Nerve pain can be caused by damage, irritation or destruction to the nerves. Patients who experience nerve pain usually describe their symptoms as burning, tingling, shooting, sharp, stabbing or prickling pain. The pain can range from mild to severe. Milder spine conditions can be completely without symptoms or they can display intermittent, on-and-off symptoms such as a warm electric or burning sensation beginning from the neck or back and travelling through the arms or legs. In some cases, a nerve can remain compressed enough to sustain damage, resulting in a tingling or pins-and-needles sensation. Prolonged nerve compression can result in severe pain with symptoms including numbness, loss of feeling, paralysis or muscle atrophy due to sustained absence of motor and sensory signals from the distressed nerve to the brain.
Treatment for nerve pain will depend on the cause, triggers and progression.