IV Infusion Therapy for Nerve Pain and Recovery
Nerve pain can develop after a car accident, workplace injury, fall, sports injury, or another traumatic event. Patients may experience burning, numbness, tingling, weakness, sharp pain, or electric-like sensations. Treatment depends on the source of the nerve problem. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) may be used for certain immune-related neuropathies. Intravenous lidocaine and ketamine infusions may temporarily reduce severe nerve pain when standard treatments have not provided enough relief. Vitamin therapy may also help when laboratory testing confirms a nutritional deficiency.
At Personal Injury Doctor Group, an integrative treatment plan may combine medical oversight, chiropractic care, functional medicine, personal injury care, and rehabilitation. This coordinated approach does not rely on one treatment alone. Instead, it focuses on identifying the cause of the symptoms, calming pain, improving movement, and helping the patient return to normal activities safely.
Neuropathy happens when nerves become injured, irritated, compressed, inflamed, or unable to function normally. The symptoms depend on which nerves are affected and how serious the damage is.
Common neuropathy symptoms include:
After an accident, nerve symptoms may come from more than one source. A car crash, for example, may cause swelling around a nerve, damage to a spinal disc, joint restriction, muscle spasms, or direct trauma to the nerve itself.
Nerve pain may also be related to medical conditions that were present before the accident, including:
This is why a complete examination is important. Treating pain without understanding its cause may provide only limited or temporary results.
Neuropathy is not one single disease. It is a group of symptoms that can develop for many different reasons.
A patient with an immune-mediated nerve disorder may need a different treatment than someone whose nerve pain is caused by a herniated disc, nutritional deficiency, diabetes, or accident-related inflammation.
A detailed evaluation may include:
Clinical guidelines note that blood glucose and vitamin B12 testing can be useful during the evaluation of distal symmetric polyneuropathy (England et al., 2009).
The purpose of testing is not only to give the condition a name. It also helps the healthcare team select the safest and most useful treatment.
Intravenous infusion therapy delivers medication, fluids, or nutrients directly into a vein. This allows the treatment to enter the bloodstream without first passing through the digestive system.
However, all IV infusions are not the same. IVIG, lidocaine, ketamine, fluids, and vitamin preparations have different uses, benefits, risks, and levels of scientific support.
Infusion therapy may be considered when:
Research suggests that infusion therapies may be options for carefully selected patients with treatment-resistant neuropathic pain. These therapies should not be considered universal cures, and patients need appropriate medical screening and monitoring (McMullin et al., 2022).
Intravenous immunoglobulin contains purified antibodies collected from donated plasma. IVIG can change parts of the immune response.
This treatment may be used when a patient’s immune system is mistakenly attacking the peripheral nerves.
IVIG is commonly associated with the treatment of conditions such as:
The European Academy of Neurology and Peripheral Nerve Society recommend IVIG or corticosteroids as initial treatment options for typical chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and recognized CIDP variants (Van den Bergh et al., 2021).
However, IVIG is not appropriate for every person with numbness, tingling, or burning pain.
A randomized clinical trial studied IVIG in patients with painful idiopathic small fiber neuropathy. The researchers did not find significant improvements in pain, function, disability, autonomic symptoms, or overall well-being when IVIG was compared with placebo (Geerts et al., 2021).
This shows why a correct diagnosis is essential. IVIG should not be used simply because a patient has nerve pain.
Before recommending IVIG, the medical team may need to review:
Possible side effects may include headache, nausea, fever, rash, fatigue, vomiting, and infusion reactions.
Lidocaine is often used as a local anesthetic to numb an area before a procedure. It may also be delivered through an IV under medical supervision.
Nerves use sodium channels to produce and send electrical signals. Lidocaine blocks certain sodium channels and may temporarily reduce abnormal nerve activity.
