Are you experiencing numbness or tingling? What about sharp, burning pain from your extremities? Are your muscles weaker than normal and are you struggling to balance? Chances are, you might be suffering from a condition called neuropathy. Neuropathy is a degenerative nerve condition which causes a lot of pain and numbness in your body. If you have neuropathy, chiropractors can help you.

What Is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is when the peripheral nervous system, which is the network of nerves outside your brain and spinal cord, has nerves that have been damaged or destroyed. This affects how your nervous system works, disrupting how nerves communicate. It can affect different parts of your body. Neuropathy can be a mild problem or it can be quite severe. Depending on the severity of the neuropathy, symptoms and treatments vary.

What Are The Symptoms Of Neuropathy?

As neuropathy is a condition that affects your nerves, the symptoms you experience relate to what nerves can do. Most commonly, you may experience pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness, in your extremities or wherever the neuropathy is in your body. Your nerves impact your senses, so you may also struggle with sensitive skin, problems balancing, and weakness in your muscles. 

What Causes Neuropathy?

There’s no singular reason behind why one might develop neuropathy. There are many underlying causes. 

• Diabetes. This is the most common cause of neuropathy, with the majority of people who suffer from diabetes complaining of pain and numbness in their extremities. 
• Nerve Compression Syndrome. This is when there’s direct pressure on a nerve. As such, it can cause neuropathy, typically where the nerve is being compressed.
• Chemotherapy. Chemo is hard on your body in many ways, one of which is how it can damage the peripheral nerves.
• Aging. About 8% of adults over 65 in the United States reported experiencing neuropathy.
• Trauma. Injuries can cause neuropathy in how they hurt your body.

There are many other reasons why neuropathy can develop, including: medications, autoimmune disorders, vascular diseases, inherited disorders, and more. Sometimes, neuropathy can happen with no known cause.

Can You Prevent Neuropathy?

There are actions you can take to reduce your risk of developing neuropathy. Some of which include:

• If you have diabetes or any other medical conditions, you can make sure you are communicating with your doctor about any concerns and prevention methods. 
• If you worry about your medications being a cause, you can also talk that over with your doctor. 
• In addition, you can do simple methods of injury prevention, like keeping clean floors so that you don’t fall and hurt yourself.

What Do You Do If You Think You Have Neuropathy?

See a doctor! A doctor can run tests to see if you have neuropathy. If you think you may have neuropathy, it is important to get it diagnosed and treated, as it can develop into a serious problem and potentially lead to permanent nerve damage.

How Is Neuropathy Treated?

There are a number of treatments for neuropathy. It’s important to note that while some cases of neuropathy are curable, this isn’t the case for all of them. In the cases in which it can’t be cured, treatment is more so focused on symptom management and damage prevention. 

Here are some treatments for neuropathy. Doctors can prescribe medication for the pain. You can have mechanical aids, like braces and splints, to reduce pain by keeping your nerves in alignment. You can try different kinds of therapies, like occupational or physical. 

How Can A Chiropractor Help Neuropathy?

Chiropractors specialize in treating problems within alignment. Your central nervous system is within your spine, an area chiropractors know very well. If your body is misaligned, it can lead to nerve problems and pain and numbness. Because your central nervous system is in your spine, if your back isn’t aligned, it can cause problems in your peripheral nerves. Any problems within your central nervous system can lead to other nerve problems, like neuropathy.

So, how can a chiropractor help neuropathy? Chiropractors can help you find the underlying cause of your nerve pain, as well as pain relief. They work to try to treat the condition leading to neuropathy. A chiropractor will also work to prevent the progression of nerve damage.

A chiropractor can provide a natural form of treatment for neuropathy that is non-invasive. They can improve your standard of living in a gentle way. If you’re suffering from neuropathy, you may consider seeing a chiropractor among your treatment options.

Do You Want To See A Chiropractor For Neuropathy?

Here at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic, we offer chiropractic treatments for neuropathy, as well as other conditions. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment, contact us at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic today!