Introduction Of Peripheral Neuropathy
Nerve health issues, such as peripheral neuropathy, can significantly impact our daily life. For most individuals, those symptoms of tingling, numbness, or persistent discomfort, are constant reminders of losing their ease and mobility. Even the most simple jobs can be intimidating with such symptoms, and it even affects the quality of life.
Many people may knew that nerve damage is usually spoken of as a complication of Type 2 diabetes or results from an injury. As such, when there is damages to the nerves, it is important to administer proper treatment in order to prevent peripheral neuropathy from worsening.
So what is peripheral neuropathy? What are the signs and symptoms to look out for? What are the best recommended treatments for neuropathy pain relief? We will explore this in detail below.
Key Facts On Peripheral Neuropathy
- Happens when there is damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves).
- Common symptoms include tingling, pins and needles, numbness and weakness. Besides, symptoms may begin in your toes and feet, or fingers and spread towards your knees and elbows.
- Can be caused by diabetes, autoimmune diseases, deficiency in some vitamins, certain infections and heavy alcohol consumption.
- Treatment for peripheral neuropathy involves treating the root cause if possible and strategies to manage symptoms in order to relieve chronic pain.
- If it is caused by lifestyle and dietary factors, treating neuropathy is manageable by controlling your blood sugar levels and treating any vitamin deficiencies.
What Is The Peripheral Nervous System?
Our body nervous system is made up of two parts:
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Central nervous system (CNS) - Includes the brain and the spinal cord.
- Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - Composed of the nerves running from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body (the arms and hands, legs and feet, internal organs, joints and even the mouth, eyes, ears, nose, and skin).
Peripheral neuropathy is when there is damage to your peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves refer to all the nerves in the body that are outside the brain and spinal cord.
These can be further categorized into:
- Sensory nerves carry signals about touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell. These send messages in the other direction, from the muscles back to the spinal cord and the brain.
Special sensors in the skin and deep inside the body help people identify if an object is sharp, rough, or smooth; if it is hot or cold or if it is standing still or in motion. Sensory nerve damage often results in tingling, numbness, pain, and extreme sensitivity to touch.
- Motor nerves carry signals to help you move. These send impulses from the brain and spinal cord to all of the muscles in the body.
This permits people to do activities like walking, catching a baseball, or moving the fingers to pick something up. Motor nerve damage can lead to muscle weakness, difficulty walking or moving the arms, cramps and spasms.
- Autonomic nerves carry signals to help with balance, sweating, digestion and many of the things you do without thinking. They control involuntary or semi-voluntary functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and sweating.
When the autonomic nerves are damaged, a person’s heart may beat faster or slower. They may get dizzy when standing up, sweat excessively or have difficulty sweating at all.
In addition, autonomic nerve damage may result in difficulty swallowing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, problems with urination, abnormal pupil size, and sexual dysfunction.
**Peripheral neuropathy can affect any of your sensory, motor and autonomic nerves or a combination.
Cranial nerves
Cranial nerves go from your brain to your eyes, mouth, ears, and other parts of your head. Usually, for anatomical reasons the olfactory and optic nerve are not considered part of the PNS but of the CNS (in fact, for example, the optic nerve is involved in a disease of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, which is not a peripheral neuropathy).
Peripheral nerves
Peripheral nerves go from your spinal cord to your trunk and limbs, including hands and feet. They are responsible for what we call somatic functions, including sensation and motor control.
Autonomic nerves
Autonomic nerves go from your spinal cord to your lungs, heart, blood vessels, stomach, intestines, bladder and sex organs. They and are responsible for bodily functions such as blood pressure control, sweating and bowel movements among others.
Peripheral neuropathy generally occurs when peripheral nerve(s) is/are damaged. The message coming from the periphery (sensation) and going towards the brain can be altered.
