Chiropractor for Algonquin and Lake in the Hills

Holistic Peripheral Neuropathy Treatment in Algonquin, IL

Take Control of Your Peripheral Neuropathy!

Are you tired of living with numbness, tingling or pain in your hands and feet? Do you wish there was a natural treatment for neuropathy pain that was effective, non-invasive and long-lasting? We have great news! Algonquin Chiropractic Center can help with proven peripheral neuropathy treatment! Continue reading to learn how chiropractic care can bring much-needed and well-deserved relief.

Get to the Root Cause of Your Peripheral Neuropathy

You can’t solve a problem unless you know what’s causing it. This seems logical, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, too often, physicians will provide peripheral neuropathy treatment that masks the symptoms with potentially addictive pain medications rather than healing the source of the issue. Medications like Lyrica or Cymbalta are often prescribed to treat the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Unfortunately, these drugs don’t counteract nerve damage.

At Algonquin Chiropractic Center, we’ve developed innovative treatments that heal damaged nerves. These techniques typically result in significant symptom improvement for our neuropathy patients.

A woman rubs her sore feet from peripheral neuropathy foot pain

Avoid the Pitfalls of Potentially Addictive Medications

Another problem with the standard medical approach is it often uses potentially addictive painkillers. We don’t want you to become another victim of opioid addiction. Instead, try our peripheral neuropathy treatment, which is entirely medication-free and often more effective in the long run than medicine.

Learn How to Fight Back Against Your Peripheral Neuropathy

Most doctors’ standard response to peripheral neuropathy is to tell you to live with the pain. Not so at Algonquin Chiropractic! Our treatments give you the power to recover from your condition. We will show you steps you can take toward a pain-free lifestyle, including exercise, nutritional advice and more!

Hear From One of Our Peripheral Neuropathy Patients

Dr. Galante has always been clear and up front with what I need to do for my health and goals and what I can expect. I...

Posted by Debbie Mace on Thursday, December 28, 2017

Discover Exercises That Will Recover Your Balance

Loss of coordination and balance is a significant detriment to most peripheral neuropathy patients. Nevertheless, we will help you regain your balance through physical therapy techniques to restore your strength and equilibrium. Treatments include vibration therapy, stretches and other exercises you can do at home.

Transform Your Diet for a Neuropathy-Free Lifestyle

Believe it or not, there is a connection between what you eat and your peripheral neuropathy. We will show you how to change your diet to decrease symptoms. Not only will this counteract your neuropathy, but it can also enrich your overall health for years to come.

Improve Your Sleep with Less-Severe Symptoms

If peripheral neuropathy makes it difficult to sleep, you will especially enjoy the effects of chiropractic care. Many of our patients express relief as our treatments decrease the frequency and severity of their interruption. These improvements will make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Get Back to the Activities You Enjoy!

Peripheral neuropathy takes the joy out of so many hobbies and pursuits. It’s hard to appreciate life’s simple pleasures when you’re suffering from constant numbness, tingling and pain. The good news is that chiropractic care can significantly decrease those annoying sensations and free you to enjoy the activities you love again! Please give us a call using the button below to learn how we can help you.

Neuropathy Affects More Than 24 Million Americans. Here’s What You Need to Know About It.

Have you heard of the common nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy (PN)? Perhaps you’ve recently been diagnosed with the disorder and have come to our post seeking answers. In any case, we are glad you’re here because educating yourself about PN is an excellent decision for your health.

This comprehensive post will educate you on all aspects of peripheral neuropathy, from what it is to how it’s diagnosed and the available treatment methods. We hope you find it helpful on your journey to a pain-free lifestyle.

What is Peripheral Neuropathy?

Peripheral neuropathy is a disorder that affects many “peripheral” nerves throughout the body. Specifically, it occurs within the peripheral nervous system. These are all the nerves in your body outside the brain and spinal cord.

There are three types of nerves in the peripheral nervous system. Each connects the spinal cord to muscles, skin and internal organs. Here are the three nerves and their functions:

  • Sensory Nerves: Receive sensations such as pain, temperature, touch, and vibration from the skin.
  • Motor Nerves: Control the movement of your muscles.
  • Autonomic Nerves: Control passive functions like digestion, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Peripheral neuropathy occurs when a part of these nerves, known as the nerve axon, is damaged. The nerve axon is a long, slender projection that projects electrical impulses away from the nerve. Consequently, the nerves no longer function like they should. Instead, they either fail to send signals, send signals at incorrect times, or send the wrong signals.

