Best Diabetic Neuropathy Treatment for Hands and Feet
Diabetes comes with many challenges and complications, one of the most common being diabetic neuropathy. This condition varies in symptoms and severity from person to person, but if left untreated, it can cause serious complications. Fortunately, there are many different treatments for diabetic neuropathy.
What is Diabetic Neuropathy?
Caused by uncontrolled blood sugar, neuropathy is damage to the nervous system. This common condition is sometimes called peripheral neuropathy, and it can happen to patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The nerve damage happens over time, caused by elevated glucose levels, and it cause a dangerous numbness in the feet. This makes people with diabetes vulnerable to serious damage, because they may not notice an injury to the foot until it has caused further problems, like infections. Even though there is numbness associated with this condition, there is also pain, and the pain caused by diabetic neuropathy occurs because of several factors.
- Nerve compression can occur because of an accumulation of glucose that makes the outer nerve tissue swell.
- Uncontrolled blood sugar can cause chronic inflammation, which can also disrupt the nerves’ normal functioning.
- Poor blood circulation can happen because of damage done to blood vessels, and this can lead to nerve damage and pain.
- Autoimmune reactions related to diabetes can cause the immune system to mistakenly attack nerve cells.
- Poor nutrition and the side effects of some diabetes medications can create vitamin deficiencies that negatively impact nerve function.
Common Diabetic Neuropathy Symptoms: Are You Waking Up with Numb Hands?
Diabetes has many complications, some of which can’t be determined without testing blood or urine. However, diabetic neuropathy presents with some pretty clear symptoms. If you wake up with numb hands and feet, or extremities with a pins and needles feeling, it could be peripheral neuropathy. Of course, everyone has those prickly feelings once in a while, but typically only from sleeping in a strange position or sitting in a way that your foot “falls asleep”. If the numbness, tingling, or prickly feeling persists or happens often, schedule a doctor’s appointment. Peripheral neuropathy can also cause a burning feeling, or sharp pains or muscle cramps. Sometimes, these pains can be so bad that the interfere with daily activities. Areas affected by neuropathy may also feel overly sensitive to touch, making even light pressure or contact painful. A person with diabetic neuropathy might experience muscle weakness in the hands and feet, or changes in temperature sensitivity.
Causes of Diabetic Foot Pain and Diabetic Neuropathy
Anyone with diabetes is at risk of diabetic foot pain and neuropathy. However, there are certain things that increase a person’s risk of developing these issues. First and foremost, failing to control blood sugar can create a host of problems, raising the risk of every complication associated with diabetes, including the nerve damage that leads to neuropathy. The longer you have diabetes, the greater your risk of developing neuropathy, even more so if you do not properly control your blood sugar. Someone with kidney disease as well as diabetes is at higher risk of nerve damage, because the damaged kidney will send toxins into the blood. Another risk factor for neuropathy is being overweight, with a BMI of 25 or higher. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are both linked with a higher risk of neuropathy, and smoking is of particular concern. When a person smokes, the arteries become hard and narrow, and this disrupts circulation to the hands and feet. Not only does this damage the peripheral nerves, but it also makes it more difficult for wounds to heal. If you have diabetes, make necessary lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of developing diabetic neuropathy, by eating a nutritious diet, refraining from smoking, getting regular exercise, and following your doctor’s instructions. Wear comfortable, supportive, well-fitting shoes, and inspect your feet daily for damage.
Treatment for Symptoms of Neuropathy
Fortunately, there are several different types of treatment for neuropathy. If you are experiencing neuropathy, first, schedule a consultation with a pain specialist. After evaluating your condition, your doctor will help you craft a plan that effectively treats your symptoms and alleviates your pain. Pain management is not a “one size fits all” practice, and what works for you might be different than what works for someone else. Your doctor will be working on a treatment plan that addresses not only the pain, but also the nerve damage. Some of the treatments that have proven effective for treatment of diabetic neuropathy include:
- Medications can help with nerve pain and blood sugar levels.
- Physical therapy is used to improve mobility and reduce pain.
- Nerve blocks and injections are particularly helpful for severe nerve pain, because they offer targeted relief.
- Advanced therapies may prove useful, like spinal cord stimulation (SCS). This pain management technique uses electrical currents to block pain. By interrupting pain signals from the nerves to the brain, this non-invasive treatment can alleviate or even eliminate pain.
- Alternative therapies like acupuncture may bring relief, as can transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive procedure that uses electromagnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. This has the potential to block pain signals, alleviating neuropathy symptoms.
Contact Greater Maryland Pain Management for Diabetic Neuropathy Treatment
If you are dealing with the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy, schedule a diagnostic consultation with Greater Maryland Pain Management. As the field of medicine continues to evolve, our team strives to bring our patients the most effective, innovative, non-invasive treatments, to help them overcome life-limiting pain. Our practice was founded by Jank Vidyarthi, MD, a board-certified, award-winning Interventional Pain Management physician who has helped thousands of people to overcome chronic pain. We pride ourselves in treating each patient with the care and compassion we’d show our own loved ones, helping them to improve their quality of life through a customized approach that addresses the patient’s unique needs. We have multiple locations and schedule appointments quickly, sometimes even the same day, so contact us for a consultation.