Believe it or not, nutritional deficiencies and medications can play a role in spine nerve damage symptoms. Here is everything in a nutshell.

The main causes of nerve root pain and damaged nerve cells are:

• Decreased Blood Pressure (Ex: less oxygen and nutrients will flow to the damaged area as you rest)
• Fractures (Ex: broken bone fragments can sever nerves)
• Fluid build up causing swelling and pressure scarring symptoms
• Blunt force trauma injury
• Diabetic nerve pain
• Tumor compression
• Inflammatory disease
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Spinal Stenosis
• Bone spurs
• Spondylosis
• Hematomas
• Medication
• Arthritis
• Infection
• Hernias
• Cysts.

Each year around 12,000 spine / nerve damage cases are diagnosed in the U.S.A. Depending on the assessment and neuropathic pain severity, damage can lead to nerve damage trouble, including temporary or permanent paralysis. The nerve damage site could include nerves on both sides of the body. Spinal cord injury nerve pain remains a serious health condition.

Your nerve damage symptoms may affect both legs equally. However, motor neuron damage might be isolated to one leg over another. In some cases, partial paralysis body responses are isolated to the region experiencing nerve damage. (Ex: Paraplegia, etc.) These conditions are just part of the spinal cord-brain damage spectrum.

Common Activities Leading To Spine Injuries

• Driving in traffic (For example, Motorcycling ejections, rear-enders in bad weather, etc.)
• I am riding an airplane (Ex: falling overhead luggage causing brain and nerve damage).
• Alcohol use (Ex: Engaging in reckless drinking causes wrecks and diabetic neuropathy burning and nerve pain).
• Pedestrian related (Ex: Slips, Trips, and Falls, tipping a bicycle, etc.)
• Train riding (Ex: attacked by homeless people, sudden stops, etc.)
• Organized sports (Ex: football, neck injuries, brain damage, etc.)

Each nerve damage case will differ depending on the severity of neuropathic pain, the victim’s body, and the nerves most affected.

Common Types Of Spinal Cord Nerve Damage

People of all ages can be nerve damage victims, especially people over age 50. Updates in diagnosis, treatment, and therapy options have taken a positive step. Professionals have more luck diagnosing nerve damage type and location than before.

Spinal Cord Compression Nerve Damage?

Spinal cord compression includes pinched nerves. A hard blow or tumor can place too much stress on a vertebral segment. The spine area may experience a full or partial disc burst fracture or herniated discs.

Pinched nerves may be your only nerve compression pain signal. A patient suffering from this condition may experience other nerve damage symptoms, including spasms or tingling neuropathy in the extremities. Symptoms made worse by twisting your neck or carrying heavy items indicate symptoms of compressed nerves.

Nerve pain has various nerve roots. When spinal nerves controlling body movements are injured, increased sensitivity, nerve pain, numbness, and muscle weakness are common changes.

• Radicular pain is not a traditional type of back or nerve pain. It’s limited to where the roots of your nerves begin and end, including your lower leg or arm.
• Nerve root pain is usually caused by damage to nerves from compressed spinal structures.

Diagnosis, Advice, And Options

To make an accurate spine injury nerve damage diagnosis, it’s important to undergo a careful physical exam and medical history review. Your physician will check for any numbness or nerve damage symptoms.

Upon arriving at the emergency room, a neuropathic pain doctor will rule out severe health symptoms or conditions. Researchers will gather health information during inspection and examination of your deficiencies. These neuroanatomical tests include communication techniques like asking questions about the causes of present disorders, including any nerve pain symptoms or lost sensations.

If the patient complains about neck pain signals, isn’t fully awake, and has apparent weakness or neurological injury signs, other tests can diagnose damage to any nerves, pain level, and completeness. Whether your body’s nerves will self-repair largely remains dependent on isolating and treating the irritation and dysfunction early.

