The effects of nerve damage to the body
How Nerves can effect your body
Nerves are generally located anywhere in the body. It controls every action and movement, and it is responsible in the unseen involuntary biological processes inside the body. Without the nerves, the body will not be able to survive. Nerves are essential structures in the body; they are the ones that transmit electrical signals to the brain when a stimulus is felt by the body. When the stimulus is already interpreted by the brain, they will again relay the information to specific effector organs; thus, a reaction is formed.
Just imagine a body without nerves, people will be like robots; unable to feel and process every sensation and feeling. Any form of nerve damage be it occurring in the legs, eyes, ears and any part of the body is termed as a neuropathy. Nerve damage has different degrees of acuity; there are some that are only mild; thus, they also have mild symptoms. Some are also severe that they can end up in paralysis.
Nerve damage is highly preventable and treatable. The good thing is the condition is very common that there are so many treatment modalities and medications that can cure nerve damage. Some people who have suffered from this condition often just wait it out. Nerves have the normal ability to heal themselves; thus, the reason why treatment is often not needed.
Effects according to the type of nerve damaged
The effects of nerve damage correspond to what type is injured. There are three major types of nerves in the body: these are the motor, sensory and the autonomic nerves.
The motor nerve is responsible for controlling movements such as walking, jogging, running and many more. The primary effector organ of motor nerves is the muscles. When the body needs something to be done, signals are relayed to the brain thus commanding the muscles to contract. As a result, movement is made possible. When the motor nerves are damaged, muscle weakness is most evident. Long-term muscle relaxation will as well cause severe muscle atrophy. The person will experience difficulty even in simple movements.
The second nerve is the sensory nerve. From the term itself, it implies that the affected function is the sensation. Sensory nerves are responsible in detecting changes in temperature, touch and pain. They are most commonly found in the most superficial part of the body, which is the skin. Damage to the sensory nerves is very dangerous. The body will either react to a certain stimulus in an exaggerated manner or without any reaction at all. People who have sensory nerve damage are unable to determine hot or cold surfaces, they are not sensitive to touch and pain.
The last and most important of the three nerves is the autonomic nerve. It controls involuntary body processes like breathing, urination, sweating and thermoregulation. Autonomic nerve damage is life threatening. It can cause a wide array of symptoms from bradycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, apnea and hypothermia. Once this nerve is damaged, the most important functions in the body will totally shut down.
