Treatment

If a nerve is injured but not cut, your injury is more likely to heal. Injuries in which the nerve has been completely severed are very difficult to treat and recovery may not be possible.

Your doctor will determine your treatment based on the extent and cause of your injury and how well the nerve is healing.

• If your nerve is healing properly, you may not need surgery. You may need to rest the affected area until it's healed. Nerves recover slowly and maximal recovery may take many months or several years.
• You'll need regular checkups to make sure your recovery stays on track.
• If your injury is caused by a medical condition, your doctor will treat the underlying condition.
• Depending on the type and severity of your nerve injury, you may need medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) to relieve your pain. Medications used to treat depression, seizures or insomnia may be used to relieve nerve pain. In some cases, you may need corticosteroid injections for pain relief.
• Your doctor may recommend physical therapy to prevent stiffness and restore function.

Surgery

If your injury does not seem to be healing properly, your surgeon can use EMG testing in the operating room to assess whether scarred nerves are recovering. Doing an EMG test directly on the nerve is more accurate and reliable than doing the test over the skin.

Sometimes a nerve sits inside a tight space (similar to a tunnel) or is squeezed by scarring. In these cases, your surgeon may enlarge the tight space or free the nerve from the scar.

Sometimes a section of a nerve is cut completely or damaged beyond repair. Your surgeon can remove the damaged section and reconnect healthy nerve ends (nerve repair) or implant a piece of nerve from another part of your body (nerve graft). These procedures can help your nerves to regrow.

If you have a particularly severe nerve injury, your doctor may suggest surgery to restore function to critical muscles by transferring tendons from one muscle to another.