It starts with some tingling in your feet, and maybe a little in your legs. Then, the tingling turns into pain: sharp jabbing or stabbing sensations. You begin to lose coordination in your feet, and you start being more at risk of falling down. One day, paralysis may even occur. It’s frustrating, it’s frightening, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
The most frightening thing about neuropathy, however, is that even if you think it’s getting better (your pain and symptoms decrease, for instance), it could actually be getting worse. This is because the later stages of neuropathy often cause numbness, meaning that you can no longer feel the pain that’s telling you something’s wrong. This can eventually cause the skin of your foot to die and become necrotic, and it sometimes even leads to amputation, especially in diabetic patients.
This is why it’s so important to start treating your neuropathy right away.
The first step to recovery is understanding the problem. Neuropathy is the disease or dysfunction of one or more peripheral nerves, or in other words, nerve damage. If you suffer from neuropathy you likely experience muscle weakness, twitching, tingling, numbness in the feet and lower legs, prickling sensations, and nerve pain in the feet and lower legs. The most common causes of neuropathy include injury, infection, diabetes, and even some cancers.
What’s most discouraging about neuropathy is how difficult it can be to find relief. This discouragement is exacerbated by the fact that medications-a common first step in treating neuropathy- often have unwanted side effects or are ineffective. Furthermore, medications can treat the symptoms of neuropathy, but they can’t treat the root cause: the tight nerve tunnels that are “squeezing” the nerves and preventing them from functioning properly.
Since neuropathy can worsen over time, it’s essential that you don’t delay treatment. Fortunately, you don’t have to live with the pain. There are many treatment options for neuropathy, including:
- Nerve blocks – an injection that “turns off” a pain signal coming from a nerve
- MLS Laser Therapy – helps to reduce pain and inflammation and improve nerve function
- Electrical Nerve Stimulation (ESTIM) – helps to lessen chronic nerve pain
- Nutritional counseling – some studies have shown a link between our diet (especially sugar consumption) and neuropathy
- Nerve decompression surgery – opens up the nerve tunnel to allow the nerve to function properly
Treating your neuropathy may well offer relief for common symptoms as well, such as: improving balance, strength, and nerve sensations, providing more restful sleep, reducing risk of falling, and decreasing pain.
We truly understand how painful and even debilitating neuropathy can be which is why we urge you not delay your treatment any longer. Even if you think you’ve tried everything, research in neuropathy is progressing every day, and new treatment options are out there. You have the power to stop your neuropathy from progressing, and we can help you find the treatment plan that’s best for you. Start feeling better today!
