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Peripheral Nerve Injury
Peripheral Nerve Injury occurs when there is damage to one of the nerves that connect your body to your brain and spinal cord. It can result in loss of muscle power and altered sensations. At Liverpool Neuro Physio we recognise how important physiotherapy treatment is to promoting the healing process and maximising the outcome in order to restore as much function as possible.
- What is Peripheral Nerve Injury?
- Effects of Peripheral Nerve Injury
- Physiotherapy treatment for Peripheral Nerve Injury
- Benefits of physiotherapy treatment for Peripheral Nerve Injury
What is Peripheral Nerve Injury?
Peripheral nerves connect the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, allowing the brain to send signals that will make muscles move your body, and allowing sensations to travel back to your brain. The peripheral nerves make up a complex network throughout the body, but they are fragile and can be easily damaged.
Peripheral nerves can be injured in many ways:
- By being cut through, e.g. a knife injury or traumatic bone fracture
- Having reduced blood supply, e.g. sustained pressure on one part of the body.
- Being stretched beyond their limit, e.g. if a joint is dislocated during trauma
- Sustaining an electrical burn
Peripheral nerves can be completely cut through, which stops all messages reaching the part of the body below the damaged area. Nerves can also be partially damaged, where some of the nerve fibres are injured but others remain intact. A partially damaged nerve results in some of the message getting through so some movement and sensation remains.
The specialist neurological physiotherapists at Liverpool Neuro Physio understand the difficulties caused by peripheral nerve injuries, and can help to address these. To arrange a physiotherapy appointment or to find out more information email office@liverpoolneurophysio.co.uk or call us on 0151 558 0188.
Effects of Peripheral Nerve Injury
When a peripheral nerve is damaged, messages from the brain to move muscles and detect sensations are either completely cut off or partially disrupted. Peripheral nerve injury can result in a range of symptoms depending on where the damage occurred, including:
- Weakness in the affected muscle / body part, or complete loss of movement.
- Altered sensations, pins & needles or numbness.
- Pain, which can range from a tingle up to a severe burning feeling.
At Liverpool Neuro Physio we understand that as a result of peripheral nerve injury you can struggle with basic tasks depending on which area of the body is affected. Examples include difficulty with hand function, both with loss of movement and loss of sensation, or problems with your walking if the foot is affected (e.g. foot drop).
To arrange a physiotherapy appointment or to speak to one of our neurological physiotherapy specialists email office@liverpoolneurophysio.co.uk or call us on 0151 558 0188.
Physiotherapy treatment for Peripheral Nerve Injury
Peripheral nerves have the ability to heal, but depending on the severity of the nerve injury sometimes surgery is required to help this process. Physiotherapy treatment is a key component of promoting the healing process after peripheral nerve injury, both in surgical and non-surgical cases.
At Liverpool Neuro Physio your specialist neurological physiotherapist would carry out a full assessment to determine your current level of muscle power and sensation. They will then tailor a treatment programme specifically for you. This may include:
- Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). FES helps to stimulate nerve regrowth, as well as maintain your joint range of movement and promote blood flow to the area.
- Recommend and fit splints or braces to help maintain the affected joint while healing takes place, in order to avoid muscle contractures or joint stiffness caused by weakened muscles.
- Sensory and motor re-education to help maximise the healing process that occurred naturally or by surgery.
The extent of recovery depends very much on the initial peripheral nerve injury, but your physiotherapist would aim to get the best possible outcome and work with you to set personal goals to aim for. To arrange your first physiotherapy appointment or to speak to one of our neurological physiotherapy specialists email office@liverpoolneurophysio.co.uk or call us on 0151 558 0188.
Benefits of physiotherapy treatment for Peripheral Nerve Injury
With physiotherapy treatment you can expect to maintain the flexibility of your joints and length of muscles while the healing process takes place after your peripheral nerve injury, and aim to increase your muscle strength and sensation in order to restore function as much as possible.
As the healing process nears completion your specialist neurological physiotherapist would also make sure key areas such as fine motor control and sensation are worked on in order to maximise your recovery.
To arrange an appointment or to speak to one of our specialists, call us on 0151 558 0188 or email office@liverpoolneurophysio.co.uk.