A close-up view of a woman that is holding her hand that is in pain from neuropathy. The area that is in pain is highlighted in red.

Neuropathy is a term used for nerve dysfunction or damage that leads to symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pins and needles feeling, itching burning, loss of range-of-motion and more. There are many causes of neuropathy, and some of them may even simply be that you don’t have enough vitamins and minerals in your diet. Would supplements therefore help you or harm you if you have neuropathy? See what the experts have to say!

 

What Is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a condition where nerve damage or dysfunction is present, which causes various types of symptoms such as:

  • Headaches and migraines
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Inflammation and swelling in the calves, knees or shoulders
  • Numbness or tingling in the extremities and limbs
  • Muscle weakness or tremors
  • Limited range-of-motion in one or more limbs
  • Stiff back or neck muscles

 

Neuropathy is directly connected to your nerves. You have over 30 billion nerve cells in your body. Those are sensory cells that take in information from an area of your body, transmitting that information to your brain. That is why nerves are also neurotransmitters. The neurons inside the nerves are transmitting, or communicating information. When you get a sudden pain in an area of your body, you know exactly where because of the signals you get from your nerves communicating with you.

 

Nerves cover almost every part of your body in your skin, ligaments, muscles and any other soft tissue. When nerves are damaged due to injury, inflammation, chronic condition or disease side-effects, you will have neuropathy and the symptoms we mentioned above. Those symptoms can become worse and worse without prompt treatment and the area of your body affected can grow larger and larger.

 

A model of a brain, which represents the nervous system, surrounded by syringes and medications.

Treatment for Neuropathy

We always stress the importance of non-narcotic pain management when it comes to neuropathy and many other types of conditions or injuries. Narcotic pain medications can curb a patient’s pain, but they are highly addictive and can lead to a horde of problems you don’t want. Over-the-counter pain medications are great for helping patients with pain and unpleasant sensations in the nerves.

 

Your nerves can actually heal or even grow back after damage or injury. The best way to make this possible (or to help make your symptoms go away) is through natural therapies. We have natural treatments including:

  • Chiropractic Care. These adjustments realign the spine and decompress nerves that cause you pain, numbness and other neuropathy symptoms.
  • Electrostimulation
  • Massage therapy. This can be regular or deep-tissue massage, which aims at removing trigger point or muscle nodes and knots. Massage helps improve blood flow and removes pent-up pressure.
  • Exercise and dietary advice/counseling
  • Deep Vibration – Vibration is another way to stimulate your circulatory system and help your nerves get more oxygen.
  • Neuromuscular Re-education – High-tech rehabilitation equipment is used for some patients to activate damaged nerves.
  • High Frequency LED Treatment – This is an advanced light therapy treatment that helps increase microcirculation. It also helps release nitric oxide from your red blood cells so that your nerves are able to heal easier.
  • Infrared light therapy or NVP8500/EPS8000 Treatment for circulation and motor function

 

A framed photo that says "Peripheral Neuropathy" with items such as coins, a notepad, a stethoscope and other medical items surrounding the framed image.

Do Medications Hurt or Help?

You should only take medications for neuropathy when prescribed by a doctor to do so. A medication will have some type of reaction in your body that will either help or harm you. If you don’t actually need the medication, you can experience side-effects you don’t want. If you do need medication to help with neuropathy symptoms, ask your doctor. Some common medications or supplements include:

  • L-Carnitine
  • Levocarnitine
  • Carbamazepine
  • Duloxetiine
  • Capsaicin
  • Pregabalin
  • Qutenza
  • Carnitor/Carnitor SF
  • Phenytoin

Over-the-counter pain medications such as Tylenol and ibuprofen are fine to take on your own. Each neuropathy medication listed above can help with pain, but some will help with other symptoms depending on the patient. For example, L-Carnitine is a natural amino acid that you already have in your body. This supplement is used to help people who have low L-carnitine in their body. This amino acid helps the heart and blood vessels and is taken in patients who have circulatory or heart problems. Improving your circulation can help improve your neuropathy.

 

Medications or Lifestyle Changes that Benefit You

There are many causes of neuropathy. The most common ones include:

  • Nutritional imbalances that lead to vitamin B deficiencies
  • Sudden trauma or injury to the body
  • Compressed or damaged nerves or damage to the blood vessels
  • Structural abnormalities in the spine, bones or joints that place pressure on nerves
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Genetic disorders
  • Bacterial or viral infections
  • Diabetes and endocrine disorders
  • Daily habits such as poor posture, lack of movement, sitting too long, etc.
  • Alcoholism—especially addictions that stretch over decades of time
  • Chronic diseases like HIV, AIDS, hypothyroidism, Lyme disease, etc.
  • Conditions that affect kidney and liver function
  • Exposure to toxins or heavy metals

 

This list is not exhaustive, as there may be a specific cause of yoru neuropathy not on this list. Many of the causes will lead to pain and other uncomfortable symptoms of neuropathy. If you have a chronic case, lifestyle changes can benefit you. Get a balanced diet full of fruits, veggies, protein, vitamins and minerals so you’re not deficient in specific nutrients. Cut out the sugar, soda, processed foods and nutrient-poor foods. Follow the American Heart Association’s recommendation to get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week.

 

Don’t Live with Neuropathy Pain!

At the Spine Correction Center of the Rockies, highly skilled medical professionals and chiropractors adopt a conservative treatment strategy that involves a thorough diagnosis and management of the identified cause rather than superficial treatment of isolated symptoms.

 

All the treatment strategies that we employ are designed to help the nerve regain its function by restoring its normal localized blood flow and then eliminating whatever is irritating the nerve if it can be found. By incorporating medical treatment with rehabilitation, and chiropractic, we are achieving results with neuropathy where others have failed. To start on your neuropathy treatment, call Spine Correction Center of the Rockies today at (970) 658-5115!