Nerve Damage Diagnostic Health Test Procedures:

• X-Rays: A medical specialist typically orders X-rays for people suspected of suffering a trauma-induced spinal cord injury. These tests may reveal vertebral (spinal column) problems, tumors, fractures, or degenerative changes causing nerve damage or back pain.
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan. A CT scan may provide a better look at nerve abnormalities causing neuropathic pain than an X-ray. This scan may use dye (sometimes radioactive) injected into your spinal column. With this technology, computers can produce images allowing doctors to diagnose infections and other spine conditions affecting nerves or health.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan). An MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create computer-generated spine images. This helps identify herniated vertebrates causing peripheral neuropathy, blood clots, or other masses compressing the spinal cord.
• Electromyography. An EMG is an electrical muscle functioning level activity test.

After your spine injury, doctors will conduct a more comprehensive evaluation to pinpoint the type of spine injury. The exam includes assessing muscle strength and ability to feel pinprick sensations, including light touch or skin pressure.

You may be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment. You may also be transferred to a Regional Spine Injury Center equipped with a team of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, spinal cord medicine specialists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, and social workers with experience in treating spinal cord injuries.

Personal Injury Information From a Proven Lawyer

Sometimes nerve damage victims will receive poor care through government-run insurance. Our caring office of professionals and experts at Ehline Law Firm finds victims lien doctors who get paid out of your settlement. Our law group will address your legal problems while you rest and recuperate from your spinal cord nerve damage.

Be Careful About Your Nerve Damage Treatment Options

When it comes to personal injury cases, the medical question is usually a predominant factor. This can lead to some tricky situations when assessing the quality of care. Almost without exception, substantial economic damages will be entangled with medical problems like diabetes. There will always be a question of maximizing the economic damages, usually dependent on numerous and sophisticated medical analyses.

If medical negligence remains a question, your lawyer must protect non-economic damages from being destroyed by: (1) MICRA; and (2) Proposition 51 – these two are usually paired up in the “Henry v. Superior Court” case. [(Henry v. Superior Court(2008) 160 Cal. App.4th 440)] and are often misrepresented by the defense.

Of course, the defense will often point to medical defendants or even a medical empty chair to avoid blame altogether. Other times they may try and persuade you to sue a chiropractor.

This problematic endeavor would lead to significant issues like the statute of limitations (too late since the MICRA claim has different deadlines) if your chiropractor made your conditions more severe than the defendant’s negligence.

Avoid Chiropractors?

If you are in serious pain and looking for a chiropractor, the most reputable lawyers will tell you not to go. Many serious back ailments arise from spinal cord injuries caused by abrupt pressure on the central nervous system. Pressure can arise from an awkward sit- or carry position, climbing stairs, twisting the wrong way, etc.

How To Protect Against Henry Issues?

Potential defendants in medical malpractice cases may try to blame others even when they are not named. Henry proposes that each at-fault person must pay their fair share of damages proportionally.

Henry has two serious potential consequences

First, it could diminish the noneconomic damages by a percentage of fault attributable to healthcare providers. Second, the amounts allocated would be reduced to zero if the medical wrongdoers are not named (empty witness chair defense) or $250,000 if included.

For example, imagine a jury awards $10 million, with $2 million in economic damages and $8 million in pain and suffering damages. Imagine a finding the PI defendant and chiropractor are both 50% liable to pay compensation.

Under The Medical Injury Liability Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA), the defendant chiropractor only pays $250,000 of their apportioned $4 million of fault. The plaintiff’s general damages award will be significantly reduced.

But if you failed to timely sue the doctor, your case could be 100% defensed because there is no way to apportion their half of the fault!

Fortunately, Henry does not clearly define the best way to treat spinal cord injuries. Although its superficial holding reiterates the Civil Code’s joint liability requirement for non-economic damages, it raises more questions than answers about receiving nothing or your half after trial.

Henry’s application is more imaginary than real and “can be divided by causation into distinct parts . . . [then] liability for each indivisible component part should be considered separately . . . [and] is properly apportioned.” (Id. at 455.)

Some other courts cite the Henry decision when its holding is inapplicable, such as cases involving strict or vicarious liability. (Id., at 457-58; see also Marina Emergency Medical Group, supra, 184 Cal.App.4th at 440.)

