Nerve Injuries

Many things can cause nerve damage. Accidents. Infections. Illnesses. Diabetes. Strokes. Spinal problems. Surgery complications. The list goes on. Damage can strike any nerve in your body. Some common types of nerve injuries are:

• Mononeuropathy: Damage to a single nerve, like carpal tunnel or tarsal tunnel syndromes.
• Neuropathic pain: Also known as neuropathy. Often linked to damage in peripheral nerves that send messages between your brain and body. Diabetes-related neuropathy is a common one.
• Neuropraxia: A mild injury to peripheral nerves.
• Peroneal nerve injury: Affects the nerves running down the fronts of your legs into your feet and toes. Can cause foot drop and affect how you walk (gait).
• Trigeminal nerve injury: Causes facial pain or numbness.
• Vagus nerve injury: Can cause too-slow digestion (gastroparesis), low blood pressure and fainting.

With these and other nerve injuries, you may feel intense pain. You might notice tingling, numbness or severe pain in the affected area. You may even have trouble walking or moving your arm or leg. Your symptoms depend on where and how bad the nerve injury is.

When you come to us for care, we’ll take time to find out what’s causing your symptoms, rule out similar conditions and confirm a diagnosis before we build your treatment plan.

What to expect at your first visit

The signs of a nerve injury can look like other conditions. That’s why we listen closely when you talk about your symptoms during your first appointment. Understanding your story is the first step in finding out what’s going on. Your provider may ask:

• What kind of symptoms have you noticed?
• How long have you had these symptoms?
• How are these symptoms affecting your life?
• What health conditions, if any, do you have?
• What health conditions run in your family?

Your provider will do physical and neurological exams to look for signs of nerve damage. They’ll look for places where you may have pain, numbness or muscle weakness. They’ll also check your reflexes, balance and gait. And you may get orders for other tests.

Testing for a nerve injury

We may do blood tests to look for reasons behind your nerve injury. These tests can find problems with your immune system or toxins in your bloodstream — things that can cause nerve damage. You may also have:

• Electromyogram (EMG) to check nerve activity.
• Imaging tests like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds.
• Electroencephalogram (EEG).
• Spinal tap (lumbar puncture).
• Autonomic nervous system.
• Quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART).
• Skin biopsy for small fiber sensory neuropathy.
• Nerve conduction study.

Meet Our Nerve Injury Team

When it comes to highly personalized care, Cleveland Clinic believes in teamwork. This means we build a care team with the providers you need — ones from different specialties, like:

• Neurologists.
• Neurophysiologists.
• Neurosurgeons.
• Orthopaedists.
• Rheumatologists.
• Endocrinologists.
• Radiologists.
• Physical therapists.
• Pain management.

These and other providers work together to make sure your treatment plan meets your needs and gives you the best possible results.

Your nerve injury treatment plan focuses on what nerves are damaged, how bad the damage is and your overall health. If underlying health conditions are causing nerve problems, we’ll treat those. For other nerve injuries, we try to avoid surgery whenever possible. We usually recommend more conservative treatments first.

Physical therapy

We may have you try physical therapy. These sessions can help you improve strength, balance and movement. For some types of nerve injuries, this may be all you need. For others, it might be a way to help you adapt to your chronic (ongoing) nerve changes.

Devices and wearable equipment

Your care team may recommend that you use prescription footwear, a cane or a walker to help with movement and balance. Or you may need to wear a brace on your arm or leg. It depends on the kind of nerve injury you have.

Medications and other pain treatments

Some nerve injuries respond well to medications and other pain relief treatments. We may prescribe medications in the form of pills, creams, injections (shots) or patches. Your provider will go over what types of medications may work for you — and how you’ll take them.

Nerve blocks can supply temporary pain relief near the damaged nerves. Treatments using mild electrical currents like, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) or spinal cord stimulation may also help.

Surgery

Your provider may suggest surgery to relieve pressure on or repair the damaged nerve. Our team can also use donor tissue to replace a severely damaged one.

Life After Treatment for Nerve Injuries

Some nerve damage is temporary and can get better with treatment. Other types may need lifelong care. Our team is here to help you do this. We’ll make sure you have regular checkups and testing to see if your condition gets worse. Our pain management specialists will find ways to help you move past pain. We know managing a chronic condition can be frustrating and tiring sometimes. Our caring team is here to support your emotional, social and mental well-being, too.

Taking the Next Step

Nerve injury symptoms can disrupt your life. So, when that pain and tingling don’t go away as you’d hoped, it’s time to get things checked out. Our expert team treats all kinds of these injuries. We work with you to uncover the reason behind your nerve pain. And we’ll put together a treatment plan that focuses on helping you live your best possible life.