Brachial neuralgia is a disease that develops due to an inflammatory process. Also, the pathology may have other names - plexitis or neuritis. If a person suffers from neuralgia of the brachial nerve, then he loses the sensitivity of the limb, and its movements become limited.
The brachial plexus consists of short and very long branches, innervates almost the entire body of a person. It begins in the shoulder girdle, and ends with muscles located in the chest and on the back. If damage to nerve fibers located in the shoulder occurred, then this will have an extremely negative effect on the overall state of human health.
The causes of the disease
The reasons due to which neuralgia of the brachial nerve begins to develop can be very different. The disease is considered very common. Depending on what triggered the development of the inflammatory process, there will be symptoms and further treatment of neuralgia. According to ICD-10, neuralgia of the brachial nerve has a code of G54.0.
Why does neuralgia develop
The main reasons include the following:
- Severe hypothermia. Due to sharp fluctuations in temperature, as well as due to a sufficiently long stay in the cold, human immunity decreases several times.
- Infectious diseases. Viruses, fungi, bacteria can cause the development of the primary inflammatory process. They can enter the human body even through a small wound, as well as with the flow of lymph or blood.
- Intoxication of the body. In this situation, it is said not only about endotoxins or exotoxins as pathogens, but also about poisoning by various substances of chemical origin.
- Tumors Neoplasms include malignant, benign tumors that can cause severe compression of the nerve endings in the shoulder. This leads to trophic disturbances, oxygen begins to flow poorly to the tissues. As a result, the cells gradually die, and the nerve impulse becomes weaker. In advanced situations, the nerve impulse is generally absent.
- Shoulder injuries. They can be closed (fracture, dislocation, severe bruise) and open (various wounds). The body responds to damage by the rapid expansion of blood vessels, the inflammatory process begins to gradually develop, there is swelling in the affected area. Also, the accumulation of a large amount of fluid in the tissues can compress the nerves.
- Mechanical type compression. These reasons include clamping the shoulder with a tourniquet for a long time, the use of crutches.
- Injury during labor. Sometimes shoulder nerve diseases can be observed even in a newborn baby. This happens when the child goes wrong through the birth canal or through the pelvis of a woman.
Brachial neuralgia. Signs of the disease
There are several different types of brachial neuralgia. Necessarily the affected area is taken into account. Neuritis can be lower, upper, total and mixed. Depending on what form of pathology a person suffers, there are both symptoms and, accordingly, treatment of brachial nerve neuralgia.
Signs of Lower Neuralgia
The main symptom of neuralgia of the brachial nerve of the lower form, like all others, will be very severe pain. Painful sensations will increase significantly during movement. The place of localization of pain is the inner surface of the shoulder, forearm. Due to the fact that the nerves located in the brachial plexus control tactile and temperature sensitivity, a person may stop feeling the affected area. There is also a noticeable violation of fine motor skills. This means that the patient is unable to hold small objects. Gradually, muscle tone begins to decline, and in a more advanced case, it is not possible to bend your fingers into a fist. Also, lower neuralgia of the brachial nerve provokes the development of Horner's syndrome, in which the innervation of the eyeball is disrupted.
Symptoms of Upper Neuralgia
If the upper part of the nerve is affected, then pain is felt in the supraclavicular region of the shoulder. The external side of the shoulder becomes almost insensitive, the same thing happens with the forearm. The patient cannot move his hand at all, as this causes an attack of severe pain. After some time, even paralysis or paresis of the muscles located in the shoulder girdle can be observed. The hand ceases to bend at the elbow joint, a person is not able to straighten his shoulders.
Total Neuralgia: Symptoms
Such a disease combines the symptoms of the above pathologies. In addition, due to severe intoxication of the patient's body and due to lowered immunity, general weakness, drowsiness, and body temperature rises to around 38 degrees. In some cases, nausea appears, appetite disappears.
Diagnosis of brachial plexus neuritis
It is easy to guess that only a specialist can correctly determine the symptoms and treatment of brachial neuralgia. The initial diagnosis can be made based on the patient's complaints, as well as taking into account the medical history, examination of the patient. The neurologist will also ask a number of questions that will help more accurately establish not only the diagnosis, but also the cause of the problem.
Laboratory tests are also considered mandatory. With their help, you can find out about the presence of an inflammatory process in the body. A large number of white blood cells and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate will indicate its presence. The leukocyte shift to the left, anemia, is mandatory. When a biochemical blood test is ready, a significant decrease in the amount of protein can be noted in it, which also indicates an inflammatory process developing in the human body.
In addition, many modern diagnostic techniques are used to study brachial plexus neuralgia. These include ultrasound diagnostics, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, electroneuromyography, and radiography.
Thanks to electroneuromyography, it will be possible to find out how well an electrical impulse is conducted along the damaged nerve fiber. The data of this study are needed to determine the size of the affected area, as well as its depth. Other diagnostic options will help determine the state of anatomical formations, the presence of edematous fluid in the affected area, and how much tissue is compressed. In addition, you can accurately determine the location of the affected tissues, because the inflammatory process can develop not only in one place, but throughout the nerve fiber.
In some situations, you need to perform a puncture of the spinal cord. Further, the obtained cerebrospinal fluid is examined for the presence of various microorganisms that could provoke the development of the inflammatory process.
Pathology treatment
With the development of neuralgia of the brachial plexus, treatment will completely depend on the symptoms present in the patient. Therapy of this ailment includes the elimination of symptoms, as well as the elimination of the causes that provoked the appearance of the inflammatory process.
If the presence of the causative agent of the disease in the body has been proven in laboratory conditions, then, first of all, antibiotics should be used for treatment. Also, an integral part of therapy is the use of antibacterial drugs. For the treatment of brachial plexus neuralgia, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, penicillins, and cephalosporins are best used. As a rule, the doctor prescribes two drugs at once that are combined with each other.
It is mandatory to take anti-inflammatory drugs of both steroidal and non-steroidal types. The attending physician will definitely prescribe effective analgesics to eliminate the pain syndrome. Therapy involves the introduction of a large number of B vitamins. They very well affect the restoration of trophic nerve fiber.
As an addition to treatment, exercise therapy, massage, physiotherapy are used. The latter include UHF (ultra-high-frequency therapy), electrophoresis using painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, darsonvalization, bathing with essential oils, point-type laser therapy, magnetotherapy, neuroelectrostimulation. You can use these methods of treatment only after the inflammatory process is completely eliminated, and in the upper limb pain and discomfort cease to be felt. Neuralgia is treated for two to six months, depending on the degree of neglect of the disease.
Some people try to cure this disease at home. When the symptoms of neuralgia of the brachial nerve are precisely established, horseradish treatment is as follows. The leaves are placed on the affected area and wrapped in a woolen scarf. Many note the high effectiveness of this method of treatment of brachial nerve neuralgia folk remedies.
Forecast
Regardless of the type of neuralgia, complications are very rare. Pathology is completely treatable. In the case of problems with the cardiovascular or endocrine system, a neglected form of neuralgia can provoke atrophy of the musculoskeletal system. When the first suspicions of the development of nerve diseases appear, it is necessary to seek the help of a specialist, since treatment of neuralgia of the brachial nerve at home can lead to the progression of the disease.
Disease prevention
As preventive measures, the following are called: timely treatment of infectious diseases, avoidance of injury and hypothermia of the hands. It is also important to monitor your diet, lead a healthy lifestyle, give up bad habits in order to maintain the immune system in a normal state. Such simple tips will help to avoid such an unpleasant disease as neuralgia of the brachial nerve, because the problem is always easier to prevent than to treat.