What causes the nerve damage? Poor circulation. A lack of blood flow to the nerve means it’s not nourished and doesn’t get the oxygen or nutrition it needs. Thus, the nerve starts to die.

Diagram displaying a healthy nerve and a nerve that has been damaged by neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy damages the nerve axon, which transmits nerve impulses to the body.

What are the Symptoms of the Disorder?

The symptoms that result from neuropathy’s disruptive effects vary depending on the type of nerves damaged. The areas of the body most commonly affected by PN are the hands and feet. However, the disorder can also affect the internal organs.

Here’s a breakdown of the condition’s symptoms based on the different types of nerves affected.

Sensory Nerve Symptoms

Since sensory nerves have many different functions, the symptoms tend to vary, but here are the most prominent:

  • Numbness, tingling, or prickling in feet or hands
  • Extreme sensitivity to touch
  • Pain characterized as sharp, stabbing, burning, freezing, or throbbing
  • Decreased “proprioception,” leading to a loss of balance

Motor Nerve Symptoms

Because they control the muscles, neuropathy in these nerves leads to deficiencies in strength and agility:

  • Weakness or paralysis of muscles
  • Loss of coordination, falling
  • Cramps or intense muscle twitching

Automatic Nerve Symptoms

When it’s the autonomic nerves that are affected, the following problems with external and internal organs can occur:

  • Unusual sweating and intolerance to heat
  • Problems with the bladder, bowels, and digestion
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness caused by changes to blood pressure

Neuropathy can affect one type of nerves or multiple types. When it only damages one kind, it’s called mononeuropathy; when multiple types are involved, it’s called polyneuropathy.

One famous type of mononeuropathy is carpal tunnel syndrome, in which the median sensory nerve in the hand is the only one damaged. Unsurprisingly, polyneuropathies are much more challenging to diagnose than mononeuropathies since their causes and symptoms can tend to vary.

What are the Causes of Peripheral Neuropathy?

There are many known causes of this disorder. In the United States, the most prominent causes include diabetes, chemotherapy, and HIV/AIDS. However, for about one-fourth of Americans with peripheral neuropathy, their conditions are idiopathic or of unknown cause.

Other less common causes of PN include:

  • Alcoholism
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Tumors
  • Heredity
  • Trauma or pressure exerted on a nerve
  • Nutritional imbalances
  • Infections

Determining the cause of neuropathy is important because it allows doctors to treat the condition more effectively. In the next section, we will examine some differences between the most common types of neuropathies.

What are the Main Types of Neuropathy?

The five most prevalent kinds of PN in the United States are diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), HIV/AIDS neuropathy, idiopathic neuropathy, and alcoholic neuropathy.

Here are some facts you should know about each type:

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

This type of PN is the most common in the United States. Over 60% of diabetics in this country have developed some form of the disorder. DPN can affect the sensory, motor, or autonomic nerves with varying severity. But the important thing to note is the longer DPN goes untreated, the more severe it will get. So, diabetics should seek treatment right away if they start experiencing neuropathy symptoms.

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

One of the many unfortunate side effects of chemotherapy is neuropathy. As a result, over 30% of chemo patients in this country experience some form of nerve damage. Furthermore, in some cases, the neuropathy can sometimes persist long after chemo treatment is complete

HIV/AIDS Peripheral Neuropathy

One-third of all Americans with HIV/AIDS suffer from symptoms of PN. There are a few reasons for this, the most prominent being the disease itself and the medications used to treat it. Researchers believe HIV causes the disorder because of the inflammation it creates in the immune system. And drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS have also caused PN by damaging cells within the nerves.

Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy

Although there is no known cause for idiopathic PN, we do know that it typically affects people over 60 and slowly worsens over time. So, older individuals should watch out for PN symptoms to develop and seek treatment early to counteract the condition.

Alcoholic Neuropathy

Experts are not entirely sure why alcoholism leads to PN. However, many suspect it has something to do with alcohol preventing essential nutrients from getting to the nerves. So, the best thing someone with alcoholic PN can do is stop drinking and begin improving their health with our neuropathy program, which includes vitamin supplements and physical therapy. While symptoms of PN may hang around long after the drinking has stopped, full recovery is possible with time.

