Table of Content
Tell them about any pain in your extremities, headaches, poor wound healing, or other changes that you’ve noticed. It’s most commonly linked to fibromyalgia and migraine headaches. Dr. Lipton is a member of the American Headache Society, a professional society for doctors and other health care workers who specialize in studying and treating headache and migraine. Learn more about the American Headache Society’s work and find out how you can become a member today. And they’ll think you’re smart because you know about this quirky headache experience they’re having. It will establish your credibility, but then it will also provide an option to treat better by using acute treatments early, by considering preventive treatments.
Up to 10% of people in the US have some type of neuropathic pain. About 15% to 20% of people with neuropathic pain have allodynia. Mikhael says chemotherapy can have a toxic effect on nerves, which can result in peripheral nerve damage. Allodynia is the experience of pain from stimuli that isn’t normally painful.
How we reviewed this article:
There may be links with other conditions, such as fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia, diabetic neuropathic pain, and migraine. In the physical examination the doctor may check by delivering light touch to the area, testing the reflexes, touching the skin with a cold device, or looking for skin changes. There are several types of drugs which can help you to recover from allodynia. They include medicine which helps treat seizures and some medications that help treat depression. Most of the time, they will prescribe you pregabalin, which helps you treat fibromyalgia pain.

Counselling may be recommended if signs of depression are detected. Biofeedback, mindfulness training, and cognitive behavioural therapy can change the way a person responds to pain. The psychologically informed physical therapist can include pain neuroscience education and cognitive functional therapy. Physical therapists can help manage allodynia with desensitization and/or mirror therapy.
How is allodynia treated?
Preventive treatments can reduce the frequency and severity of allodynia, and, when taken early in the migraine cycle, acute treatments such as triptans, can stop these pain signals. Healthy lifestyle habits like regular exercise and stress management also play a role in managing your migraine and keeping painful side effects like allodynia at bay. Allodynia is the result of a pain processing dysfunction in the nervous system called central sensitization. It isn’t exclusive to migraine, but is common in a variety of painful conditions. When allodynia strikes, nerves that carry pain signals react by sending pain signals in response to touch, movement, or temperatures that wouldn’t normally cause pain. It’s an independent symptom that may or may not resolve when the migraine attack subsides.
Medications like lidocaine or prebagalin can be effective in relieving symptoms of allodynia. The same is true for certain antidepressants such as amitriptyline. The diagnosis is issued by a doctor after he has carried out several clinical tests.
Thermal allodynia
This can cause the nerve endings to release higher quantities of neurotransmitters, leading to nerve inflammation. It can affect different parts of the body depending on the type of allodynia and the underlying cause. Allodynia is different from hyperalgesia, although a person may have both.

Lack of involvement of capsaicin-sensitive primary afferents in nerve-ligation injury induced tactile allodynia in rats. 32.Peng P, Stinson JN, Choiniere M, Dion D, Intrater H, LeFort S, Lynch M, Ong M, Rashiq S, Tkachuk G, Veillette Y., STOPPAIN Investigators Group. Role of health care professionals in multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities in Canada.
Types of allodynia
The most common causes of allodynia include diabetes, shingles, fibromyalgia, and migraine headaches. After all, about 10 % of people in the US have some neuropathic pain. At the same time, about 15% to 20% of people with neuropathic pain have allodynia. These may include cold temperatures, brushing hair or wearing a cotton t-shirt. Peripheral neuropathy happens when the nerves that connect your body to your spinal cord and brain become damaged or destroyed.
Pain from a stimulus that normally does not cause pain is the main symptom of allodynia. Allodynia can affect any part of the body depending on the type of allodynia and its underlying cause. We at Almagia International offer PEMF devices that provide instant, non-invasive, drug-free treatment of various types of pain. Quantitative sensory testing , which uses a computer to evaluate nerve damage. Experiencing a pins-and-needles sensation is generally no cause for concern.
Pain is a protective mechanism that tells a person to stop doing something harmful. For instance, a pain response causes a person to pull their hand away from a hot stove, preventing a severe burn. Allodynia is defined as “pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain.” Individuals with allodynia feel pain when something is ordinarily painless. Damage to the nerve can occur due to a health condition or injury.

Explain the role of interprofessional teams in providing patient education about allodynia in order to achieve better clinical outcomes. Summarize the difference between allodynia and hyperalgesia. Anyone experiencing unexplained or unexpected pain should seek medical advice. Allodynia can limit a person’s activities and affect their quality of life. According to the American Migraine Foundation, allodynia can feel like having sunburn all over the body. Also, tests may be performed to rule out any other conditions.
While the information on this website is doctor reviewed, it is not meant to act as or take the place of advice from a healthcare professional. The different dynamic changes of nerve growth factor in the dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglion leads to hyperalgesia and allodynia in diabetic neuropathic pain. As well as the affected area, the doctor will assess other areas and both sides of the body for comparison. They may also do tests to rule out other possible conditions before diagnosing allodynia.
There is also a prescription 8% capsaicin patch that is available, but its use requires close supervision in a hospital setting due to the potential for adverse reactions. A recent Cochrane article did find that high-concentration (8%) capsaicin generated more pain relief compared to control or low dose capsaicin. An example of the difference between allodynia and hyperalgesia on the physical exam would be softly rubbing a cotton-tipped swab against a patient’s skin. Lightly brushing a swab against the skin would cause a low-level stimulus, but should not elicit a pain response. A patient who experiences pain with a stimulus that should only cause sensation may have allodynia.
No comments:
Post a Comment