Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Neuralgia

Definition

Neuralgia describes a variety of rare and painful conditions in which shooting, stabbing, burning, pain; electric-like shocks; or tingling, pins and needles, or numbness occur along the course of a nerve, usually in the head or neck.

Description

Neuralgia attacks tend to by cyclic, often coming and going without warning. They can last for minutes, hours, days, or longer, depending on the patient, and range from mild to debilitating. Often, no physical cause can be found, although some forms of neuralgia may be triggered when nerves are compressed by injuries, arteries, tumors, or, in rare cases, as the result of nerve damage from multiple sclerosis. Neuralgia is an uncommon condition, with trigeminal neuralgia occuring most often. Other types are occipital neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, and postherpetic...