A man's hands are in pain because of peripheral neuropathy.
Idiopathic neuropathy can cause hand pain in older adults.

How Do Doctors Diagnose PN?

Since PN comes in so many different forms, diagnosing the disorder can be complicated. For this reason, physicians employ many methods of identifying neuropathy. Often, they will use a combination of these methods to determine the exact nature of the PN.

Here are just a few of the approaches that doctors use to diagnose the disorder:

  • Asking about a patient’s medical history
  • Blood tests
  • Neurological exams, including sensory testing
  • Body fluid tests
  • Muscle strength tests
  • Electromyography
  • Nerve biopsy
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • CT scan

These tests monitor many different parts of the body and allow doctors to pinpoint the location and severity of the nerve damage. If performed early enough, they can help doctors treat neuropathy before it becomes too severe.

What is the Prognosis for Peripheral Neuropathy?

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for peripheral neuropathy. However, as discussed below, there are ways to treat the condition and lessen the symptoms. Still, we must emphasize the fact that if left untreated, PN can lead to all sorts of issues.

For example, diabetic PN often leads to limb amputations that could have been prevented. This happens because people with diabetes don’t seek treatment for their disorder until it’s too late, allowing the neuropathy to worsen over time. Thus, serious problems like gangrene or foot ulcers develop, which necessitate amputation.

Other potentially serious complications include malfunctions of the heart and circulatory system. These problems may lead to a patient requiring blood pressure treatment or a pacemaker.

Of course, these complications are only worst-case scenarios. People can avoid them by quickly starting peripheral neuropathy treatment. Read on to find out about the prevention methods and treatments available.

How Can You Prevent the Disorder?

You can prevent PN before it starts by making good lifestyle choices right now. These choices should include eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, and not smoking. You should also take good care of your hands and feet and avoid letting injuries go untreated.

You should also be aware of drugs that can cause peripheral neuropathy. These include anti-alcohol drugs, cancer medications, and heart or blood pressure drugs. If you are taking medicines that you think may be exaggerating your PN, then you should talk with your doctor about discontinuing or reducing the dosage.

What Treatments Are Available for PN?

Once you’ve been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, you have two basic choices to address the symptoms: the medical model or our chiropractic model.

The Medical Model for PN Treatment

First is the medical model, which has one fundamental goal: control the symptoms. The medications that physicians use for chronic neuropathic pain fall under several classes of drugs, such as antidepressants, anticonvulsants, pain patches, and opioid painkillers. Commonly used medications include Lyrica, Cymbalta, Gabapentin, and Neurontin.

This approach may make you more comfortable, but you probably won’t like the side effects of the drugs. More importantly, while these meds do lessen the symptoms, they’re only masking and covering up the pain while the nerve damage continues to get worse with time.

The Chiropractic Model for Neuropathy Pain Relief

The second approach requires you to think differently. If you’ve been to medical doctors or neurologists, they will tell you that there is “nothing you can do,” and you will have to “learn to live with the pain.” However, this isn’t true.

Chiropractic care can heal the nerves and address the root cause of neuropathy. At Algonquin Chiropractic, we have developed an innovative and systematic approach to treating neuropathy and helping our clients recover. Treatment methods we utilize for this condition include:

  • Seated vibration therapy
  • Standing vibration therapy
  • Home therapy (where we send equipment to your home)
  • Changes to diet and nutrition
  • Orthotics

Our patients often see a significant reduction in symptoms and a drastic improvement in coordination. Our system is likely a good fit for you if you’ve already tried other medical therapies.

A woman walks in nature because she has recovered from neuropathy.
Chiropractic care can help you overcome neuropathy and get back to doing what you love!

As we have seen, peripheral neuropathy is a serious disorder that affects many Americans every year. It has many causes and, if left untreated, can lead to some devastating results. Fortunately, treatments exist to counteract this disorder and bring people much-needed relief.

So, if you have been experiencing symptoms of PN, do not delay! We at Algonquin Chiropractic can diagnose and treat your neuropathy. We’re also happy to answer any lingering questions you may have about the disorder.

Do you suffer from peripheral neuropathy in Algonquin, IL?
Contact us today to start your journey to health!