Living With Neuropathy (And What You Can Do About It)
About 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with neuropathy, according to the National Institutes of Health, and it’s likely that the condition affects millions more who haven’t yet been diagnosed. If you struggle with neuropathy, you know how difficult it can be to deal with the pain, tingling, numbness, and other symptoms the condition can cause.
Fortunately, innovative treatment can give you the relief you seek. Innovative treatment doesn't mask the pain like drugs do. Instead, they help you heal from the inside out.
Atin Mason, Ohio, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Hebron, Kentucky, and Batesville, Indiana we help patients with programs designed on an individual basis. If you’re suffering from neuropathy symptoms, we can help you, too. Here’s how.
Neuropathy basics
Your nerves form a network of connections from your brain to every part of your body. Each nerve acts as a highway for nerve signals to travel to and from your brain. When your nerves work the way they’re supposed to, they play important roles in managing organ function and allowing you to feel physical sensations.
However, if one or more nerves gets damaged, the signals they carry can be distorted and misinterpreted and lead to a host of symptoms. This condition is called neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy. The symptoms that can result include the following:
- Pain in your hands and feet
- Cold hands or feet
- “Electricity-like” bursts of pain
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Weakness in one or more limbs
- Cramping in your legs, feet, arms, or hands
- Problems walking or using your hands or feet
- Deep, persistent aches
- Loss of balance or decreased ability to coordinate movements
- “Restless” legs when trying to sleep
- Painful, hard-to-heal ulcers, especially on your feet and ankles
Symptoms tend to develop first in the hands, legs, feet, and arms, and the condition becomes more common with age. It’s also a common complication of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Chemotherapy, traumatic injury, surgery, and common medications can also cause nerve damage associated with neuropathy.
No matter the cause, the key to managing it effectively is getting treatment as early as possible, before nerve damage progresses or worsens.
Treating neuropathy
The traditional approach
Traditionally, doctors have prescribed drugs, which usually only treat the symptoms, not the underlying causes. That means nerve damage can continue to occur and progress, resulting in recurring symptoms and the need for higher and higher doses of medication to keep the symptoms under control.
Many of the medications used to treat neuropathy symptoms can cause unpleasant side effects, such as dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, and even addiction. Worse yet, without treating the underlying cause, nerve damage can escalate and eventually lead to a need for limb amputation.
The advanced, drug-free approach
At Elite Pain Doctors, we use a state-of-the-art approach to neuropathy treatment, focusing on the underlying nerve damage to help relieve existing symptoms and prevent them from getting worse.
Our team is skilled in providing innovative treatment, which taps into your body’s natural ability to heal and repair tissue damage. These repairs can take some time, and during your treatment, you can expect to come into our office 2-3 times a week for about three months.
We’ll also provide you with at-home exercises to stimulate healing and maximize your results. Plus, because everyone experiences neuropathy in different ways, your treatment plan will be customized specifically for your health needs, symptoms, and lifestyle.
Don’t let neuropathy control your life
Because neuropathy affects your nerves, neuropathy can make even the simplest tasks unbearably painful. Depending on how your nerves have been affected, you can have pain and other symptoms just from walking, climbing stairs, or even when you’re lying down. Left untreated, neuropathy is also a common cause of anxiety and depression.
If you’ve been diagnosed with neuropathy, or if you have symptoms of nerve damage, innovative treatment may be able to help you heal and get relief. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Elite Pain Doctors today.