Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that can slowly reduce your health, mobility, and ability to do the things you love to do. The pain associated with this condition is bad enough. But once numbness starts to set in and you can no longer feel your feet beneath you, your risk of developing ulcers and infections, falling, and suffering other serious complications goes through the roof.
At Sunshein Podiatry, we help people throughout the greater Dayton area manage proper diabetic foot care and address other issues that often contribute to peripheral neuropathy. Revolutionary new treatments enable our Centerville podiatrists to restore a significantly higher level of nerve function than ever before.
But let’s be clear—this is still a dangerous, progressive condition that often causes permanent damage to nerves in the feet. And the longer you let it progress, the harder it is to manage, treat, and reverse. That means that identifying the early signs of the condition—and taking important steps toward treatment immediately—is of critical importance.
What Are the Most Common Risk Factors for Neuropathy?
Nerve pain doesn't always have a clearly identifiable cause. Approximately 5% of cases are idiopathic: this means the reason for the problem is unknown. That said, if you do suffer from any of the following risk factors, you should be especially vigilant:
- Diabetes. High blood sugar causes chronic inflammation, which deprives nerves of the oxygen and nutrients they need to flourish, and eventually causes them to weaken and die. More than half of people with diabetes eventually develop some form of neuropathy.
- Physical trauma. One or more nerves may have been damaged by an accident, injury, or even a surgical mistake.
- Smoking. In addition to causing many other physical problems, smoking limits blood supply and circulation to the feet, which can damage nerves over time.
- Nutritional deficiencies. If you aren’t getting enough of key nutrients, especially B vitamins, your nerves might not have the nourishment they need. Additionally, alcohol misuse often contributes to deficiencies since it prevents these key nutrients from being used efficiently by the body.
- Autoimmune diseases. Other health conditions known to be linked with neuropathy include, but aren't limited to, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and Sjögren’s syndrome.
- Kidney and liver problems. If your body can’t properly filter toxins from the blood, nerve health can be compromised.
Again, these aren't the only possible risk factors associated with peripheral neuropathy, and you don’t necessarily need to have any of them to develop it. However, if any of the above situations or conditions apply to you, be on alert for the following symptoms.
What Are Early Signs of Peripheral Neuropathy?
The condition doesn't present in the same way for every person. Symptoms often depend on the type of nerves damaged and their location. That said, most cases proceed through a series of stages as the disease progresses. Typical first-stage neuropathy warning signs include:
- Itchiness
- Tingling, prickling, or “pins-and-needles” sensation
- Burning sensations
- Sudden, intermittent “electric shock” pain
- Intermittent muscle spasms or cramping
- Hypersensitivity to touch or temperature
- Restless leg syndrome
Often, the symptoms are relatively mild and infrequent. You might go several hours, days, or even months between episodes of discomfort. However, without taking steps to manage and reverse your neuropathy, the condition will get worse.
What Symptoms Appear As Neuropathy Worsens?
They start to get more frequent and intense. Eventually, pain may become so disruptive that you need to be on several powerful medications just to try to get through your daily life. And this is really only the midpoint of peripheral neuropathy’s progression as far as stages go. That’s because once the nerves become sufficiently damaged, they begin to lose the ability to feel anything—including pain.
While that seems like this later stage would be a relief to those struggling with daily pain, this is actually when neuropathy is most dangerous. Not being able to feel your feet means you have a much higher risk of all sorts of accidents and injuries, including tripping, foot ulcerations, infections, even severe deformities. You may even lose the ability to walk confidently, operate the pedals of your vehicle safely, or participate in various physical activities you once enjoyed.
How Our Centerville Podiatrists at Sunshein Podiatry Help You Be More Proactive
First things first: if you have a diabetes diagnosis, you should have a comprehensive foot and ankle checkup at our office at least once per year, whether or not you have any previous history of foot problems or nerve problems. As we said, more than half of people with diabetes eventually develop some form of neuropathy. And often, there's considerable nerve damage present before you even start to notice symptoms. However, our nerve specialists help you detect problems earlier, giving you more time to avoid or mitigate negative outcomes.
But even if you don't have diabetes, take any symptoms seriously that could indicate peripheral neuropathy. If you recognize some of the early warning signs, don’t leave it to chance—give us a call. Sunshein Podiatry is one of the leading peripheral nerve treatment centers not just in Greater Dayton, but throughout Ohio and the Midwest. We're a top preferred provider of Neurogenx, an advanced procedure that uses both chemical nerve blocks and electrical stimulation to not only alleviate discomfort, but also help nerves heal and restore lost function.
And although we sound like a broken record at this point, it bears repeating: the sooner you address early signs of peripheral neuropathy and make any necessary lifestyle changes, the better your odds for a complete and satisfying recovery—ensuring a long, healthy, active, and pain-free lifestyle afterward.