Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral Neuropathy is a condition that over 20 million people in
the United States have been estimated to suffer from. It is a very
painful condition that stems from damaged nerves that carry the
messages from your central nervous system (your brain and spinal
cord) to your peripheral nervous system (the nerves throughout your
body). When these nerves get damaged or diseased you start to
experience things like pain, reduction in movement and strength in
the limbs as well as weakened and impaired muscles.
What Causes Peripheral Neuropathy?
There are many known reasons for a person to develop peripheral
neuropathy. One of the most common is through diabetes known as
diabetic neuropathy, it can also be caused by poor diet and certain
diseases and infections. There is also idiopathic neuropathy in
which the cause of the neuropathy is unknown, up to 30% of cases
are considered idiopathic. Lastly, though very uncommon neuropathy
can be genetically inherited.
How is Peripheral Neuropathy Treated?
Depending on how severe the condition is or the type of
neuropathy a patient has the treatment can be different. Some
people respond very well to prescription medications or capsaicin
cream. Our office offers a variety of neurologic treatments for
those looking to avoid prescription drugs, or those who don’t want
to use them. These treatments work by stimulating the nerves to
start firing properly again. We also have machines that stimulate
increased blood flow to the area so the nerves are getting proper
nutrition. We have found that over 40% of our peripheral neuropathy
patients have dramatic nerve pressure in their low backs which will
cause them to dysfunction. When this occurs we will also use
Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression, however 75% of the time there is
no back pain associated with the nerve pressure in their
backs.