In the lists of medical specialties, even the most educated person can easily get confused. Their diversity gives rise to incorrect information about which doctor should contact a person with certain symptoms. For example, diseases associated with nerves and stress relate immediately to such different specialists as a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, neurologist, psychologist, and neuropathologist. How they differ, at first glance it is quite difficult to understand an inexperienced person. Let's find out what a neurologist treats.
First, we need to understand what kind of object of our body is interested in this specialist. The nervous system (NS) as a whole - this is what the neuropathologist treats. And already in this concept includes the central NS (brain and spinal cord), and peripheral NS - that is, all the other nerve endings in our body.
The main symptom of diseases associated with the nervous system is pain. Most often, her location is the head. That is, all sorts of unpleasant sensations: from mild ailment to severe migraines - lie precisely in the sphere of competence of such a specialist as a neuropathologist. What a psychiatrist or psychotherapist treats is mental disorders expressed in non-standard behavior and reactions to society, that is, behavioral reactions. A neuropathologist deals with the physical manifestations of nervous system ailments.
Another place that may be the responsibility of this doctor is the neck. The fact is that in addition to the brain, whose neurons provoke headaches of various etiologies, our body is also directly regulated by the spinal cord. Its endings are located along the entire length of the spinal column, and sometimes pain in the cervical region is caused by pathologies of the nervous system, that is, this is exactly what the neurologist treats.
If you move further along the human body, it is logical to assume that the specialist in the field of neuropathology also treats the back as a whole, and specifically the spinal column. Most often, pain in this part of the body is provoked by radiculitis or osteochondrosis - and these diseases also belong to the category of those treated by a neurologist. So in the case of such pains, it is better to first contact him, rather than starting self-medication with healers or chiropractors.
In addition to the central nervous system, which we described above, peripheral NS also functions in our body. She is responsible for the reaction of the limbs. That is, if you have problems associated with pain in the arms, legs, numbness, muscle weakness in these parts of the body, then the direct path, of course, is to a specialist in this field. Most often, muscle weakness is a symptom of a serious illness, which probably belongs to the category that is treated by a neuropathologist. It can be various paralysis, strokes, multiple sclerosis and all kinds of neuritis. An accurate diagnosis of such complex diseases can only be made by a doctor of this orientation, and also prescribe the right treatment that can put the patient on his feet.