In such cases, sensory loss or pain can be present. If the message cannot go from the brain to the periphery (e.g., muscles), weakness will be there. Moreover, as stated above, some components of the PNS are responsible for involuntary functions (e.g., sweating, bowel movements, …). Therefore, these functions might be altered too.
In fact, peripheral neuropathy is not a single disease. It is a general term for a series of disorders that result from damage to the body’s peripheral nervous system. This means that it can affect multiple nerves (polyneuropathy), only one nerve (mononeuropathy) or a nerve group (multiple mononeuropathies) at a time.
**To elaborate further on mononeuropathy, it is usually the result of damage to a single nerve or nerve group by trauma, injury, local compression, prolonged pressure, or inflammation.
Some typical examples include:
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Carpal tunnel syndrome - a painful wrist and hand disorder often associated with repetitive tasks on a computer keyboard.
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Cubital tunnel syndrome - a painful condition of the hand due to entrapment of the ulnar nerve at the elbow.
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Bell’s palsy - a facial nerve disorder.
- Meralgia paresthetica - a painful condition of the thigh related to nerve impingement at the inguinal canal.
What Are The Symptoms Of Peripheral Neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy symptoms usually start with numbness, prickling or tingling in the toes or fingers. However, it may also spread up to the feet or hands and cause burning, freezing, throbbing and/or shooting pain. Some people do experience chronic neuropathic pain that is often felt worse at night.
Neuropathic pain can be either constant or periodic, but usually the pain is felt equally on both sides of the body, either in both hands or in both feet. Some types of peripheral neuropathy develop suddenly, while others progress more slowly over many years.
Peripheral neuropathy usually causes symptoms in your hands and feet including:
- Extreme sensitivity to touch
- Tingling, pins and needles or electric type pains
numbness
- Difficulty sleeping because of feet and leg pain
- Burning sensation or freezing pain
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle cramping or twitching
- Difficulty walking or not knowing where your feet are
- Difficulty in moving the arms or unable to hold something
- Loss of balance and coordination
- Unusual sweating out of the sudden
- Abnormalities in blood pressure or pulse
- Areas that feel ‘hot’ or have a burning sensation, some may even experience sensation of wearing an invisible “glove” or “sock”.
Best Treatments For Nerve Damages In Feet
1) Do Changes In Your Daily Lifestyle
The idea of incorporating changes in your usual lifestyle is not to relieve chronic nerve pain. Rather, it can make you feel better by reducing unnecessary nerve pain which you are suffering from.
For example, if your job occupation requires you to be standing for long period, consider switching to other job duties that may require less of your legs and feet.
2) Vitamins & Minerals
For those who have peripheral neuropathy due to to mineral or vitamin deficiencies. , supplementing one or more of these minerals or vitamins might help in managing neuropathy pain relief.
The most common deficiencies associated with peripheral neuropathy are:
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
- Vitamin E (tocopherol)
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
- Copper
Though these vitamins and minerals play an important factor in nerve health, there are also several research studies that suggests that having either too little or too much calcium and magnesium can be associated with peripheral neuropathy.
As such, always consult your doctor first to see if any tests are needed to determine if a deficiency is a factor in your condition or whether you need to supplement.
3) Orthotic Devices
Orthotic devices work to provide proper arch, ball, and toe support which help to increase your stability to prevent falls. In some cases, orthotic devices have also been known to ease pain and symptoms by stimulating the nerves and providing cushioning to areas that cause pain.
4) Natural Herbal Remedies
Several herbs have anti-inflammatory qualities that might contribute to pain relief in some cases of peripheral neuropathy, according to many validated research studies.
Some of these herbs are more commonly found than others, and they may exist as ingredients in various herbal medicines, such as ointments. This includes:
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Black cumin (Nigella sativa)
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Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum)
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Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum)
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Cannabis (Cannabis sativa)
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Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
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Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
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Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
- Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Essential Oils
Another effective and helpful option for neuropathy treatment. Some of these may help increase circulation in the body or having pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties that could boost healing.
