Medical Blog

Diagnostic tests for neuropathic pain

The easiest to study neuropathic pain to determine the detection of hyperalgesia and allodynia.
Allodynia is a painful experience in a non-painful stimulus. This can be tested by using a brush or cotton swab to rub the skin. If that is experienced as painful, then there is allodynia. That is very indicative of neuropathic pain.
Hyperalgesia means that an exaggerated pain reaction to a relatively harmless stimulus. This can be tested with an injection needle or a monofilament. That's an interesting little instrument with a flexible pin is placed on the skin. If the pin bends, gives a pressure of 10 grams. Normally this is not painful in people with neuropathy does it hurt. The monofilament is also used to loss of sensation in the feet due to diabetic neuropathy to detect.
What is also very useful for the diagnosis of neuropathic pain is a sensory analysis with ether or acetone to an exaggerated response to cold measure. To test the response to heat, the skin can be touched with a tube of hot water. Usually there will be abnormal sensory responses in the area where the patient indicates pain, which again is very indicative of neuropathic pain.

Causes

The exact cause of neuropathic pain is still unknown. There are theories that focus on an error in the pain or an abnormal conduction of certain parts of the nervous system responsible for pain conduction. Neuropathic pain, is there something wrong somewhere: when receiving the incentive, the pass to the brains or the translation.

There are many causes of neuropathic pain.

• an infection, shingles (postherpetic neuralgia)
• prolonged alcohol abuse or exposure to toxic substances,
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Chemotherapy
• Diabetic neuropathy is a frequent complication of diabetes, with sustained dysesthesieën and pain (usually on the feet and / or hands), which occurs depends on the duration and severity of hyperglycemia.
• an accident or surgery. Typical examples are glands in the armpits operations (such as after breast surgery), neck or groin. Even after a back surgery, heart surgery and lung surgery are known. Also known is the phantom pain after amputation.
• A special form of neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (also known as post-traumatic dystrophy or reflex sympathetic dystrophy or Sudeck syndrome). This is usually an affected limb. The pain usually occurs after an accident or surgery. Often this is accompanied by color and temperature changes, swelling and changes in the diet (trophic changes). Often there is excessive sweating of the arm or leg.
• trigeminal neuralgia is a special form of facial pain caused by pressure on the ganglion of Gasser.
• pinched nerve in the hand (carpal tunnel syndrome) or foot (tarsaletunnelsyndroom)