs used are NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
• To eliminate spasm of the intercostal muscles, muscle relaxants are used.
• Outside of exacerbation, exercise therapy, massage, acupuncture and swimming are indicated (in the absence of contraindications for the patient).

What can a doctor do?

To treat neuralgia, injections of anesthetics, B vitamins, and means to improve blood circulation and relieve inflammation are used. Physiotherapy, laser therapy, and acupuncture are prescribed.

If an underlying disease is identified that led to the development of neuralgia, for example, spinal osteochondrosis with intercostal neuralgia, then appropriate treatment is prescribed.

Patients with neuralgia should follow some recommendations:

• Proper nutrition: the body must receive all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and microelements.
• Moderate physical activity. The doctor may prescribe physical therapy.
• Avoiding injuries and hypothermia: they can provoke new attacks and aggravate the course of the disease.

If the disease is persistent and does not respond to drug therapy, surgical treatment is performed. For example, with trigeminal neuralgia, a needle is inserted into the cranial cavity, brought to the node from which the nerve arises, and destroyed. After this, the pain stops.

Physiotherapy for intercostal neuralgia

During the period when the severity of the process subsides, preventive measures are recommended.
Massage of the back and neck-collar area has proven itself well. It improves blood circulation in the affected area and causes relaxation of spasmed muscles and a reduction in pain. Another useful method is physical therapy (PT). An individual set of exercises strengthens the chest muscles and makes them more elastic. A durable muscle corset is a way to prevent intercostal neuralgia.

After pain relief, you can go swimming and lead an active lifestyle to prevent relapses of the disease.

Acupuncture can be used even during periods of exacerbation of symptoms. Impact on certain points relaxes deep muscles and improves well-being.

Causes of neuralgia

The reasons for the development of neuralgia can be different: inflammatory processes, injuries, bacteria and viruses, poisoning with drugs and various substances, autoimmune diseases, circulatory disorders in the vessels supplying the nerve. The most common causes of common types of neuralgia:

• Trigeminal neuralgia: malocclusion, long-term untreated dental diseases, facial and skull injuries.
• Neuralgia of the intercostal nerve: spinal osteochondrosis, rib fractures.
• Occipital neuralgia: osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, circulatory disorders.

Prevention

There are several important principles that can be followed to prevent the development of the disease:

• Regular physical activity.
• Balanced diet.
• Correct body position at the table, straight posture.
• Avoid long static poses, do a short warm-up every 30-60 minutes.
• Quitting bad habits: alcohol and smoking.
• Avoid hypothermia.
• Learn to properly cope with stressful situations.

Symptoms of neuralgia

Most types of neuralgia develop due to spinal pathology (osteochondrosis, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, etc.). For example, intercostal neuralgia can occur with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, and with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, intense pain in the heart can occur.

Many patients confuse this condition with a heart attack or an attack of angina pain and often it even ends up in the emergency room. As a result, the person is taken to the hospital, where intensive treatment begins: injections, IVs, bed rest, etc., but the pain still does not go away, and the ECG results are normal.

Also, in my experience, patients with neuralgia and radicular syndromes of the thoracic spine may experience difficulty in inhaling. Painful sensations may even appear, “As if a stake had been inserted into the back.” This condition is also often confused and mistakenly assumed to be a pulmonary disease, such as asthma. In this case, the situation may develop as before with the hospital. I think many of you can share a similar story, and if not, then ask your friends.

Types of neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of disease that develops due to facial trauma, inflammation in the sinuses, or diseased teeth. Pain can appear when lightly touching the skin of the nose or cheeks, going out into the cold, or hearing a loud sound. During an attack of trigeminal neuralgia, limited mobility of the lower jaw occurs.

Occipital neuralgia is characterized by pain in the back of the head. They are of a knocking, aching nature, gradually spreading anteriorly over the surface of the head, and radiating from the back of the head to the temple and eye. The pain intensifies when turning the head, when palpating the neck, sneezing, coughing, and often causes nausea and vomiting.

As you can see, regardless of the type of neuralgia, the main companion of this disease is pain. If treatment is not started promptly, the symptoms will only worsen, which will negatively affect your professional and daily life.