Nerve pain affects 86 million Americans each year, which equates to about a $90 million loss to businesses from sick time. Nerve or neuropathic pain may be caused by a number of reasons, including injury or diseases, such as diabetes, fibromyalgia or shingles; treatments, such as chemotherapy; or nutritional deficiencies. Certain vitamins and minerals may provide an effective alternative to the use of anti-inflammatory medications and narcotics to relieve the burning, searing, electric-shock kind of pain that sometimes accompanies nerve damage, according to "Psychology Today."
Identification
Damage to the central nervous system, known as peripheral neuropathy, results in malfunction of the central nervous system in the brain to send messages to other parts of the body. More than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy have been recognized. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains that forms of neuropathy involve damage to one or more nerves and can manifest in symptoms, including numbness and pricking sensations, sensitivity to touch, muscle weakness, paralysis or organ dysfunction.
Zinc
Zinc has been used to help control pain from arthritis and may also alleviate nerve pain due to its anti-inflammatory properties. The Gachon Medical School in Inchon, South Korea, tested the effects of zinc on neuropathic pain. Mice were induced to produce pain in the lumbar spinal nerve. The results, published in April 2008 "Biometals," suggest a reduced level of zinc in the spinal nerves may be related to increased pain sensitivity, and that zinc might have an adaptable role for neuropathic pain relief.
Vitamin B
A daily dose of 50 to 100 mg of vitamins B-6 and 500 to 5,000 mcg of B-12 for three to 12 months may help heal nerves and decrease or eliminate pain, says Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., in "Psychology Today: Complementary Medicine." These B vitamins may treat chronic pain by inhibiting incorrect signals to nerve fibers and pain centers in the body. Parker College Research Institute in Dallas conducted a study that showed that a combination of vitamin B-1, or thiamin; B-6, or pyridoxine; and B-12, or cyanocobalamin, brought relief to chronic back pain in 30 minutes that lasted six to 12 hours. Researcher Xuejun Song, M.D., Ph. D., concluded that anybody can use the vitamins to relieve chronic neuropathic pain, generated from the nerves themselves, without negative side effects.
Vitamin D
Diets deficient in vitamin D may contribute to chronic muscle and nerve conditions, including fibromyalgia. According to a report from Pain Treatment Topics, which studied 22 clinical investigations, inadequate levels of vitamin D were found in patients with various chronic pain syndromes. Author of the report, Stewart B. Leavitt, M.A., Ph.D., said, in most cases, aches and pains vanished or diminished significantly by supplementation of vitamin D. He suggested that vitamin D supplementaion should be considered as an inexpensive course of pain management in its early stages. (See Reference 5 )
References
- Psychology Today; Vitamin B for Back Pain; 2003
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Peripheral Neuropathy Fact Sheet
- "Biometals"; Depletion of Vesicular Zinc in Dorsal Horn of Spinal Cord Causes Increased Neuropathic Pain in Mice; S.M. Jo et al.; 2008
- Psychology Today: Eliminate Nerve Pain Naturally; Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.; 2008
- Medical News Today: Aches? Pains? An Extra Dose of Vitamin D May Provide Relief; June 2008
