Neuropathies

Peripheral Neuropathy Recovery Success Stories

Many patients with peripheral neuropathy often believe that their painful symptoms are irreversible or permanent. However, Dr. John Coppola and Dr. Valerie Monteiro describe that peripheral neuropathy can be treated by treating the underlying source of the painful symptoms. Several patients discuss their painful peripheral neuropathy symptoms and how these affected their overall quality of life.

Moreover, the patients also discuss how Dr. John Coppola and Dr. Valerie Monteiro helped treat their painful peripheral neuropathy symptoms through the use of a variety of treatment methods and techniques. Dr. Alex Jimenez, a doctor of chiropractic in El Paso, TX, can help treat painful symptoms associated with peripheral neuropathy. Dr. Alex Jimenez is the non-surgical choice for chiropractic care and peripheral neuropathy treatment.

 

Peripheral Neuropathy Recovery Success Stories | El Paso, TX

 


Neuropathy is a medical term used to describe a collection of general diseases or malfunctions which affect the nerves.

The causes of neuropathy, or nerve damage, can vary among individuals and these may be caused by different:

  • Diseases
  • Injuries
  • Infections
  • Vitamin deficiencies

Neuropathy can also be classified according to the location of the nerves being affected and according to the disease causing it.

Neuropathy caused by diabetes is called diabetic neuropathy.

Furthermore, depending on which nerves are affected will depend on the symptoms that will manifest.

Peripheral neuropathy is simply referred to as neuropathy, which is a state that happens when the nerves become damaged or injured, oftentimes simply disturbed.

It’s estimated that neuropathy affects roughly 2.4 percent of the general populace and approximately 8 percent of people older than age 55.

 

Type

Neuropathy can affect any of the three types of peripheral nerves:

  • Sensory nerves transmit messages from sensory organs:
  • Eyes
  • Nose
  • Brain
  • Motor nerves track the movement of the muscles
  • Autonomic nerves regulate the involuntary body functions

Sometimes, neuropathy will only impact one nerve. This is medically referred to as mononeuropathy and instances of it include:

  • Ulnar neuropathy affects the elbow
  • Radial neuropathy affects the arms
  • Peroneal neuropathy affects the knees
  • Femoral neuropathy affects the thighs
  • Cervical neuropathy affects the neck

Sometimes, two or more isolated nerves in separate regions of the body can become damaged, injured, or disrupted, resulting in mono neuritis multiplex neuropathy.

Most of the time, multiple peripheral nerves malfunction at the same time, a condition called polyneuropathy.

 

Cause

Neuropathies are often inherited from birth or developed later in life.

The most frequent inherited neuropathy is the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects 1 in 2,500 people in the USA.

Although healthcare professionals are sometimes not able to pinpoint the exact reason for an acquired neuropathy, medically referred to as idiopathic neuropathy.

There are many known causes for them, including:

  • Systemic diseases – a systemic disease is one that affects the whole body.
  • Physical trauma
  • Infectious diseases
  • Autoimmune disorders

The most frequent systemic cause behind peripheral neuropathy is diabetes, which can lead to chronically high blood glucose levels that harm nerves.

Other systemic issues can cause neuropathy, including:
  1. Kidney disorders permit high levels of nerve-damaging toxic chemicals to flow into the blood
  2. Toxins from exposure to heavy metals include:
  • Arsenic
  • Lead
  • Mercury
  • Thallium
  1. Drugs/medications, including anti-cancer medications, anticonvulsants, antivirals, and antibiotics
  2. Chemical imbalances because of liver illnesses.
  3. Hormonal diseases, like hyperthyroidism, disturb metabolic processes and potentially induce cells and body parts to exert pressure on the nerves.
  4. Deficiencies in vitamins, such as E, B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), B12, and niacin can be vital for healthy nerves.
  5. Alcohol abuse induces vitamin deficiencies and could harm nerves.
  6. Cancers and tumors can exert damaging pressure on nerve fibers and paths.
  7. Chronic inflammation can damage protective tissues around nerves, which makes them more vulnerable to compression, getting inflamed and swollen.
  8. Blood diseases and blood vessel damage, may damage or injure nerve tissue by decreasing the available oxygen supply

 

Symptoms

Depending on the reason and unique to each patient, signs, and symptoms of neuropathy can include:

  • Pain
  • Tingling
  • Burning/prickling sensations
  • Increased sensitivity to touch
  • Muscle weakness
  • Temporary or permanent numbness;
  • Paralysis
  • Dysfunction in glands or organs
  • Impairment in urination and
  • Sexual function

Symptoms are dependent on autonomic, sensory, or motor nerves, or a combination are affected.

Autonomic nerve damage can start a chain reaction of physiological functions like blood pressure or create gastrointestinal problems and issues.

