Nerve Pain Is a Unique Kind of Pain

Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is damaged. Imagine, for example, spraining your ankle. Your nerves send electrical signals from the damaged muscles to your brain. Pain from damage to a muscle or a joint is called musculoskeletal pain.

But sometimes, your nerves themselves can be damaged. This may be a result of an injury or a disease such as diabetes. This is called nerve or neuropathic pain.

Nerve Pain Feels Different Than Muscle Pain

All pain is not the same. And nerve pain treatment is different from muscle pain treatment. That’s why it’s important to understand the source of your pain.

This chart highlights some differences between nerve pain and muscle pain symptoms.

Another difference between nerve pain and muscle pain is that muscle pain is a "protective" form of pain. It sends a warning signal that an injury occurred. The pain tells you that more activity might be harmful. Nerve pain, however, is a "non-protective" form of pain. This kind of pain will not necessarily be improved by changing or limiting your activities.

In fact, with Diabetic Nerve Pain, decreasing your activity level is a problem. It makes it harder to manage your diabetes. It’s important to be physically active to keep your blood sugar level under control.

Diabetic Nerve Pain Is Treatable

With nerve pain, your nerves repeatedly send extra electrical signals to the brain. These extra signals can cause pain when you do something that is not normally painful. For example, putting on shoes. But Diabetic Nerve Pain is treatable. Learn more about a prescription treatment option.

If this pain is not properly diagnosed and treated, it can cause difficulties with walking, working, or even being in social situations.