Henry’s requirement that the subsequent injury be separate and divisible from the prior PI injury creates two scenarios you can use to your advantage. The first scenario involves a looming empty chair from a subsequent provider not being named as a defendant. Hence, the unnamed provider will almost certainly say the subsequent injury is not separate from the original defendants’.

Under scenario two, if a subsequent provider is named the negligent party, you must prove that the subsequent provider’s negligence caused an injury separate from your case.

Properly combating the argument that Henry can only affect within the jurisdiction of whichever court it is tried consists of first understanding what those limitations are and then pressurizing a discovery that experts will feature on behalf. If this case goes to trial, care should be taken by preparing briefs for the authorities dealing with specific information regarding limits.

As early discovery may be intimidating for some, finger-pointing should occur before the point where it becomes necessary. If the defendant admit fault and hospital treater collusion, a motion for summary judgment will eliminate the medical defendants, offering plaintiff a less complicated legal battle.

• Even if the motion for summary judgment falls short, a nominal settlement with the medical defendants remains possible. If granted in good faith (highly likely), at least one original tortfeasor cannot benefit from Henry since non-settling defendants can’t use damage uncertainty as a defense. (Wilson v. John Crane, Inc. (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 847; Espinoza v. Machonga (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 268, 275.

Getting a free consultation from an attorney at Ehline Law Can help rule out the Henry defense when your nerves are damaged from negligence.

Neuropathic Pain Treatment

Spine-related nerve damage can cause a traumatic emergency. Many specialists, including neurologists and neurosurgeons, will perform surgery for a spine injury.

A doctor specializing in spine injuries will lead the rehabilitation team. The number one experts in their fields have the critical procedure information to stop infections after a sudden impact causing body inflammation. These experts can prescribe decompression exercises and a nearby health care location.

How Is Spinal Cord Compression Damage Treated?

Treatment for spinal cord injuries and associated nerve damage is based on researching neuropathic pain sources. Prostheses and medications that promote nerve cell regeneration may be the best health solution.

One approach to spine injuries is symptom management with therapies like hydrotherapy, oxygen therapy, postural alignment with inversion traction, and decompression therapy pulling on your arms, legs, and limbs. However, these therapeutic approaches are not as effective when compared to surgery.

The process of healing from a spine injury can require different treatments depending on the cause and effects. Some possible treatments include medications, physical treatment, injections, or surgery.

• Drugs

Medications may be used to manage some of the side effects associated with spinal cord nerves. These include medications to control pain, spasticity, and other related issues. Items that may need to be treated with medication include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as antidepressants, pain killers, and analgesics, including acupuncture therapy and chiropractic care.

• Nerve Damage Specialist?

Your doctor’s goal is to cure your disease. These medical professionals may be joint specialists, surgeons, neuropathy specialists, or physical therapists.

• Treatment for Pinched Nerves

Different treatments will be required for sciatica depending on the severity of compression to your nerves. These may include a pain-relieving compress or immobilizing brace that doesn’t impede movement or rest time for muscles and ligaments.

• Diabetes-Diet?

Eat right, watch your weight and monitor any diabetes polyneuropathy pinching peripheral nerves.

• Surgery?

In more extreme trauma, surgical guidance and care may be necessary to remove anything pressing against or severing your nerve.

If emergency surgery is scheduled, your nurse and doctor team will create the best treatment plan to relieve what causes your nerve compression pain symptoms.

Patients must relay any discomfort, loss of bladder control, or condition like bowel weakness. With your help, researchers can meet their neuropathy / pain treatment goals and offer advice.

Emergency Actions

Spinal cord injury care and treatment start by treating the condition at the accident scene. (Ex: a stabbing situation or your disc slips out of place).

As soon as emergency personnel arrives at the accident site, the EMT will stabilize the patient’s spinal cord injury gently and quickly using a:

• Rigid neck collar to isolate the head and damaged areas.
• The patient boarded to get the patient into the ambulance for more relief.

