Are you experiencing numbness, prickling, or tingling in hands and feet on a regular basis? Do you have jabbing, throbbing, freezing, or burning pain in these areas? Are you extremely sensitive to touch? If you are experiencing any of these sensations, you may have developed peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy is a condition directly related to nerve damage, which may occur as a result of a traumatic injury, such as a car accident, slip and fall, or sports injuries. Experiencing these symptoms after such an injury should be your cue to talk to a medical professional, like Dr. Jay at Northoak Chiropractic.
In this blog, we will discuss some of the common symptoms of peripheral neuropathy as well as exploring a couple of treatment options. Please send us a message if you have any questions!
What is Peripheral Neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that affects your peripheral nerves (commonly your hands and feet). It is caused by damage to the nerves situated outside of the spinal cord that cause these nerves to stop functioning properly.
Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by many conditions including:
- Autoimmune disorders
- Diabetes
- Exposure to toxic heavy metals
- Food sensitivities
- Hypoglycemia
- Insulin resistance
- Medications (specifically antibiotics, chemotherapy or cholesterol medications)
- Overconsumption of alcohol
- Repetitive strain injuries
- Smoking
- Traumatic injuries (such as concussions)
- Vitamin deficiencies
- And more
Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy manifests in a variety of symptoms. These symptoms may include: numbness and tingling in extremities, arm or leg weakness, loss of manual coordination in fingers, or even “ghost” sensations of things that aren’t present.
Some patients might feel extreme warmth or cold in their feet or legs; others will describe a burning sensation in legs, feet, arms, or hands. Still others describe a creepy crawly feeling on the skin of their legs or feet. Often, these symptoms will tend to be most noticeable at bedtime.
Current Medical Treatment for Peripheral Neuropathy
Current medical treatments for peripheral neuropathy tend to use medication, in order to reduce nerve inflammation or to mask the pain symptoms. This is not only a costly treatment option; it also has health impacts that can last a lifetime.
Since the actual cause of the pain is not being resolved, patients often continue to experience pain, numbness, and, sometimes, disability due to nerve degeneration. This can result in other problems in other parts of the body.
If you or someone you love is experiencing peripheral neuropathy, you’ll be glad to know that there are other options to treat it. These treatments can not only relieve pain, but also possibly resolve the cause of the initial nerve damage.
Combined Treatments & Therapies
At Northoak Chiropractic, we focus our attention on discovering the root cause of peripheral neuropathy and then combine different treatments and therapies, in order to alleviate pressure and to speed up the healing of damaged nerves.
Our approach focuses on conducting a thorough metabolic and neurologic evaluation, which makes it possible for us to identify the root causes of the neuropathy, so that we can offer suggestions to support a stronger recovery. These may include dietary changes and suggestions for different exercises that will strengthen nerves.
For example, damaged nerves can receive painless stimulation, in order to improve the nerve’s firing pattern. This not only reduces pain for the patient, but also helps the damaged nerve heal more readily.
If you or someone you love is experiencing peripheral neuropathy, contact us today at (905) 338-5951 or make an appointment with Dr. Jay and get started on the road to recovery.