Damage or dysfunction in the sensory nerves may impact sensations and sense of equilibrium or balance, while injury to motor nerves affects movement and reflexes.

When both sensory and motor nerves are involved, the condition is known as sensorimotor polyneuropathy.

 

Complications

Peripheral neuropathy may result in several complications, as a result of disease or its symptoms.

Numbness from the ailment can allow you to be less vulnerable to temperatures and pain, making you more likely to suffer from burns and serious wounds.

The lack of sensations in the feet, for instance, can make you more prone to developing infections from minor traumatic accidents, particularly for diabetics, who heal more slowly than other people, including foot ulcers and gangrene.

Furthermore, muscle atrophy may cause you to develop particular physical disfigurements, such as pes cavus, a condition marked by an abnormally high foot arch, and claw-like deformities in the feet and palms.

 

Treatment

The first step in neuropathy treatment should be finding the root cause that’s causing the neuropathy.

Treatment of diseases such as:

  • Diabetes
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Other underlying diseases

Prevents continued nerve damage and in some cases heals the damaged nerves.

If you are unaware of any underlying disease that is causing peripheral neuropathy, make sure to let your doctor know of abnormal symptoms.

Medication

Peripheral neuropathy can be treated with various medications.

The first type used to treat mild symptoms are:

  • Over-the-counter pain medications

In more severe cases:

  • Opiates
  • Narcotic medications
  • Anti-seizure medications

A doctor may prescribe a lidocaine patch or anti-depressants to relieve symptoms.

Patients should thoroughly discuss neuropathy medication with a doctor before proceeding.

Chiropractic/Massage/Physical Therapy

Various manual therapies can benefit symptoms in neuropathy treatment.

A therapist or chiropractor will perform various manipulation techniques, and teach exercises and stretches to help improve symptoms combined with increased muscle strength/control.

A therapist may also recommend braces or splints to improve mobility.

Patients should attend all physical therapy sessions to gain maximum benefits.

 

Acids

Supplements like:

  • Essential acids called ALA (alpha-Lipoic acid)
  • GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) and omega-3 fatty acids

These can have a beneficial effect on diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

L-Carnitine

L-carnitine is a substance that the body makes and stores in the:

  • Liver
  • Brain

There have been reports that certain diabetics with neuropathy symptoms could regain regular sensation in the limbs when they increased their consumption of carnitine called acetyl-L-carnitine.

  • Red meat
  • Peanut butter
  • Dairy products

Are good dietary sources of this nutrient.

Supplements are also available at health food stores and pharmacies and health/wellness clinics.

 

Vitamin Supplements

Vitamin deficiencies can result in peripheral neuropathy in some people.

Therefore there needs to be a replenishing of vitamins:

  • B
  • B12
  • E

These can help to decrease symptoms.

Recommended dosages are 300mg daily of vitamin E.

Doses of the different B vitamins differ, but one option for patients is to take a daily B-complex supplement.

 

Herb Supplements

Herbal remedies are an alternative to explore.

St. John’s Wort is a herbal supplement that can be taken orally and can reduce pain.

Topical creams that have capsaicin, which is an anti-inflammatory found in chili peppers, can reduce the burning sensation.

 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture can be an effective way to manage peripheral neuropathy.

Acupuncture uses pressure points throughout the body to realign the body’s energy, called the qi or chi.

Also, movement therapy is a way to manage the condition.

Tai chi and yoga can help:

  • Align the body
  • Mind
  • Encourage relaxation
  • Distract from the pain

El Paso’s Premier Wellness & Injury Care Clinic.

Our services are specialized and focused on injuries and the complete recovery process. Our areas of practice include:

At El Paso’s Chiropractic Rehabilitation Clinic & Integrated Medicine Center, we passionately are focused on treating patients after frustrating injuries and chronic pain syndromes.

We focus on improving your ability through flexibility, mobility, and agility programs custom-tailored for all age groups and disabilities.

We want you to live a life filled with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, less pain, proper body weight and educated on how to maintain this way of life.


We’re Ready To Help Get You Healthy!



NCBI Resources

While every type of neuropathy, such as diabetic neuropathy or autoimmune disease-associated neuropathy, develops its own unique group of symptoms, many patients will often report common complaints. Individuals with neuropathy generally describe their pain as stabbing, burning, or tingling.

If you experience unusual or abnormal tingling or burning sensations, weakness, and/or pain in your hands and feet, it’s essential to seek immediate medical attention in order to receive a proper diagnosis of the cause of your specific signs and symptoms. Early diagnosis may help prevent further nerve injury. Visit www.neuropathycure.org.

Post Disclaimer *

Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on "Peripheral Neuropathy Recovery Success Stories" is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

We are here to help you and your family.

Blessings

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

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