Neuropathy: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Neuropathy: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment


Neuropathy refers to damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves within the body, and these typically cause a range of unpleasant and even debilitating symptoms that can affect your day-to-day life. More than 20 million people in the United States are estimated to suffer from neuropathy, but the true figure is believed to be higher.

 

Neuropathy is also often called peripheral neuropathy since it affects the peripheral nervous system. This is the network of nerves that fall outside of your brain and spinal cord and instead serve the rest of the body. There are three types of nerves within the peripheral nervous system. These are:

 

Sensory nerves. These can carry messages from your five senses through your spinal cord to your brain, communicating important information about sensory feedback that you have received, such as hot/cold, pain, the smell of burning etc.

 

Motor nerves. These do the opposite of sensory nerves and instead carry messages from your brain to your muscles in order to get your body to move.

 

Autonomic nerves. These nerves are responsible for body functions that are outside of your direct control, for example your heart rate, breathing and even your bladder control. These nerves monitor and respond to both your natural body needs and external stressors. For example, they will cause you to sweat if your body temperature gets too high or speed up your heart rate if you become anxious or stressed.


Symptoms of neuropathy


There are many different symptoms associated with neuropathy. Exactly which you experience will depend on which nerves have been damaged. Some of the most common include:
 

  • Tingling in the feet and hands

  • Sharp, stabbing pains in the hands, arms, feet or legs

  • Feeling as though you are wearing a very tight pair of socks or gloves

  • Buzzing sensations in your body

  • Numbness in your hands or feet

  • Limbs that feel heavy and weak

  • Regularly dropping things/loss of coordination  

  • Thinning of the skin

  • A drop in blood pressure

  • Extreme sensitivity to touch

 

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we recommend that you seek medical advice as you could be suffering from neuropathy. Your professional will run tests to determine the cause of your symptoms before exploring treatment options with you.


Causes of neuropathy


There are many reasons why someone may develop neuropathy, with people who have a family history of the disease more likely to develop it than someone who doesn’t. Diabetes is also another key cause of diabetes. This is because over time, the high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes can cause damage to the nerves that prevents them from operating as they should. In this instance, the neuropathy is sometimes known as diabetic polyneuropathy.

 

Some of the other causes of neuropathy include:
 

  • Physical injury to the nerves

  • Autoimmune disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome

  • Suffering from a viral infection, like shingles or hepatitis C

  • Side effects from taking certain medications, including some antibiotics and anti-seizure medications

  • Excessive alcohol consumption  

  • Inherited disorders, including Charcot-Marie-Tooth

 

In some instances, the true cause of neuropathy isn’t known.


Treating neuropathy

The exact treatment that is recommended for neuropathy will depend on what the underlying cause of the condition is found to be. However, nearly all types of neuropathy can benefit from chiropractic treatment.

 

Chiropractic treatment is a completely natural, drug-free and non-invasive approach to healing the body and ensuring that it functions optimally. This is achieved by putting the spine, which houses the central nervous system, into perfect alignment. Doing so will release muscle tension and reduce inflammation that affects the nerves, and this can help boost blood flow, enabling oxygenated blood and nutrients to flow to the damaged nerves so that they can heal and recover. Chiropractic care has shown to be very effective at reducing the pain associated with neuropathy. Other chiropractic techniques such as massage, electrostimulation and physical therapy can also make a difference to your symptoms.

 

If you would like more information about neuropathy, or to schedule an appointment with our experienced chiropractic team, please get in touch by calling (919) 629-0400.

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