Nerve Pain

Nerve pain may start as mild and occasional, but it often progresses into sharp, severe pain—and can become a debilitating condition. If you’re experiencing nerve pain, you owe it to yourself to explore the advanced therapies available at Somerset Spine & Nerve in Medford, Oregon. Alexis Tracy, DO, has helped many patients find relief through physical, interventional, and regenerative treatments. Call the office or book a consultation online to learn more about your treatment options for nerve pain.

What is nerve pain?

Healthy nerves carry pain signals from injuries anywhere in your body to your brain, alerting it to a problem and creating the sensation of pain.

However, your nerves can also become the source of pain when they’re irritated, inflamed, or damaged. You may hear several terms related to nerve pain—such as neuralgia, which refers to sharp pain along a nerve, and neuropathy, a general term for nerve damage.

What causes nerve pain?

Nerve pain has many possible causes, ranging from physical injuries to underlying health conditions that damage the nerves.

Peripheral nerves, which run from your spine throughout your body, can be damaged by:

• High blood sugar (diabetes)

• Kidney disease

• Infections

• Vitamin deficiencies

• Autoimmune diseases

Nerve pain in the back, neck, arms, legs, and buttocks often begins when a spine condition pinches or damages spinal nerves. Common causes of spine-related nerve pain include:

• Spinal arthritis

• Herniated discs

• Degenerative disc disease

• Spinal stenosis

• Poor posture

• Prolonged sitting

• Traumatic or overuse injuries

Overuse injuries occur when repetitive movements strain soft tissues like muscles, ligaments, or nerves.

What symptoms accompany nerve pain?

Injured or pinched nerves often cause sudden, shooting pain that travels along the nerve. Nerve problems in the neck or back can lead to radiating pain in the arms, legs, or buttocks.

Other common symptoms include:

• Tingling or numbness

• Muscle weakness

• Heightened sensitivity to touch or temperature

How is nerve pain treated?

Mild to moderate nerve pain may improve with medication and physical therapy. However, pinched or damaged nerves are often difficult to treat with conventional methods, and many people develop chronic (long-lasting) nerve pain.

If your pain doesn’t improve, it’s time to see Dr. Tracy at Somerset Spine & Nerve. As a specialist in interventional medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. Tracy offers a wide range of effective, minimally invasive treatments, including:

• Nerve blocks

• Joint injections

• Selective nerve root blocks

• Kyphoplasty

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

• Stem cell injections

• Epidural steroid injections

• Radiofrequency ablation

• Cryoablation

All of these procedures are minimally invasive, meaning they’re performed with needles or needle-like devices—no surgical incisions required.

Don’t let nerve pain limit your life. Call Somerset Spine & Nerve or request an appointment online today.