This may help decrease:
Research has found that IV lidocaine may provide temporary pain relief for some patients with peripheral neuropathy and other forms of neuropathic pain. However, results vary, and the treatment does not work for everyone (Gupta et al., 2021; Zhu et al., 2019).
IV lidocaine does not repair the injured nerve. It also does not remove the underlying cause of the neuropathy.
Its role is mainly to calm pain signals. This temporary reduction may help a patient:
Because lidocaine can affect the heart and nervous system, it should only be administered by qualified medical professionals with proper monitoring.
Ketamine affects NMDA receptors, which are involved in pain processing and central sensitization.
Central sensitization occurs when the nervous system becomes overly sensitive. The brain and spinal cord may continue producing strong pain signals even after the original injury has begun to heal.
Ketamine may help interrupt part of this pain cycle.
A systematic review and meta-analysis examined randomized clinical trials involving ketamine for neuropathic pain. The researchers found that ketamine added to standard treatment was associated with short-term pain reduction. However, the overall certainty of the evidence was low because the studies used different doses, treatment schedules, diagnoses, and methods (Pereira et al., 2022).
Ketamine may also cause side effects such as:
Before treatment, the healthcare team should review:
Ketamine may reduce pain sensations, but it does not automatically heal the injured nerve.
Certain nutritional deficiencies may cause or worsen nerve symptoms.
Vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to:
Neurological symptoms related to vitamin B12 deficiency may occur even when a patient does not have clear anemia (National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, 2025).
Vitamin replacement may be appropriate when testing confirms a deficiency. Patients with poor absorption, pernicious anemia, certain digestive conditions, or previous stomach surgery may require injections or another medically directed treatment.
However, IV vitamins should not be promoted as a cure for every type of nerve pain.
More vitamins are not always better. Large supplemental amounts of vitamin B6 may actually cause sensory neuropathy.
A functional medicine assessment may review:
Treatment should be guided by medical history and laboratory results instead of guesswork.
IV infusion therapy and chiropractic care target different parts of the patient’s condition.
An infusion may address:
Integrative chiropractic care focuses more on:
Chiropractic care is not a replacement for IVIG when a patient has CIDP or another immune-mediated nerve disorder. It cannot reverse all forms of diabetic neuropathy or rebuild a severely damaged nerve.
Its role is supportive.
After an accident, restricted spinal movement, inflammation, muscle spasms, poor posture, and damaged soft tissues may place additional stress on irritated nerves. Gentle chiropractic treatment and rehabilitation may help improve movement and reduce some of this added mechanical pressure.
An integrative care plan may include:
The goal is not to claim that one adjustment cures neuropathy. The goal is to improve the patient’s movement and physical function while the medical team addresses the diagnosed nerve condition.
Temporary pain relief can be useful when it helps a patient become more active.
Severe nerve pain often causes people to avoid movement. Over time, this can lead to:
When an infusion decreases pain, the patient may be able to participate more fully in rehabilitation.
The care team may use this period to improve:
Infusion therapy and rehabilitation should not be viewed as competing treatments. For selected patients, pain management may create a better opportunity for safe physical recovery.
At Personal Injury Doctor Group, the focus is on coordinating different parts of injury care instead of treating each symptom separately.
Clinic materials identify Dr. Maria Guadalupe Cardenas, MD, as Board Certified in Internal Medicine. They list her NPI as #1164426749 and her Texas medical license as #J2933. She has more than 40 years of experience as an internist and serves as Medical Director and Collaborative Physician at Injury Medical Clinic PA in El Paso, Texas.
Dr. Cardenas works with Dr. Alexander Jimenez, DC, APRN, FNP-BC, CCST, CFMP, IFMCP, ATN.
This type of multidisciplinary structure is common in integrative and personal injury clinics. A medical doctor provides medical direction and risk review, while a chiropractor evaluates neuromusculoskeletal injuries and guides movement-based treatment.
