Causalgia

Causalgia, specific type of neuralgia, or recurrent pain along a sensory nerve. Causalgia is characterized by tenderness and localized, burning pain over the path of a peripheral nerve, most commonly the median and ulnar nerves of the forearm. Chief causes are injury or trauma to a nerve, including partial severance of a nerve, the crushing of a sensory or a mixed sensorimotor nerve, or the introduction of a toxic substance around a nerve, usually by injection.

The average acute stage of causalgia may persist for as long as two years. Symptoms can be treated with analgesics. Persistent use of these drugs, however, is not recommended due to the possibility of addiction. Novocaine injection can also give temporary relief. Surgery, in which the diseased nerve is removed or transplanted, is possible. If the nerve has been partially severed, surgical removal of the cut portion may be the best option. Another treatment, which has provided dramatic results in some cases, is the use of a sympathetic nerve block, accomplished by injection of an anesthetic into a regional nerve center.

Complications may arise from causalgia that must be treated as well. These include atrophied and stiff muscles due to disuse, and the stiff and faulty function of joints resulting from the patient's maintenance of fixed postures to avoid the exacerbation of pain. Such conditions are usually treated by physiotherapy.