Living with nerve pain is far from enjoyable. Some nerve pain gets better with time, treatment, or even medication. However, that can take months or even years.
Some neuropathic pain can even stay the same for years or worsen slowly. It could even be reversed if you are lucky. A doctor can help identify and sometimes treat nerve pain with the latest medications or therapies. In the meantime, you can take care of nerve pain in plenty of natural ways.
What Is Nerve Pain?
Neuropathic pain occurs when the nerves that carry sensations to the brain are damaged by injury, infection, or disease. The peripheral nervous system is a vast system of sensory neurons that extends through the body, hands, and feet.
Nerves inform your brain when your body is injured. These neurons will fire when you drop something on your foot or burn your hand. If one of these sensory neurons is damaged, it may leak and fire independently for no apparent reason and at random times.
What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like?
Nerve pain can come on unexpectedly and without stimulation. It can feel like an electric shock, stabbing, tingling, numbness, or burning pain.
People who are experiencing neuropathic pain are sensitive to cold or touch. People like this may experience pain as much as brushing their skin against another object.
What Causes Nerve Pain?
Nerve pain can be caused by issues in the central nervous system, which is located in the spinal cord or brain. Muscle and organ problems can also send nerve pain to the brain.
Nerve pain is most often caused by injury or disease. Hundreds of possible conditions can cause nerve pain. Below are some common causes and conditions that might cause nerve pain to appear.
Common causes:
- Injury to the nerves, spine, or brain
- Heavy drinking of alcohol
- Poor blood circulation
- B12 or Thiamine vitamin deficiency
- Phantom pain from an amputated limb
- Certain medication side-effects
Conditions that might cause nerve pain:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Infections like HIV/AIDS and Shingles
- stroke
- Diabetes
- Treatments with radiation, surgery, or chemotherapy
Well-known conditions associated with nerve pain.
Sciatica is pressure placed on the nerves of the lower back that cause shooting pain down the leg. This pain is often accompanied by pins and needles or numbness and weakness in the legs.
Fibromyalgia, also known as chronic pain syndrome, is often associated with aching or burning pain in parts of the body.
Fibromyalgia is a neurological disease disrupting an individual's sensory processing system. Brain scans and studies show that fibromyalgia is a disorder located in the central nervous system.
Peripheral neuropathy happens when the peripheral nerves that connect the spinal cord and brain to the body are damaged.
Conditions like autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and other conditions can cause peripheral neuropathy.
5 Possible Ways to Combat Nerve Pain and Prevent Nerve Damage Naturally.
1. Exercise
Exercise will most likely not eliminate a nerve injury, but when you work out, endorphins are released and act as natural painkillers. Exercise may help decrease or prevent nerve pain by increasing blood flow and oxygen to all body areas, including nerves.
Oxygen and blood flow are essential for nerve health. Lack of blood flow and oxygen to the nerves will cause more pain and inflammation.
Researchers believe that daily exercise may assist with expanding blood vessels, which helps restore damaged nerves. Start by walking daily and slowly increasing the pace and distance.
2. Avoid Unnecessary Surgeries
Avoiding unnecessary surgeries is one way to prevent chronic neuropathic pain since it can cause damage to nerves. Surgeons take great precautions when operating, but even then, accidents can happen.
Accidentally damaging a nerve by cutting, nicking, or causing scar tissue that could put pressure on a nerve. Take care of health problems as soon as they arise to prevent them from worsening. Ultimately, this may result in the least amount of surgical intervention.
Avoid unnecessary surgeries by exercising daily, stretching often, sleeping, and eating a balanced diet. If a surgery occurs, then look to natural means for recovery.
3. Eating a Balanced Diet
A varied diet of fruits, vegetables, fats, protein, and grains may help provide your body and nerves with the nutrients needed to maintain healthy cells and experience overall optimal health.
A diet high in B vitamins may support nerve health. Some foods high in B vitamins are eggs, salmon, beef, milk, avocado, spinach, and banana.
No one food is a magic cure for nerve health, but making healthy choices each day may result in optimal health. Treat your body well, and it will return the favor. Excessive smoking and alcohol have been shown to contribute to poor nerve health.
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4. Chiropractic & Acupuncture
Our nerves are connected to the spine and extend throughout the body and into the fingers and toes. A chiropractor can most likely alleviate the pain of a pinched nerve by making adjustments to multiple parts of the spine, ligaments, tendons, bones, and muscles that are out of alignment.
An Acupuncturist will target locations where nerve damage or diminished sensation occurs and try to re-stimulate those nerve fibers. Some studies show that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for peripheral neuropathy.
5. CBD Oil For Nerve Pain
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a natural plant bi-product assisting discomfort, mood, and sleep. CBD may be the next best option when medication and treatments fail to provide enough pain relief.
In a 2020 study, a small subject group of 29 people tested the effects of CBD to assist in treating peripheral neuropathy. Half were given CBD, and the other half were given a placebo.
The study concluded that CBD was well tolerated and provided a more effective alternative treatment for reducing nerve pain than other peripheral neuropathy treatments.
More research must be conducted with larger test groups to confirm these findings, but the results seem promising.
People with neuropathy claim that Full Spectrum CBD and other cannabis-related products are an effective treatment. But more definitive research is needed.
Does CBD For Nerve Pain Work?
When taken orally, CBD is absorbed by the body and introduced into the bloodstream, where it is then processed by the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The ECS then distributes CBD to CB1 and CBD receptors in the body's organs and tissue.
CB1 receptors are located throughout the body, but more so in the brain and spinal cord, while CB2 receptors are found mostly in the nervous system, with only a few in the brain.
Cannabinoids like CBD interact with these receptors to produce both psychological and physiological effects. The body's ECS works with our nervous system by using CBD to treat nerve pain when pain is recognized.
Chronic pain lasts for several weeks, months, or even years. This effect can be overwhelming and cause stress and other negative side effects like nausea and headaches.
So, CBD may be a good natural alternative to help assist nerve pain and other conditions that arise with it.
CBD is not addictive, making it preferred to prescription medication that might cause dependency and dependency-related issues.
Is CBD For Sciatic Nerve Pain?
About 40% of people in the U.S. experience sciatic nerve pain sometime during their life. With sciatic nerve pain being so common, is CBD for sciatic nerve pain?
CBD is sometimes used for sciatic nerve discomfort, and it is often recommended that it be taken orally for best results. When taken this way, it interacts with receptors along the sciatic nerve, which may help reduce pain signals.
Is Topical CBD Better For Nerve Pain Than Oral CBD?
Oral CBD is better than topical CBD for one reason. Oral CBD works directly with our nervous system through the ECS. In contrast, most CBD topicals are not transdermal and only assist with surface symptoms. For a CBD topical to be as effective as an oral CBD product, it must be transdermal.
If the CBD topical does not penetrate the skin or absorb slowly into the skin, it will be less effective than oral CBD. Can you apply CBD topically for sciatic nerve pain? Yes, you can, as long as the topical CBD product is transdermal.
Sum It Up!
Nerve pain can be difficult to deal with, and finding relief can be difficult. It can cause symptoms such as negative mental health, loss of motivation, and trouble sleeping. When physical pain is present, it is hard to enjoy life. Start using these 5 ways to naturally help nerve pain before it becomes a bigger problem.
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Looking for topical CBD oil with transdermal properties for nerve pain? Look no further than Zatural Hot Cream products. Our Hot cream blend is made with natural ingredients that penetrate the skin to assist muscles, nerves, and joints.
This blog post is for educational purposes only.
*FDA DISCLAIMER -These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.