In the emergency room, nurses and doctors focus on the following:

• Helping you breathe
• Shock prevention
• Neck immobilization to prevent further spinal cord damage from turning your head
• Avoid stool or urine retention, respiratory or cardiovascular difficulty, and prevent deep vein blood clots throughout your extremities.

What About Prognosis For A Full Recovery?

Most people can make a full recovery from a spine injury. If you don’t, other factors beyond simple healing time and rest may be at play. You can learn about your surgical risk or complications with advice and assistance from a nerve injury services attorney.

Neuropathic Pain Relief Remains The Priority

Early treatment remains essential when neuropathy signs and depression symptoms are present. Children, in particular, should be monitored for undocumented symptoms after emergencies.

How Is Nerve Root Pain Treated?

Your physician will initially pursue conservative non-surgical methods as pain control during your first appointment. Neuropathic pain can be treated with pain relief medications and treatment strategies to improve daily function.

This helps alleviate sleeplessness and decreased functioning, chronic pain, and insomnia from nerve damage. At certain times, symptoms may get better after formation. In that case, you won’t need more treatment.

Generally, your surgeon should perform surgery on an old injury if your current diagnosis persists over four months without improvement after receiving treatments.

What About Spinal Artery Treatment?

Doctors’ priority for spinal injury treatment is to prevent further injury and increase patients’ chances of living an active, pain-free life.

Treatment includes:

• Oxygen medication. Nerve cells respond to oxygenation according to the latest scientific neuropathy information.
• Other medications. Intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol) remains a drug treatment option for prior acute spinal cord injury. But recent research indicates potential side effects, including blood clots and pneumonia, outweigh the medication’s benefits. Hence, caretakers no longer recommend methylprednisolone for routine spinal cord injury use.
• Immobilization. Sometimes a rigid neck collar may stabilize your neck and brain. There’s also a unique hospital bed.
• Surgery. Foreign objects may distort and compress the spine. Surgery can remove fragments causing injury.
• Experimental treatments. Scientists are researching how to stop cell death, control inflammation and promote nerve regeneration. To do this, physicians may lower the body temperature significantly for 24 to 48 hours.
• Physical therapy rehabilitation. Exercise can help improve mobility for people seeking pain relief from paralysis and spinal injuries.

People suffering from a spinal injury will face secondary problems such as:

• Deconditioning
• Muscle contractures
• Pressure ulcers on your body.

When you’re well enough for therapy and treatment or your condition has stabilized, your doctor might transfer you to a rehabilitation facility. A rehabilitation team will work with you during the early stages of your recovery.

Your neuropathic pain team may include a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a rehab nurse, an RN specializing in spinal cord injuries or sports medicine (physiatrist), and many others.

When people go through Rehabilitation for spine injuries, therapists generally emphasize maintaining and strengthening existing muscle function, developing fine motor skills again, and learning adaptive techniques to complete day-to-day tasks.

You’ll learn about the correlations between spinal cord injuries and complications, prevention steps, ways to rebuild your life post-injury, and how to see a more excellent quality of life.

You will learn many new skills and be encouraged to live independently as much as possible. You’ll resume your favorite hobbies and social activities and return to finish school or work.

New Technologies Helping Heal Neuropathic Pain?

Some devices may enable people with spinal cord injuries to live independently and move around more freely.

These devices include:

• Electronic and mechanical living aids. If you have a spinal injury, there are many devices that you can use to get around, including switch-controlled and voice-controlled remotes or computers with remote capabilities. There are a variety of equipment and vehicle modifications that one can have to make driving easier. Likewise, there are also modifications for your home that you can do to make a living more autonomous.
• A modern wheelchair. Improved, lightweight wheelchairs help make people with spinal cord injuries more mobile and comfortable. An electric wheelchair may be needed. Some electric wheelchairs can walk upstairs, travel over rough terrain, and elevate a seated passenger to eye level without help.
• Computer adaptation systems. Computers can be potent tools for someone with limited hand function; however, they are challenging to operate. Computer adaptations, such as critical guards or voice recognition, range from simple to complex.
• Electrical stimulation devices. EMS, of other functional electrical stimulation systems, can help people suffering a spinal cord injury regain vertebrae-nerve signal control.
• Robotic gait training. This technology can retrain leg muscles and restore walking ability foot by foot, step by step.

