Finding Relief from Diabetes-Related Peripheral Neuropathy

Burning, stabbing, shock-like — these are just some of the adjectives used to describe the pain that can come with peripheral neuropathy, which is the medical term for nerve damage.

One of the biggest drivers of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes, which is diagnosed in more than 40 million Americans. Of this number, up to half will develop peripheral neuropathy, one of the most common complications of diabetes.

Since November is National Diabetes Month in the United States, our highly skilled team of pain management experts at Revive Spine and Pain Center thought it would be a good idea to review some treatment options for addressing peripheral neuropathy.

How diabetes leads to nerve damage

Let’s first set the stage for how diabetes can lead to nerve damage in the first place. As you know, when you have diabetes, your body isn’t able to properly control the levels of glucose in your blood thanks to insulin resistance and a lack of insulin production.

As a result, you can have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, which can damage the fragile blood vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients to your nerves. When this happens, nerve damage often ensues, leaving you with symptoms like:

• Numbness
• Tingling
• Pain
• Muscle weakness

In most cases, these symptoms develop in the lower legs and feet and less commonly in your upper extremities.

Relieving neuropathic symptoms

Diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy is often progressive, so we want to take action at the first signs of a problem. With early intervention, there’s a much better chance of containing and even reversing the nerve damage.

The first line of defense is to double down on your practices to control your blood sugar levels. After that, our role is to help you find ways to manage the symptoms while you take steps to improve your nerve health.

To start, we often conduct electrodiagnostic testing to fully assess the nerve damage, its location, and its severity. Through nerve conduction studies and electromyography, we can get a much clearer picture of what we’re up against.

From there, we review your symptoms to target those that are most disruptive. For pain, numbness, and tingling, we often recommend these nerve treatments:

• Prescription neuropathic pain medications, such as gabapentin or antidepressants
• Topical pain relief creams or patches 
• Peripheral nerve stimulation to disrupt pain signaling
• Transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS) treatments to disrupt pain signaling
• Medical acupuncture to encourage better circulation
• Corticosteroid injections
• B12 injections to boost nerve health

For even better results, we can combine these peripheral neuropathy treatments with some key lifestyle changes that can improve your nerve and overall health, such as:

• Exercise
• An anti-inflammatory and low glycemic diet
• Supplements

As you can see, there are some great options for managing peripheral neuropathy symptoms, and we’re committed to finding the right combination for your situation and goals.

To learn more about your treatment options for peripheral neuropathy, we invite you to contact us at one of our conveniently located offices in Marlton, Hamilton Township, Northfield, or East Brunswick, New Jersey, to schedule an appointment.