The Nerves of Those Nerves!

Nerves are the wiring to the body, much like the wires in our electronics; electricity passes and in that pulse is information that tells something on the receiving end to do something. Also like wires and electrical circuits in our electronics, we can get miscommunication and faulty signaling.

Many different syndromes and pathologies can cause nerve issues, some to name are diabetes, alcoholism, different drugs, parasites and other mechanical means as well. This is not exhaustive, not even close. Depending on the nerve that is impacted, where it is impacted and how long the injury/insult was sustained for can all play a role in healing and potential repair, though it usually is relatively slow compared to other soft tissue sprains/strains.

There are generally 3 types of symptoms – motor, sensory and autonomic.

• Motor symptoms – Movement: unable to move or lack strength in a particular body part/limb.

• Sensory symptoms – Sensation: Lessened, heightened – altered sensation and perception. Depending on if spinal cord injury or not you can lose perception of vibration or sharp pain, but not others.

• Autonomic – Automatic processes – Blood pressure response to standing – lightheadedness (multiple benign causes)

These can be hereditary, toxic or developed from diseases and will all benefit from management of a multi-disciplinary team of medical personnel that range from nurses to physicians to physical therapists.

In my own practice I’ve seen plenty of clients come through with debilitating nerve pain that shoots down their arms or legs that was relieved 75% with targeted isometrics to the hips and pelvic muscles. We then spent the next month or two improving overall function through customized exercise routines and discharged to them back to their active lifestyles.