Are you struggling with nerve pain? Nerve injuries can affect your everyday life, from daily household tasks to the exercises and hobbies you love. Fighting the effects of nerve damage can leave you discouraged and wondering what can be done to fix this problem for good.
At the Albano Clinic here in Utah, we understand your pain. As you read on, we’ll dive further into discussing nerve damage and the best treatment you can pursue to find relief that lasts.
What is Neuropathy?
The damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves in your body is called neuropathy. When your nerves are damaged, the communication between your body’s neurons and the brain is disrupted. Neuropathy is a common struggle, as at least a quarter of all Americans will be affected by neuropathy at some point in their lives. The source of your neuropathy can vary, but typical causes include diabetes, traumatic injuries, alcoholism, and repetitive motions over time from certain professions (a cause of carpal tunnel, for example).
Nerve damage typically results in tingling (feeling like “pins and needles”), numbness, muscle weakness, and pain, which is often described as sharp, stabbing, burning, or throbbing. This pain and tingling usually start in your hands and feet, but it can be prevalent in other parts of the body as well. Living with this pain can be difficult, so it can leave you seeking out treatment options as a result.
Why surgery is NOT a good option for treating neuropathy
When it comes to treating neuropathy, doctors may recommend surgery to help the nerve recover. This can be done by “releasing” the tissue causing compression of the nerve (such as with carpal tunnel syndrome) or moving the nerve to a new position (such as with an ulnar nerve).
However, studies have shown that surgery can be ineffective. Instead of surgery, doctors can prescribe alternative treatment methods including physical therapy, braces, and steroid injections. The latter will unfortunately damage your nerve – more with each subsequent injection. So with surgery and other traditional methods lacking effectiveness, what can be done to treat that constant nerve pain you’ve been living with for some time? Thankfully, there is a better way—PRP Therapy.
What is PRP Therapy?
PRP Therapy is a type of regenerative medicine that uses your own natural healing processes to supercharge the healing in a damaged area in your body. While often used as a treatment for orthopedic injuries and chronic pain, PRP therapy is a reliable treatment for nerve injuries as well.
PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) involves drawing your own blood and concentrating its platelets, which contain key healing proteins your body produces to fight injuries. With platelets concentrated to 4 to 5 times the usual amount, doctors return them to the injured area of your body through a PRP injection. When this happens, your body’s healing process gets kicked into overdrive as the extra platelets help to speed up your recovery. So how does PRP Therapy work for your nerve pain?
How PRP Therapy heals your neuropathy
With PRP Therapy, your damaged nerves heal with help from your body’s own platelets. Following a similar process to the one described in the previous section, the platelet-rich plasma, once injected into the area of the body experiencing nerve pain, helps regenerate your nerves and eliminate the pain and discomfort associated with neuropathy. PRP helps heal your nerve injuries in a number of ways:
- PRP helps to relieve inflammation in the nerves caused by traumatic injuries
- The platelets found in PRP help to restore feeling and control of the nervous system
- PRP helps prevent further damage or infection to the injured nerves
- PRP helps revive the lost ability of movement in limbs due to the restoration of nerve function in muscles
In addition, PRP therapy also provides rejuvenation to your skin by stimulating its collagen. It’s an all-natural and minimally-invasive treatment, which is especially ideal if you’re seeking a non-pharmaceutical option for relieving your nerve pain. Plus, it provides faster results than surgery.
PRP Therapy helps treat a variety of common nerve injuries, including:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (median nerve)
- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (ulnar nerve)
- Radial Tunnel Syndrome (radial nerve)
- Posterior Interosseous Nerve
- Sciatic Nerve
- Peroneal Neuropathy (peroneal nerve)
- Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (tibial nerves)
- Morton’s Neuroma (foot)
At the Albano Clinic, we use a technique called hydrodissection combined with PRP or regenerative cells to treat nerve injuries. Hydrodissection is a precise method requiring an ultrasound to guide the needle within one millimeter of your damaged nerve and injecting fluid, flooding the nerve with your body’s natural healing cells, leading to healing and restoring function for your nerve (and improved movement and feeling in your body!).
Start finding relief for your nerve pain today
After learning about different options for treatment for your nerve pain, are you ready to start reclaiming your life? You don’t have to keep standing on the sidelines wondering how you can remedy your damaged nerves any longer. Healing is possible. At the Albano clinic, Dr. Joseph Albano has been helping patients just like you heal with PRP Therapy and regenerative orthopedic solutions since 2007. With our help, you can stop the pain and frustration of living with neuropathy—without surgery—and return to the life you love.
If you’d like to learn more about how PRP Therapy can heal your specific neuropathy, schedule an appointment with us today.