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Essay On Neuropathic Pain

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Introduction
It is estimated that some 28 million people in the UK suffer from some form of chronic pain ranging from lower back pain to osteoarthritis and as such this accounts for 45 million days of work lost each year, the cost of chronic back pain to the NHS alone is £5 billion a year. This poses both massive social and economic concerns and creates the question: why hasn't anything been done to counteract this?
However, when one looks further into the matter, the desire to answer such a question is certainly present. As a '9-5' society we have a certain inclination to fix any problem that may impede this work ethic and yet despite the large sums of money that the NHS spends each year, two treatment options seem to spell the end to the …show more content…

Visceral pain is pain caused by visceral nociceptors which are present in deeper structures such as organs and internal cavities. Nociceptors in these areas are more scarce and highly sensitive to distension, ischemia and inflammation but insensitive to other stimuli such as cuts or burns. Thus, the pain produced in these areas is usually that of aching or cramping and will last for a greater period than that of somatic pain.
Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain is a type of pain caused by a problem with one or more of the nerves themselves. This causes them to falsely send electrical signals and stimulate pain that may not be there. Symptoms of which can be excruciating pain, pins and needles and numbness, which can cause the patient to become extremely sensitive to even slight pressures in the affected area.
This may be caused by nerve pressure or damage, after surgery or trauma, viral infections, cancer, vascular malformations, alcoholism, neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and metabolic conditions such as diabetes. Sometimes, there is no identifiable cause for the pain experienced and this can be very distressing for the patient in question.
Sympathetic

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