Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral Neuropathy is a common condition that affects 20 million Americans. Peripheral Neuropathy is the weakness, numbness, and pain from nerve damage commonly found in the hands and feet.
Common Causes of Peripheral Neuropathy are:
- Diabetes
- Poor Metabolic Health
- Autoimmune
- Chemo Therapy
- Chemical Exposure
- Medications
- Infections
- Nerve Impingement
- Kidney or Liver Disease
- Alcoholism
Peripheral Neuropathy Treatments
Dr. Ken Haycock and Dr. Tim Vierheller use non-surgical treatments to help your nerves heal rather than mask the pain with medications. Most patients see results after a few sessions.
Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow.
As the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to "die" they cause balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms.
The main problem is the doctors have said to just live with the problem or try the drugs which most people don’t like taking because they make them feel uncomfortable. There is now a facility right here in Massillon that offers hope without taking those endless drugs with serious side effects.
Treating Neuropathy
In order to effectively treat neuropathy, three factors must be determined.
- What is the underlying cause?
- How much nerve damage has been sustained?
- How much treatment will be required?
The treatment that is provided has three main goals:
- Increase blood flow
- Stimulate small fiber nerves
- Decrease brain-based pain
The treatment to increase blood flow utilizes a specialized low-level light therapy (not to be confused with laser therapy) using light-emitting diode technology. This technology was created by NASA to assist in increasing blood flow. The low-level light therapy is like watering a plant. The light therapy will allow the blood vessels to grow back around the peripheral nerves and provide them with the proper nutrients to heal and repair. It's like adding water to a plant and seeing the roots grow deeper and deeper.
The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be determined after a detailed evaluation.
