Neuropathic Pain: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment.
1 INTRODUCTION
Pain is a significant adaptive mechanism. International Association for the Study of Pain, cited in Hazelgrove and Price (2000, pp. 27), defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage”, however it is worth to notice, that pain is a very complex phenomenon and it is therefore difficult to define or identify pain interchangeably. Hazelgrove and Price (2000) classify pain into two types. First, nociceptive pain, refers to acute sensation triggered by stimulation of pain receptors, usually as a result of injury. It has a very useful, protective role. Second type, neuropathic pain, relates to nerve injury or dysfunction of the nervous system.
This essay is going to explain mechanisms of central and peripheral neuropathic pain. It will describe causes and symptoms and provide some examples of common neuropathic syndromes. This piece will also discuss ways of treatment, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods.
2 CAUSES
Neuropathic pain originates from pathology of the nervous system due to alterations in neural input or processing, and could be divided into acute and chronic type. Chronic pain refers to the sensation that lasts even after healing process is completed and is mostly experienced by neuropathic pain sufferers (Dworkin, 2002).
DeFriez and Huether (2008), classify neuropathic pain into central and peripheral, depending on the site, where abnormal processing of sensory messages takes place.
2.1 CENTRAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN
Central neuropathic pain results from the lesions or dysfunction in central nervous system. Central sensitisation is a major process in central neuropathic pain. It is caused by enhanced activity of the second order neurones, situated in the dorsal horn. This leads to increased transmission of nociceptive stimuli to higher cortical regions. Those mechanisms takes place as a
Pain is a significant adaptive mechanism. International Association for the Study of Pain, cited in Hazelgrove and Price (2000, pp. 27), defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage”, however it is worth to notice, that pain is a very complex phenomenon and it is therefore difficult to define or identify pain interchangeably. Hazelgrove and Price (2000) classify pain into two types. First, nociceptive pain, refers to acute sensation triggered by stimulation of pain receptors, usually as a result of injury. It has a very useful, protective role. Second type, neuropathic pain, relates to nerve injury or dysfunction of the nervous system.
This essay is going to explain mechanisms of central and peripheral neuropathic pain. It will describe causes and symptoms and provide some examples of common neuropathic syndromes. This piece will also discuss ways of treatment, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods.
2 CAUSES
Neuropathic pain originates from pathology of the nervous system due to alterations in neural input or processing, and could be divided into acute and chronic type. Chronic pain refers to the sensation that lasts even after healing process is completed and is mostly experienced by neuropathic pain sufferers (Dworkin, 2002).
DeFriez and Huether (2008), classify neuropathic pain into central and peripheral, depending on the site, where abnormal processing of sensory messages takes place.
2.1 CENTRAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN
Central neuropathic pain results from the lesions or dysfunction in central nervous system. Central sensitisation is a major process in central neuropathic pain. It is caused by enhanced activity of the second order neurones, situated in the dorsal horn. This leads to increased transmission of nociceptive stimuli to higher cortical regions. Those mechanisms takes place as a
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