Modern medicine is a marvel of innovation and progress, able to tackle a wide array of health issues and conditions.
Yet despite all that modern medicine has to offer, doctors and specialists still struggle with effectively and safely handling pain management issues due to chronic nerve pain.
Even though prescription and over the counter medications are readily available to treat pain, many fall short of patient expectations.
Often, medications do little to effectively manage chronic nerve pain, come with a host of unwanted and sometimes dangerous side effects, and can even cause dependency and addiction.
Those who suffer from neuropathic pain find this both troublesome and frustrating. Neuropathy pain is extremely difficult to manage because it is unique in its pathology.
Neuropathic nerve pain is usually caused by malfunctioning or damaged nerves, but the underlying causes behind that damage or malfunction can be complex and varied.
Patients with inflammatory pain (for example) have a host of medications available to them tailored to targeting and relieving associated their pain. Sadly, the selection of medications available for patients with neuropathy is not as robust.
As opposed to treating the symptom, often the best way to manage neuropathic nerve pain is to treat the source or underlying cause. To this effect, a number of studies have shown, that magnesium is one of the more promising supplements to aid in relieving nerve pain by targeting and optimizing underlying physiological processes.
These studies are exciting, in large part because magnesium is readily available, cost-effective, and safe for consumption at a range of doses with only mild side effects to speak of.
Incidentally, studies regularly show that roughly 50 percent of individuals in the United States do not get enough of the mineral magnesium in their Western diets.
Yet magnesium remains a critical exogenous component necessary for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. As such, adequate supplementation not only may help with nerve pain, it can also aid in improving a myriad of health parameters and biological functions.
Neuropathy nerve pain stems from diseases and conditions that cause nerve damage in some way, shape, or form.
Neuropathy Nerve Pain can Originate From:
It’s estimated that over 20 million adults in the US alone suffer from nerve pain, with 50 to 80 percent of individuals suffering from diabetes expected to develop some form of neuropathy nerve pain during the course of their lives.
Some types of nerve pain and damage are preventable through a healthy, balanced diet, and through supplementation, while other underlying causes are out of an individual’s control.
Those who suffer from nerve pain often experience burning, shooting, stabbing pain that can sometimes have an electric feel to it. They often times will also feel tingling and numbness, as well as an increased sensitivity to touch and pressure. Pain may be ongoing or fleeting. In most cases, the pain will be brought on by a sudden attack that has no identifiable trigger.
Identification and diagnosis of nerve pain is carried out by physicians and specialists, taking into consideration the patient’s medical history, symptoms, physical examination and diagnostic results.
However, nerve pain remains to this day an elusive, complex and hard to diagnose ailment due to its many underlying causes and disparity of symptoms presented.
Given the explosion of those diagnosed with both diabetes and prediabetes in the United States, Diabetic neuropathy is considered to be one of the main root causes of nerve pain. High blood sugar can damage nerves in patients who are diagnosed with diabetes.
As time goes on, the nerve damage brings on nerve pain and other issues that arise with neuropathy such as extremity weakness, numbness, and tingling.
Research and scientific studies have shown that type 2 diabetes patients who took magnesium supplements had reduced fasting plasma glucose levels.
Thus, a deficiency may contribute to insulin resistance and increased nerve damage over time.
Given that magnesium is required for both optimal glucose utilization and insulin signaling, this supplement may play a significant role in staving off or modulating insulin resistance. As a secondary result, those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic may experience lessening diabetic nerve pain.
Clinical studies show that magnesium has an analgesic effect in humans. Not only does it help to alleviate and soften muscle pain, but it can also help do the same for peripheral neuropathy and other painful nerve conditions.
In technical terms, it relieves pain by controlling the release of N-methyl-D-aspartate, or NMDA, a compound that is associated with high levels of perceived pain.
It also lowers the receptor activity of NMDA-coupled channels. This results in lowering the amount of NMDA released, which in turn acts to reduce associated pain sensations.
As such, daily supplementation with a high-quality form may help to alleviate pain associated with neuropathy or nerve damage in a safe and effective way, reducing reliance on over the counter pain relievers or harsh prescription medications.
The nervous system is a comprised (in part) by a complex network of neurons that communicate with each other (and the body) by sending messages along their axons to dendrites and across synapses where electrochemical processes deliver the intended message from one neuron to the next.
Pain associated with neuropathy, including tingling and burning sensations as well as sharp stabbing pain, is because these nerves are not functioning properly, or are in some way compromised or damaged.
A recent study showed that proper peripheral nerve function was lacking in diabetic patients with low serum magnesium levels.
Patients with higher serum levels had better peripheral nerve functioning. Since it is needed for proper nerve functioning, the study proved to be both important and valid given that so many individuals are lacking in proper levels of magnesium.
As such, it may make sense for those suffering from nerve pain to supplement daily in order to support ideal nerve health and functioning.
Scientists and researchers have recently discovered that nerves affected by neuropathy can be regenerated. When impacted nerves are healed and regenerated, not only do individuals notice a decrease in neuropathy symptoms, but also note a marked improvement in their overall quality of life.
Since the findings of these studies have shown remarkable promise, researchers are now looking into daily supplementation as a way to help enhance a patient’s recovery from neurological disorders.
Both scientists and researchers are now focusing their efforts into studying the effects that magnesium has on nerve regeneration. In fact, a number of studies have been done on animals in the treatment of sciatic nerve pain and damage.
These studies have shown that magnesium can induce the secretion of a nerve growth factor that will promote nerve axon regeneration. Sadly, more studies involving human subjects are needed to further determine if magnesium supplementation will regenerate the nerves that were damaged by neuropathy.
According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), over 29 million individuals in the United States have diabetes, with an estimated 8.1 million livings with (but unaware) of their condition. Further, more than 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed each and every year.
Those with diabetes are at a higher risk for having a magnesium deficiency as opposed to those without the condition. When blood glucose levels increase, magnesium is lost through the urine. This cycle ends leads to decreased levels of plasma magnesium.
Diabetic patients may want to consider adjusting their diet to include magnesium-rich foods as well as daily supplementation in order to reduce the incidence of diabetic neuropathy and diabetic neuropathy damage.
If you do not have diabetes or neuropathy nerve pain, you can still be at risk for type 2 diabetes due to low magnesium levels in your body. A magnesium deficiency has been repeatedly linked to insulin resistance.
And insulin resistance increases the overall risk for coming down with type 2 diabetes and its related neuropathy nerve pain.
Researchers and scientists have discovered that those who regularly supplemented with magnesium saw improvements in their insulin sensitivity issues. This overall improvement eventually led to lower risks for developing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Those who do not have diabetes or neuropathy nerve pain are advised to begin regularly supplementing with magnesium in order to avoid a diagnosis of diabetes and its subsequent nerve pain issues down the road. As individuals age, the extent of the nerve pain grows in intensity and location.
Individuals who eat a proper, healthy, and balanced diet, and who regularly supplement with the proper amounts of magnesium daily have been shown to slow the progression of neuropathy, reduce any existing nerve pain, and boost their health, function, and regeneration of their nerves and nerve endings.
And since a great majority of the population is deficient in magnesium, especially those who are suffering from diabetes and diabetic nerve pain, supplements will help provide pain relief while improving their overall health and well-being.
As with any prescription medications, over the counter medications, or holistic supplements, it’s best to use caution and follow the instructions of a doctor or licensed medical professional in order to avoid any dangerous interactions or side effects. The same philosophy applies when taking formulas like Nerve Renew Neuropathy Support Formula, a popular holistic neuropathy solution.
