Everything You Need to Know About Neuropathy
Although neuropathy is a fairly common condition, many have still have questions about nerve damage. The experts at Neuropathy Treatment Clinics of Texas are here to provide a comprehensive overview of neuropathy and what signs and symptoms to look out for.
What is Peripheral Neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy is a neurological health condition that damages the peripheral nerves, causing them to misfire or completely malfunction. There are several different types of peripheral nerve damage:
Autonomic Neuropathy
Your autonomic nervous system is responsible for bodily functions that you do involuntarily. Autonomic neuropathy affects your body’s ability to perform these essential functions that you do without having to think about it—like digestion, your heartbeat, or even sweating.
Signs & Symptoms
Common signs of autonomic nerve damage include:
- Trouble regulating body temperature.
- Digestive issues.
- Issues swallowing.
- High or low blood pressure.
Sensory Nerve Damage
Sensory nerve damage affects the nerves that are responsible for your sense of touch and how your brain perceives sensations.
Signs & Symptoms
Some common symptoms of sensory nerve damage include:
- Impaired reflexes.
- Feeling like you’re wearing gloves or socks when you’re not.
- Trouble with coordination and balance.
- Misfiring pain receptors.
- Tingling hands and feet.
- Cold hands and feet.
Motor Nerve Damage
Motor nerve damage affects your ability to move certain muscles that you would use for everyday activities. This affects muscles you would use for walking, talking, getting dressed, and other simple activities.
Signs & Symptoms
More often than not, symptoms include:
- Cramping.
- Muscle weakness.
- Twitching.
- Muscular atrophy.
Mononeuropathy
Mononeuropathy is nerve damage that affects one single nerve rather than several nerves. More often than not, this type of nerve damage is a result of an injury.
Proximal Neuropathy
Proximal neuropathy is the rarest form of nerve damage. Depending on which nerve is being affected, proximal nerve damage can cause pain radiating in the:
- Hip
- Buttock
- Thigh
Common Causes of Neuropathy
Diabetes
Poorly managed diabetes is the leading cause of polyneuropathy in the United States. Diabetic neuropathy develops slowly over time due to excessive amounts of sugar being present in the blood. Eventually, this causes blood vessels to constrict, ultimately resulting in damage to the peripheral nerves.
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases are another common culprit when it comes to nerve damage. With an autoimmune disorder, your immune system attacks healthy cells in an effort to keep you healthy—in some instances, attacking nerve cells.
Some autoimmune diseases that can cause nerve damage include:
- Celiac disease
- Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome
- Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MNN)
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Vasculitis
Chemotherapy
For those receiving chemotherapy, about 40% experience some form of neuropathy as a side effect. In many cases, the painful symptoms of neuropathy subside once treatment has finished, while others continue to have nerve damage long afterward.
Injuries and Trauma
When it comes to mononeuropathy, injuries and trauma are the most common cause of singular nerve damage. Whether you’ve suffered from a bad fall or were involved in a motor vehicle accident, trauma can crush, compress, or overstretch nerves.
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is another common cause of peripheral nerve damage, with about 1 in 3 patients who are HIV/AIDS positive having peripheral neuropathy. Nerve damage can be a result of the virus itself or as a side effect of certain drugs used to treat it.
Other Risk Factors
Additional factors that can lead to nerve damage include:
- Alcohol
- Hereditary disorders
- Infection
- Medications
- Kidney failure
- Toxins
- Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies
Neuropathy Treatment in Addison & Tyler
Peripheral neuropathy can cause pain, tingling, and numbness that negatively affect your quality of life. Fortunately, you don’t have to rely on drug therapy to simply manage your pain; advanced technology can help to address the root of the problem. At Neuropathy Treatment Clinics of Texas we provide our patients with drug-free, customized treatment plans that utilize electric cell signaling treatment (ECST to help regenerate damaged nerve tissue.
Don’t continue to put up with your neuropathy symptoms. Call (972) 441-5634 to schedule an appointment with our team of specialists today.
