Nerve Conditions We Treat | Pain, Numbness and Sweating

Nerve pain needs different treatment: It does not respond to ordinary painkillers — which is a clue, not a reason to take more.
Where the numbness is tells a lot: Which fingers, or which part of the leg, points to the nerve involved.
Excessive sweating is treatable: Most people wait years before asking about it.

Start with what you notice

Nerve conditions are easiest to tell apart by what you notice. Find the line closest to yours, and start with that page.

What you notice	Start with
Burning or shooting pain that ordinary painkillers do not help	Neuropathic pain
Pain that has outlasted a shingles rash	Post-herpetic neuralgia
A tender knot in a muscle, with pain felt somewhere else	Myofascial pain
Numbness in the thumb, index and middle fingers, waking you at night	Carpal tunnel syndrome
Numbness in the little and ring fingers	Cubital tunnel syndrome
Forearm pain below the elbow, often taken for tennis elbow	Radial tunnel syndrome
Leg pain from the lower back, running down the leg	Sciatica
Leg pain, and you are not sure it is a nerve	Nerve and leg pain
A foot that will not lift properly	Foot drop, or peroneal nerve palsy if it started at the knee
Heavy sweating that gets in the way of life	Hyperhidrosis
Sweaty palms	Sweaty palms
Excessive underarm sweating	Excessive underarm sweating
An urge to move the legs at night	Restless legs syndrome
Pain over the breastbone	Sternum pain
A diagnosis of neurofibromatosis	Neurofibromatosis

Call 995 for chest pain with pressure, tightness or heaviness, sweating, nausea, breathlessness, or pain into the jaw or arm — it may be the heart; if there is any doubt, call 995 (see sternum pain). For numbness around the groin, buttocks or inner thighs, loss of bladder or bowel control, or a foot that has started to drop, call us — we will see you the same day — and for the first two, go to an emergency department if we are closed (see sciatica).

Nerve pain

Neuropathic pain — nerve pain that ordinary painkillers do not touch, and the treatments that do work
Post-herpetic neuralgia — pain that outlasts the shingles rash
Myofascial pain — trigger points in muscle that often hurt somewhere else entirely

Trapped or damaged nerves

Carpal tunnel syndrome — numbs the thumb, index and middle fingers, never the little finger
Cubital tunnel syndrome — the ulnar nerve trapped at the elbow, numbing the little and ring fingers
Radial tunnel syndrome — forearm pain below the elbow, often mistaken for tennis elbow
Sciatica — leg pain from a compressed nerve root in the lower back
Nerve and leg pain — nerve, circulation or muscle and joint, and what relieves it tells you which
Foot drop — a sign, not a diagnosis; finding the level decides the tests and treatment
Peroneal nerve palsy — compression at the outside of the knee that stops the foot lifting

Excessive sweating

Hyperhidrosis — excessive sweating, when it signals something else, and how it is treated
Sweaty palms — from antiperspirants and iontophoresis through to surgery, and the trade-off
Excessive underarm sweating — more treatment options than any other site, and surgery is rarely the right one

Other nerve and body conditions

Neurofibromatosis — three conditions, not one, and which of their tumours a neurosurgeon treats
Restless legs syndrome — often with a treatable cause, such as low iron
Sternum pain — usually chest wall pain, not the heart, and how to tell them apart

Treatments for nerve conditions

Most nerve conditions are treated without surgery, and each page explains the options in order. For nerve pain that medication has not controlled, neuromodulation changes how a nerve sends its signals, rather than cutting or destroying it. For a trapped nerve that does not settle, an operation to free it is an option, and each condition page explains when.

Who you will see

Dr Mathew Tung, a neurosurgeon treating brain, spine and nerve conditions, practising since 1984 and specialising in neurosurgery since 1991 — for fifteen of the sixteen.
Dr Arul Murugan, an orthopaedic surgeon whose practice covers the hand and wrist — for carpal tunnel syndrome.

See neurosurgery at this clinic for more on nerve conditions.

Common questions

Why do ordinary painkillers not help my nerve pain?

Nerve pain works differently from the pain of an injury, so ordinary painkillers often do little — which is a clue that a nerve is involved, not a reason to take more. See neuropathic pain for the treatments that do work.

How do I know if my leg pain is from a nerve?

Leg pain comes from a nerve, the circulation, or muscle and joint, and what relieves it usually tells you which. See nerve and leg pain.

Can excessive sweating be treated?

Yes. It is treatable, and most people wait years before asking. The options run from antiperspirants to procedures, and surgery is rarely the first choice. See hyperhidrosis.

Is pain over my breastbone my heart?

Usually it is the chest wall, not the heart. But chest pain with pressure, sweating, nausea or breathlessness needs emergency care — if there is any doubt, call 995. See sternum pain.

Is foot drop urgent?

It can be. Foot drop is a sign, not a diagnosis, and finding where the problem is decides how quickly it must be treated. A foot that has started to drop should be seen the same day. See foot drop.

Do I need a referral to see a specialist for nerve conditions?

No. Bring any scan or nerve test reports, and be ready to say where you feel it and what you have already tried.

All conditions · Neurosurgery · Head conditions · Spine and neck conditions

Nerve conditions