But chronic pain lasting more than three months does not teach anything and is not useful for anything.

It is not caused by external injuries or internal diseases, but by nerve damage. Such – neuropathic – pain, according to statistics, occurs in 6-7 people out of a hundred.

This “breakdown” leads to the fact that the nerves send excessive and incorrect signals to the brain, which reacts to this with severe pain. This happens with diabetes, herpes zoster, limb injuries, hernias in the spine and other diseases. Moreover, excruciating pains arise for almost no reason – sometimes friction of the body against clothes or bedding is enough. Patients experiencing exhausting neuropathic pain suffer from insomnia, depression, and often avoid communication even with family members. This pain is no longer a symptom, but an independent disease.

What is this talking about

Neuropathic pain often accompanies many diseases:

Herpes (shingles). As a rule, there is skin sensitivity and severe pain around the body.
Diabetes. There is a burning sensation in the feet and in the toes. Often a symptom appears at night.
Stroke. Tingling, burning, or a feeling of severe cold in the affected side of the body may occur.
Spinal cord injuries. Shooting, squeezing, or stitching pains in the trunk and limbs may develop.
Trigeminal neuralgia. Severe pain in the face during chewing, speech. It occurs more often in the elderly.
Spinal diseases. There can be quite strong sensations in the arms and legs.
As well as multiple sclerosis, AIDS, chemical or radiation exposure and some other diseases.

Phantom pains arising after amputation are also among the neuropathies.

Not just for depression

A qualified neurologist will help cope with neuropathic pain. First of all, he will find out the root cause of the pain – that is, the disease associated with it. It must be treated first.

Drugs can help eliminate the pain itself (as a rule, not one, but several). Analgesics usually do not work. More effective anticonvulsants, as well as antidepressants, which take at least six months to take. For very severe pain, narcotic painkillers are used.

Physiotherapy and acupuncture help some. There are the latest methods of therapy, in which special devices are implanted under the skin and with the help of electrical impulses control the work of nerve endings.