Nerve damage in the legs is also known as peripheral neuropathy and occurs when the nerves in your legs become damaged and can lead to tingling, numbness, pain and even weakness.
The peripheral nerves are the nerves that connect your central nervous system "your brain and your spinal cord" to the rest of your body and when they become damaged or malfunctioning it's called peripheral neuropathy or nerve damage.
Causes of nerve damage in the legs or peripheral neuropathy are diabetes, injuries, certain medications, toxins, nutritional deficiencies, poor blood flow and some medical conditions like infections, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, and certain inherited conditions.
High blood sugar levels in diabetes can damage the nerves in the legs and other areas of the body over time and exposure to some toxins like heavy metals can also damage the nerves.
Nerve damage in the legs can cause numbness, tingling, burning pain or a pins and needles feeling in the legs and if you have nerve damage in the feet it can also cause it in the feet as well.
Muscle weakness, twitching or difficulty with movement and problems with digestion, blood pressure regulation or sweating can also occur from nerve damage in the legs and other areas of the body.
To fix nerve damage in your legs a surgeon can remove a small part of the sural nerve in your leg and implant the nerve at another site of the repair.
In some cases a surgeon can also use another working nerve an make an injured nerve work, which is known as nerve transfer.
In some cases physical therapy and pain management and medications can help but to fully fix the nerve damage in your legs surgery is often needed.
You can also stop nerve pain in your legs by taking some over the counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen which can hep reduce the pain and inflammation.
You can also stop nerve pain in your legs by applying some topical treatments such as Lidocaine or capsaicin to help ease the nerve pan and you can apply them using patches, ointments or creams directly to the area of the legs affected by the nerve pain.
While nerve damage itself is just often painful and not life threatening the nerve damage in severe enough cases can cause death if the nerve damage that is left untreated or gets worse or is already severe it could lead to complications that can be life threatening and the life threatening complications that result from the nerve damage is what can lead to death.
Nerve damage that is severe or or life threatening can lead to loss of vital organ functions and severe infections which can be fatal or deadly.
Nerve damage itself is rarely directly fatal and most people survive with nerve damage as long as they get it treated.
Nerve damage or neuropathy can range from mild to severe and the symptoms of the nerve damage will also depend on the type and the location of the affected nerves.
For example peripheral neuropathy, "nerve damage" affects the nerves outside the brain and the spinal cord and is not often life threatening, although complications such as amputations, foot ulcers and falls can become serious in people and especially older people.
Autonomic nerve damage is a type of nerve damage that occurs to the autonomic nervous system, which controls your involuntary functions like breathing and heart rate and can lead to dangerous symptoms such as difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeat and if left untreated it can also become life threatening and deadly.
Other life threatening complications that can occur as a result of untreated or severe nerve damage are loss of sensation, muscle weakness or atrophy, infections and organ dysfunction.
Muscle weakness or atrophy can make it difficult to perform essential tasks or even cause falls and infections, especially in the areas with compromised sensation like foot ulcers in diabetic neuropathy, which can become life threatening and organ dysfunction.
If the nerves that control your vital organs are damaged, then the organs function can be impaired severely and can potentially cause death.
Diabetic neuropathy is a specific type of nerve damage which is caused by diabetes and can lead to leg amputations and even death if it's left untreated.
Early diagnoses and early treatment is important for preventing complications from nerve damage and treatment to improve your outcome.