There are times when injuries do not heal completely, and nerve damage can be a result. While some nerves can regenerate, others may only partially experience new growth. Some of them will fail to regenerate at all, and the patient could have a lack of feeling in a critical part of their body. While it is not necessarily an injury that will be noticed, it can have a large impact on their life and ability to work.
Occasional numbness when a nerve has been damaged is often the result of an injury, but recovery can happen fairly soon. Once the nerve is done regenerating, normal feeling will be restored. For those who do not recover completely from their injury, an area of their body could experience complete numbness. This condition will be permanent in the majority of cases, and recovery of feeling will not be possible if healing does not take place within a few weeks.
Some people do have partial growth in a nerve, but their recovery can be difficult as they go through life. A partially damaged nerve may send random pain signals to the brain, and it can interfere with their ability to live a normal life. This damage might be worse than an area of numbness, or it could make them feel they at least have some feeling. Each patient will react differently to their circumstances, and the amount of pain or lack of feeling is what will affect them most.
Nerve damage is done underneath the skin, so it seldom shows. Many people with a lack of feeling in an arm or leg may not know when they have been injured, and it can create medical issues. People experiencing random jolts of pain from partially damaged nerves that will not recover can find the pain overwhelming when they try to move or concentrate. It can be a debilitating condition that few people are able to recognize.