The Link Between Arthritis and Nerve Pain

Nearly one in five adults in the United States live with nerve pain or arthritis. And quite a few people experience both.

Given that your nerves transmit pain signals to your brain and arthritis is a chronic pain condition, nerve pain and arthritis can be tightly linked. Understanding just how may lead to more effective treatment and lasting relief.

Dr. Nicholas Perenich and his team at Spine Institute of Florida in Dade City and Spring Hill provide comprehensive nerve pain treatment to help you lead a richer, more comfortable life.

If you’re dealing with arthritis, nerve pain, or both, read on for a closer look at these often linked conditions.

Nerve pain vs. arthritis pain

Also known as neuropathic pain, nerve pain stems from damage or poor function in your nervous system — the network of nerves and pathways, like your spinal cord, that allows your body and brain to communicate.

While arthritis can happen with or without nerve pain, arthritis always involves your nerves in some way. Without nerves, your brain wouldn’t recognize that you’re experiencing joint pain in the first place.

Certain types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), may also cause nerve damage as a result of inflammation or weight distribution changes. When that happens, you can experience not only joint pain, stiffness, and swelling from arthritis, but the added pain, numbness, and tingling of nerve damage.

You can also develop both OA and nerve pain from a sudden injury that affects one or more of your joints. An athletic injury, for example, could damage your nerves immediately and raise your risk of arthritic pain within 10 years.

What to do about arthritis and nerve pain

Based on a comprehensive exam and any needed tests, an effective treatment plan can help minimize your arthritis and nerve pain symptoms. For mild issues, home remedies, such as rest, ice or heat packs, losing excess weight, and altered activity, may suffice. 

If your arthritis or nerve pain symptoms are long-lasting or severe, definitely seek professional support. At Spine Institute of Florida, we offer a range of conservative options, such as oral medication, epidural injections, and nerve blocks. We can also recommend specific lifestyle changes to reduce your pain.

For severe or conservative treatment-resistant nerve pain associated with arthritis, we may recommend spine surgery. While our experts are skilled at complex spinal surgeries, they provide minimally invasive procedures whenever possible.

To learn more about the link between arthritis and nerve pain or to get on the path to lasting relief, call Spine Institute of Florida or schedule an appointment through our website today.