Two common types of pain that you may experience in your lifetime are vascular pain and nerve pain. Nerve pain comes from issues affecting your nerves, while vascular pain originates from blood flow issues.
This post will explain how these two different types of pain compare and contrast in terms of causes and symptoms. This may help you understand what type of pain you are experiencing.
Vascular pain sensations may be described as aching, throbbing, or heavy. While it may be experienced in different parts of the body, it is most commonly in the legs. Walking can intensify it. You could also experience numbness, tingling, or weakness.
The pain can be mild, moderate, or severe, and it can sometimes be debilitating. It may be acute or chronic.
Some patients may also have cold extremities, issues with wounds not healing, swelling, or fingers or toes turning unusual colors.
Patients experience vascular pain when blood cannot reach an organ, tissue or nerves. Here are some of the conditions that can cause vascular pain:
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Atherosclerosis
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- Diabetes
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
- Raynaud’s phenomenon
- Varicose veins
Nerve pain is pain that results from damage to the nerves. It is also referred to as “neuropathic” pain. Some words that can describe nerve pain include stabbing, shooting, burning, or sensations similar to electric shocks. It often has a “sharp” quality.
Like vascular pain, nerve pain can be accompanied by sensations such as tingling or numbness. Patients may also experience pins and needles.
Nerve pain can be mild, moderate, severe, or debilitating. It can be acute or chronic (that said, nerve injuries usually take a long time to heal).
Nerve pain can have a wide range of causes. Some of them are diseases, while others are not. Here are some examples:
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Facial nerve disorders
- Alcohol use disorder
- Shingles
- Complex regional pain syndrome
- Shingles
- Injuries
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Tumors
- Nerve compression
- Nerve inflammation
- Amputation that causes phantom limb pain
- Damage to nerves from surgeries
Whether you have vascular pain, nerve pain, or both, your doctor will need to thoroughly review your medical history and sometimes conduct additional tests in order to determine the underlying cause(s) of your pain. Once the cause of the pain is established, your doctor will be able to help you design a treatment plan that is tailored to your individual condition.
If you do not treat vascular or nerve pain, a number of complications are possible. For starters, you could continue to experience your symptoms. They may also get worse, further eroding your quality of life and reducing your ability to function independently.
For another thing, if you fail to treat your underlying condition, that condition may continue to get worse, which could cause other problems for your health. In some cases, underlying conditions causing vascular or nerve pain could be life-threatening.
Sometimes people who do not treat neuropathy affecting their feet and legs may find it increasingly challenging to walk. A condition called foot drop can develop, which makes it hard to lift the front parts of the feet. This results in an unnatural gait where the feet drag along the ground. Slips and falls become more common.
The Cadense Original Adaptive Shoe for men and women help to prevent trips and falls by allowing the wearer’s feet to “glide” across uneven surfaces. What makes this possible is the patented variable friction technology in the shoes.
These shoes can make walking safer and more comfortable for as long as neuropathy lasts. See our full collection of shoes for neuropathy.