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Peripheral neuropathy is a general term for an array of conditions that impact your system of peripheral nerves. The nerve damage that results often leads to various levels of pain. These symptoms are typically felt in the hands and feet but can affect you in other areas as well. The nerve pain ranges in intensity from a simple, mild sensation to an intense, sometimes disabling pain. Peripheral neuropathy is not life-threatening, but it can impact your quality of life.
Treatment for peripheral neuropathy varies according to the specific condition. In some cases, the nerve pain goes away on its own. Most often, spinal cord stimulation is recommended as an effective treatment. the condition requires intervention with medical treatment. Remedies include everything from lifestyle changes to surgery. Most often, Peripheral neuropathy doctors are trained in the current methods to determine the most effective treatment for each situation.
If you experience a sudden tingling, pain or weakness in the hands or feet, talk to your neurologist as soon as possible. Early treatment prevents further damage to peripheral nerves. If you’re in the New York and New Jersey area, Neuro Injury Specialists are the peripheral neuropathy doctors near me. These specialists are trained in the latest treatments to provide relief from your worrying nerve pain. Dr Mark Cohen, Dr. Dmitriy Dvoskin and Dr. Leon Reyfman reduce or eliminate your pain, sometimes in a single visit.
People who have peripheral neuropathy display a wide variety of symptoms.
In addition, these symptoms often occur in diverse locations, including:
In severe cases, the sensations move up into the trunk of your body. Wherever they occur, the symptoms range from mild sensations to intense pain.
People typically describe the symptoms as:
Signs of peripheral neuropathy are often worse at night and disrupt your sleep. The severity of the symptoms depends on the type of neuropathy and the extent of nerve damage. A thorough examination and diagnostic testing by peripheral neuropathy doctors gets you closer to finding the cause and the cure.
More than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy exist, and each one has its own characteristic symptoms and treatments. A diverse array of peripheral nerves connects your central nerves in the spinal cord to your limbs and trunk. Peripheral neuropathy occurs when these connecting nerves are damaged. The type of neuropathy is determined by which kind of peripheral nerve fibers are damaged.
They are grouped into three primary categories:
Many neuropathies impact all three types of nerve fibers in some way. Others affect just one or two.
Some of the most common types of peripheral neuropathy include:
The nervous system is such an extensive network, and the neuropathies that develop are just as considerable. A diagnosis from a peripheral neuropathy specialist helps pin down the type of damage you have.
Pinning down the reason for your pain is not always easy. Neuropathic symptoms can be caused by pain receptors firing with no known trigger, or by problems with the spinal cord’s inability to process signals. Peripheral neuropathy develops when the peripheral nerves become impaired.
A variety of reasons and causes for peripheral neuropathy include:
The central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord — works with the peripheral nerves to send information to the rest of the body. This network impacts both the motor nerves and the sensory nerves. When one of the conditions above exists, that network breaks down. This is what causes your pain.
The ways to treat peripheral neuropathy vary, depending on a combination of factors, such as type of nerve damage, your symptoms and where the pain is located. If the reason for the neuropathy is a condition that’s treatable, symptoms may improve or even disappear after addressing the cause.
If the condition is not treatable, the symptoms may still be managed with a variety of approaches ranging from lifestyle changes to medical intervention. The most advanced treatment for peripheral neuropathy is spinal cord stimulation, which stops damaged nerves from sending pain signals to your brain, successfully masking the pain.
Non-medical remedies your peripheral neuropathy specialist near me might suggest to improve nerve health include cognitive behavior therapy often coupled with lifestyle changes such as:
Medications are also used to manage symptoms and treat the pain of peripheral neuropathy.
Many of these drugs are used to treat other medical conditions as well, such as:
In some instances, other medical techniques are needed to correct or reduce neuropathy and may include:
A wide range of treatments are used to address nerve pain. A comprehensive neurocognitive evaluation by a doctor who specializes in how to treat peripheral neuropathy determines which treatment is best for you considering your needs, general health and lifestyle. In the New York and New Jersey area, doctors who specialize in peripheral neuropathy near me at Neuro Injury Specialists have answers for your nagging nerve pain. Contact Neuro Injury Specialists to begin the journey back to a pain-free you.