Peripheral neuropathy refers to symptoms mainly characterized by pain, tingling, and abnormal sensations in the feet. These symptoms arise due to damage to the peripheral nerves. Coldness, heat, or prickling sensations are all results of sensory abnormalities. You might experience tingling when walking or feel an intense heat in your feet that wakes you up frequently at night. If you experience abnormal sensations without any external stimuli, it is crucial to seek treatment. If left untreated, the painful area can gradually extend upwards from your calves to your thighs and lower abdomen. The wider the affected area, the more challenging it becomes to treat.
Causes of Peripheral Neuropathy
The primary causes of peripheral neuropathy include diabetes, chemotherapy, alcoholism, nutritional deficiencies, and autoimmune diseases. Severe diabetes results in thickened blood, blocking capillaries and preventing clean blood from reaching the peripheral nerves. Consequently, peripheral nerve function deteriorates, causing abnormal sensations. Chemotherapy, while targeting cancer cells, also damages healthy peripheral nerve cells, resulting in sensory abnormalities. Excessive alcohol consumption overly stimulates nerves, and nutritional deficiencies impair peripheral nerve function. Autoimmune diseases cause the body to attack its own peripheral nerves, leading to neuropathy. Other factors such as obesity, mental disorders like anxiety and depression, sleep disorders, and excessive medication use can also trigger peripheral neuropathy.
Conventional Treatments
Conventional treatments for peripheral neuropathy often include narcotic painkillers, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants to alleviate symptoms. However, if peripheral nerve cells do not recover during this period, continuous medication becomes necessary.
TCM Approach to Treatment
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), peripheral neuropathy is also attributed to the weakening of organs, stagnation of phlegm, and blood stasis (toxins in the blood). TCM focuses on restoring peripheral nerve cells to alleviate symptoms, ensuring that abnormal sensations subside as nerves regenerate. What processes must occur in the body for peripheral nerves to heal? Peripheral nerves are also body cells. Just as skin cells require clean blood and regenerative substances to heal a wound, peripheral nerve cells need the same.
Comprehensive Body Assessment
Instead of solely addressing symptoms, it is essential to consider the overall body condition, including the functioning of internal organs involved in nutrient absorption and nerve regeneration, as well as the state of Qi and blood circulation. Comprehensive and systematic analysis is necessary to ensure that nerve cells regenerate properly, receive adequate nutrients and blood, maintain stable blood sugar levels, and are not hindered by factors that impede nerve recovery.
Personalized Treatment
Therefore, to escape the suffering of peripheral neuropathy, it is crucial to undergo examinations and consultations to accurately understand your constitution and current state. As individual constitutions and symptoms vary, personalized acupuncture and herbal prescriptions are required. Some patients experience significant improvement with just acupuncture treatment, while others benefit solely from TCM herbs.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, contact Equilibrium Acupuncture & Herbs Clinic today to schedule a consultation with Chang il Hong (Edward) R.Ac, RTCMP.