Still, more research are still undergoing to determine what extent it is beneficial for coping with neuropathy symptoms. Below is a list of essential oils that might offer some benefits:
- Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)
- Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia)
- Bergamot (Citrus bergamia)
- Nutmeg (Myristica fragrant)
Always dilute essential oils (a few drops) in 1 ounce (oz) of carrier oil, such as olive oil. Applying these diluted oils to the affected area can reduce stinging and tingling pains from peripheral neuropathy.
No matter which herbal remedies you go for, it is advisable to consult your doctor. This is to ensure that it would be an effective neuropathy feet treatment and does not interfere with any other medications or health conditions which you may have.
5) Surgical Treatment
For those patients who have severe peripheral neuropathy, surgery that involve compression or entrapment of nerves may be an appropriate treatment. Surgery is beneficial in the decompression of nerves, thereby potentially reversing symptoms of numbness and tingling.
6) Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy
Depending how peripheral neuropathy can affect your daily routine tasks, extracorporeal shockwave therapy is recommended to assist in neuropathy pain relief and restoration of mobility. Usually, such treatment will take around 8 to 12 weeks which you can expect the most significant degree of results and freedom from the associated chronic pain that affects you.
7) Quit Smoking
Yes, many of us are aware that smoking do affects our blood circulation. It actually narrow the blood vessels resulting in less oxygenated blood that can get through.
Without proper and good blood circulation, smoking patients can experienced increased numbness and pain from their peripheral neuropathy condition. As such, eliminating smoking habits can help to improve the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy greatly.
8) Perineural Injection Therapy
Perineural injection therapy utilizes shallow, small injections along the superficial nerve path to reduce pain and inflammation.
9) Warm Bath Therapy
Taking a warm bath increases blood circulation throughout the body. This can be soothing and helps to alleviate chronic neuropathy pain symptoms. Many research studies actually suggested that taking a warm saltwater bath may be particularly beneficial.
Do take note that if your sensory nerves are affected by peripheral neuropathy and you are not as sensitive to temperature, be careful not to make your bath water too hot.
10) Medications
There are a variety of prescription medications that can be used to alleviate neuropathy symptoms, such as anti-epileptic drugs, anti-depressants, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
11) Exercise Regularly
Regular exercising can help to combat pain and improve your overall health. Besides, being active can reduce your blood sugar, thereby reducing or slowing down nerve damages. Besides, just by doing simple exercises can actually promote good blood circulation to your arms and legs which helps to reduces stress. These are all factors that help to reduce peripheral neuropathy discomfort and pain.
12) Acupuncture Treatment
In recent years, acupuncture treatment had been proven beneficial in relieving pain and promotes natural healing by stimulating the body’s pressure points in the medical field.
This technique triggers our nervous system to release chemicals that can change or reduce our pain threshold. Not only that, it also helps to provide an energy balance to the body that can affect your emotional well-being.
13) Meditation
Meditation techniques may help people living with neuropathy symptoms. It can help to lower stress, improve your coping skills, and decrease the level of pain intensity. Taking a mind-body approach is a non-invasive technique that provides you with more control over your condition.
At Home Care For Peripheral Neuropathy
If you have peripheral neuropathy of feet condition, it is extremely important to take good care of your feet so that you lower your risk for developing sores or infections.
Good foot care regime include:
- Wash your feet with warm water every day. Make sure that your feet are clean and dried completely.
- Check both of your feets daily for any cuts or blisters.
- Never go barefooted while walking around.
- Never wear improper-fitting footwear.
- Wear thick and seamless socks to prevent irritation.
- Massage your feet to help improve circulation.
- Avoid excessive alcohol intake.
Hope that the above information on 13 best treatments for peripheral neuropathy of feet can help those who are suffering this disturbing health condition just like me. As you can see by now, though there are several treatment options, however the TRUTH is not each of the individuals can benefit from such treatment due to the underlying causes, existing health conditions and the degree of nerve damages.
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