Neuropathy Specialist

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a term for dysfunction of your peripheral nerves. These are the many nerves that spread throughout your body from their origins in your spinal cord.

Your peripheral nerves transmit messages to your brain, so you know whether something you’re touching is soft or rough, hot or cold, etc. Peripheral nerves also warn your brain when you suffer tissue damage by sending pain signals to your brain.

These pain signals trigger a response that makes you remove yourself from danger and attend to the injuries. When you have neuropathy, something interferes with this system of communication.

What are the symptoms of neuropathy?

Neuropathy symptoms vary depending on which nerves the condition is affecting. Your nerves might send pain messages when there’s no tissue damage, or you might experience:

• Tingling
• Prickling
• Burning
• Pins-and-needles sensation
• Weakness

Neuropathy can also stop the nerves from functioning altogether, so you develop numbness in some areas.

What causes peripheral neuropathy?

There are multiple causes of peripheral neuropathy. Trauma, infections, tumors, and a range of diseases can cause neuropathy, including:

• Sjögren’s syndrome
• Lupus
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• Bone marrow disorders
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Connective tissue disorders
• Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (a complication of diabetes) and postherpetic neuralgia (a symptom of shingles) are two common causes of neuropathy.

What treatments are available for peripheral neuropathy?

Diagnosing the cause of your neuropathy is an important first step, as finding the most effective treatments may depend on what’s triggering the pain. For example, improving your diabetes management is vital when treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Capital Pain Consultants chooses the most appropriate treatments for your neuropathy from a selection that includes:

• Physical therapy
• Ice and heat
• Medications
• Steroid injections
• Radiofrequency ablation

Many forms of neuropathy improve significantly with these treatments. If you’re failing to see any improvement in your symptoms, your provider at Capital Pain Consultants might suggest advanced interventions like spinal cord stimulation or a pain pump.

These treatments involve having a small device implanted under your skin. A spinal cord stimulator disrupts the nerve signals before they reach your brain so you stop feeling pain. An intrathecal pain pump is a way of delivering a regular dose of pain medication directly into your tissues.

To find out more about these and other options for treating neuropathy, call Capital Pain Consultants today, or book an appointment online.