The team may coordinate:
Medical oversight is especially important when the patient has:
Dr. Jimenez’s clinical observations focus on looking beyond the painful area. His integrative approach considers how different health factors may affect the patient’s recovery.
These factors may include:
Dr. Alex Jimenez shares these clinical observations through DrAlexJimenez.com and his LinkedIn professional profile.
Clinical observations are not the same as randomized clinical trials. However, they may help explain how a multidisciplinary team organizes treatment around the patient’s overall health, injury, and ability to function.
A clear treatment journey may follow several stages.
The team records how the accident happened, when symptoms began, and how the condition affects daily life.
The evaluation may examine:
Testing may look for:
IVIG may be considered for confirmed immune-mediated neuropathy. Lidocaine or ketamine may be options for selected cases of severe nerve pain. Vitamins may be replaced when a deficiency is confirmed.
Chiropractic care and rehabilitation may address mobility, muscle weakness, posture, balance, and activity tolerance.
The team may track:
Progressive weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, severe balance problems, worsening numbness, or an unclear diagnosis may require urgent medical or neurological evaluation.
Some symptoms may signal a serious condition.
Seek immediate medical attention for:
These symptoms should not be managed only with chiropractic treatment, vitamins, or routine pain care.
IV infusion therapy may help manage certain types of neuropathy and nerve pain, but treatment must match the root cause.
IVIG has an established role in selected immune-mediated nerve disorders such as CIDP. It is not a general treatment for all neuropathy. IV lidocaine and ketamine may temporarily reduce difficult nerve pain, but they do not repair the original nerve injury. Vitamin therapy may be useful when laboratory testing confirms a deficiency.
Integrative chiropractic care may support the treatment plan by improving mobility, posture, strength, balance, and physical function. This can be especially helpful when a car accident, workplace injury, fall, or other trauma has created both nerve symptoms and mechanical problems.
The multidisciplinary approach used by Personal Injury Doctor Group combines medical oversight, chiropractic care, functional medicine, personal injury services, and rehabilitation. The goal is to identify the cause of the symptoms, manage pain safely, restore movement, and help the patient return to daily activities.
England, J. D., Gronseth, G. S., Franklin, G., et al. (2009). Practice parameter: Evaluation of distal symmetric polyneuropathy—Role of laboratory and genetic testing. Neurology, 72(2), 185–192.
Geerts, M., de Greef, B. T. A., Sopacua, M., et al. (2021). Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in patients with painful idiopathic small fiber neuropathy. Neurology, 96(20), e2534–e2545. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000011919
Gupta, H., Patel, A., Eswani, Z., Moore, P., Steib, M., Lee, C., & Kaye, A. D. (2021). Role of intravenous lidocaine infusion in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy. Orthopedic Reviews, 13(2), 25567. https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.25567
Jimenez, A. (n.d.). Dr. Alex Jimenez: Chiropractic, functional medicine, and personal injury care. Injury Medical Clinic PA.
Jimenez, A. (n.d.). Dr. Alex Jimenez professional profile. LinkedIn.
McMullin, P. R., Hynes, A. T., Arefin, M. A., Saeed, M., Gandhavadi, S., Arefin, N., & Eckmann, M. S. (2022). Infusion therapy in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 26(9), 693–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-022-01071-5
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2025). Vitamin B12: Fact sheet for health professionals.
Pereira, J. E. G., Pereira, L. F. G., Pereira, L. M. G., et al. (2022). Efficacy and safety of ketamine in the treatment of neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Pain Research, 15, 1011–1037. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S358070
Van den Bergh, P. Y. K., van Doorn, P. A., Hadden, R. D. M., et al. (2021). European Academy of Neurology/Peripheral Nerve Society guideline on diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. European Journal of Neurology, 28(11), 3556–3583.
Zhu, B., Zhou, X., Zhou, Q., Wang, H., Wang, S., & Luo, K. (2019). Intravenous lidocaine to relieve neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neurology, 10, 954. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2019.00954