Nerves are the “electrical wiring” system in all people that carry messages from the brain to the rest of the body. Nerves are fragile and may be damaged or injured by pressure, stretching, or cutting. When a nerve injury occurs, you may suffer from loss of feeling and movement in the area, as well as pain or discomfort. In some cases, such as a nerve injury to your arm, the return of sensation to your fingertips can take up to one year. It’s not uncommon to experience the feeling of pins and needles in your fingertips during the recovery process. Your age, the type of wound and nerve, and the location of the injury can all affect recovery. In addition to loss of sensation and movement, you may experience burning pain, pain that feels like electrical shock, sensitivity to touch, swelling, discoloration, increased sweating and initial warmth followed by coolness of the affected extremity (ex-TRIM-uh-tee). Since these bodily functions are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, this condition has been called “reflex sympathetic (sim-PAH-thet-ik) dystrophy (dis-TRA-fee)”, or RSD (R-S-D). Pain caused by nerve injuries, or RSD, may be treated with various methods, such as medication, nerve blocks, local anesthetics (an-us-THET-iks), oxygen treatment, acupuncture, physical therapy, and electrical stimulation. Joining a support group may also help you with stress reduction and pain control techniques.
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