Clinical Trials Technologies:

New treatments for spinal nerve pain are being researched, promising to take the pain away from patients someday. Studies testing new therapies and interventions to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition may help victims of neuropathic pain.

Assisted Living Technologies:

A list of options remains available for people with certain spinal cord injury types. Breathing equipment, vehicle, and home-work-site modifications signal better times for patients.

Coping and Pain Support Counseling

A spine injury may cause a life-changing event like unemployment. Suddenly having a disability can be scary and confusing, and adapting is no easy task for the injured person. You might wonder how a spinal cord injury will affect your everyday activities, job, relationships, or long-term happiness. Recovery takes a significant length of time. But many patients improve.

Grieving From Neuropathic Pain Symptoms

The grieving process is a normal and essential part of recovery. It’s most natural to grieve the loss and set new life goals.

Regaining Control Over Your Body

For people with spinal cord injury, you must learn your rights and improve your situation. Education and self-learning are great ways to regain or enhance an active lifestyle.

Talking About Your Disability

Generally, friends and family don’t know everything about responding to a patient’s spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain. Valuable educational materials shared with family and friends can help. Patients talking about their injuries can strengthen interpersonal relationships in many ways.

Sexual Dysfunction and Embarrassment

A counselor can help you and your partner communicate needs or feelings. Your future can still be complete and satisfying with intimacy and physical pleasure.

How Can I Help Prove Damage To My Nerves in A Personal Injury Case?

Medical records are essential in the information-gathering process. When you receive your diagnosis, make a mental list of tasks you can longer perform.

Information to give your medical team includes:

• Provide information surrounding the circumstances of the injury-causing event, including seemingly unrelated symptoms.
• Bringing someone to medical meeting places can help document your pain symptoms.
• Write down questions to ask about the impact or trauma on your nerves.

Essential questions to ask the doctor about spinal cord injuries and treatment options include:

Here is information about treatments for damaged nerves, including treatment strategies and options.

• The prognosis of treating a spine injury depends on the damage’s severity.
• What can be done short term and long term?
• Based on research, what treatments what choices exist?
• What treatments do doctors recommend?
• What side are effects possible from treatment?
• Should surgery be considered?
• What type of Rehabilitation might help?
• Could there be any other options for addressing spine injuries?
• Do research or procedures exist about the condition?

Are there brochures or websites your doctors recommend discussing programs for treating damaged nerves?

What Should I Expect From My Spine Injury Doctor?

Your doctor will ask you to answer questions such as:

• What causes or circumstances lead to your injury?
• When did the damage occur?
• How do you spend your time?
• Do you attend any support groups?
• Who do you live with?
• What are your housing situation drawbacks? (house, apartment, navigating stairs)?
• Does your family have a blood clot history?
• Do you or your family have other medical conditions?

This article discussed types of nerves, body locations, and conditions causing permanent pain. We also discussed adverse health conditions and other ways damaged nerves cause various living function deficiencies.

If your goal is to receive attention for your damaged tissue, vertebrae, bones, or nerves, our attorneys and researchers can help with the right advice. Professionals at our office help patients with a long list of high-risk neuropathy areas.

We will work with your rehabilitation specialist to document disorders and prove any future inability in your workplace fitness or lifestyle. Tell us the details today over the phone at (213) 596-9642.

Neuropathy Resources and Details:

Textbook of clinical neurology (3rd ed.), chap. 51. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2012). Spinal cord injury: Hope through research. Tator, C. H., & Benzel, E. C. (Eds.). (2000).

Contemporary management of spinal cord injury: From impact to Rehabilitation, 2nd ed. Rolling Meadows, IL: American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Evans, R. W., Wilberger, J. E., & Bhatia, S.

Traumatic disorders. In: Goetz, C. G. (Ed.). (2007). Textbook of clinical neurology (3rd Ed.)