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Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is a common problem that doctors treat. It can be classified based on the symptoms it causes and, in some cases, by tests to look for nerve damage.
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Peripheral Neuropathy Causes
Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by diabetes, an injury to the nerves, drinking alcohol, eating something bad like poison, diseases you are born with and not getting enough vitamins. We don't know the exact cause peripheral neuropathy up to half the time.
But instead of just treating symptoms, supporting the repair of nerve damage and restoring normal function has a better chance of lasting relief from any cause of peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral Neuropathy Tests
To figure out what is wrong, a doctor needs to know your past, check your body and do tests. Early nerve problems might cause numbness, pain or burning in the hands and feet. This will usually get worse over time. Advanced stages may involve numbness, weakness, atrophy and circulation problems.
When you go to the doctor, they should check your muscles and nerves to make sure everything is okay. If the doctor thinks a problem in the body's nerve system is causing a person's symptoms, they should first look for things that can be treated.
Lab tests include looking at your blood, checking your metabolism, glucose levels, Vitamin B12 levels, and thyroid hormone. It will also look at the proteins in your blood.
Peripheral Neuropathy Treatments
Peripheral neuropathy is a medical condition that affects nerves. To help with the pain, doctors often prescribe seizure and psychiatric medication like gabapentinoids and antidepressants. [1]
Associated Risks With Neuropathy Medications
Researchers studied 1,639 people to learn more about the use of drugs called gabapentinoids. They found that when people used these drugs, they had a higher chance of becoming addicted and having withdrawal symptoms. Because of this, it is important to be careful when using gabapentinoids because they can cause addiction. [2]
Gabapentin Abuse
There are more reports of people misusing gabapentin and pregabalin, but not many studies have looked into it in the US. To find out more, researchers talked to people from different ages, places, ethnicities, incomes, and education levels. This is like the US population as a whole.
Many people use gabapentin and pregabalin illegally usually taking opioids with these drugs, which increases the risks of accidental overdose. [3]
Complementary Functional Medicine
Some people with neuropathy and pain try different treatments because the medications do not help. These different treatments are called complementary and alternative treatment modalities.
Eating healthy food and changing your lifestyle are important parts of taking care of yourself if you have neuropathy.
We are learning more about how the gut and the immune system interact. This includes understanding how bacteria in the gut and inflammation impact whether or not someone has nerve pain.
Eating healthy food, exercising, taking vitamins, and stress management can help with pain from nerve damage.[4]
Low Level Laser
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common problem for people with diabetes. It can make you feel numb or have pain in your arms and legs. You may also feel pins and needles, burning, or itching in these areas. These symptoms can make it hard to do everyday activities.
Medicines to treat DPN have side effects and become expensive because they only manage pain and do not help the nerves heal. Some studies show that low-level laser therapy may help people with DPN feel better and their nerves work better. [5]
Manual Therapies
Manual therapy treatments focused on soft tissue and the nervous system can help reduce pain, improve physical function, and help the nerves work better. [6]
Chiropractic Adjustment
Many studies show that chiropractic adjustment can help make it easier to deal with pain. It might work by getting rid of small amounts of mechanical and chemical signals around the spine. Evidence shows that it changes how the joints, muscles, nerves, and organs react.
The chiropractic adjustment can have complex effects on the body. It can cause both excitement and relaxation.
Because the chiropractic adjustment affects the peripheral, central, and autonomic nerve systems, that means it helps treat pain and function. [7]
Chronic Pain
People who have neuropathy can have short-term or long-term pain. Medicines may only help with short-term pain. So, it is best to use more than one type of treatment to help with long term pain. Complementary-Integrative Medicine can help with neuropathic pain. It is safe and affordable, even without insurance coverage.
There are many ways to treat neuropathy besides just gabapentenoids, antidepressants, and opioids. [8]
Stress Management
Fast relief is important but neuropathy medications do not support the repair or restore the normal function of nerves. Neuropathy patients need restful sleep, exercise to improve balance, circulation and function. Appropriate nutrition to reduce inflammation and provide the building blocks of repair. Nutraceuticals may also help by concentrating the natural medicines of food.
And the best kept secret in stress management remains the specific, no twist or crack chiropractic adjustment of the spine that can turn the stress reaction into the healing response instantly. [9] [10]
Trusted Sources
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33320513/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31453474/
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33387188/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31074875/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8017787/
[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34862562/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14589467/
[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36862302/
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22314714/
[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28167971/
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