Blog Testing for Neuropathy
More than 20 million Americans suffer from peripheral neuropathy, which is a condition caused by damaged or diseased nerves. Symptoms can include numbness, tingling, sharp pain, and even weakness to the affected area of your body.
Our caring team of physicians at specializes in treating peripheral neuropathy. If you suffer from this painful condition, we can expertly diagnose and treat you. Treatment begins with proper screenings. Once we pinpoint what’s causing your symptoms, we can create a customized treatment plan to alleviate your pain and discomfort.
A neuropathy primer
Your peripheral nerves go from your spinal cord to various areas of your body, including your arms, hands, legs, and feet. If any of your peripheral nerves get damaged, this can lead to peripheral neuropathy.
With peripheral neuropathy, communication between your peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and brain is compromised. Diabetes is often a cause of this condition, but other factors can cause it as well.
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy
If you have diabetes, you may get diabetic peripheral neuropathy. With diabetic peripheral neuropathy, high blood sugar levels are responsible for damaging the nerves. The nerves in the hands, feet, and legs are disproportionately affected.
The core problem with diabetic neuropathy is that unregulated blood sugar negatively affects the circulatory system, meaning that the farther a body part is from your heart, the more difficult it is for blood to get there.
A perfect example is your feet. When they’re deprived of blood and oxygen, the communication between your nerves and the body parts they govern is weakened, and nerve damage occurs. Aside from its burning pain, diabetic neuropathy’s early signs also include “pins and needles” sensations and an inability to sense changes in temperature.
Other causes of peripheral neuropathy
- Injury
- Advancing age
- Autoimmune diseases
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Chemotherapy treatment
As the problem progresses and pain increases, you may be so sensitive that even the weight of a bedsheet on your feet can be unbearable. Your gait as you walk can change, too, and you may fall more often.
It's critical to get treatment as soon as possible, so nerve damage doesn’t become irreversible.
Testing for neuropathy
We offer the most advanced and thorough testing for neuropathy at every Premier Foot & Ankle office. First, we discuss your family and personal medical history. We may also test your reflexes and the level of sensation in your feet.
Next, we may test you with the SUDOSCANⓇ. This device is designed to detect autonomic peripheral neuropathy, which damages the nerves that control involuntary bodily functions. It can also detect small fiber neuropathy, which can strike the hands and feet or manifest as whole-body pain. SUDOSCAN testing is noninvasive and painless.
We’ve seen great results using this test on patients with diabetes, injury-related neuropathy, vitamin deficiencies, and those with a family history of neuropathy.
Treatment neuropathy
With an accurate diagnosis, we can treat your neuropathy from a place of confidence, whether we prescribe custom orthotics, nerve block injections, medication, or another approach.
We’ll also advise you about self-care practices, such as blood sugar regulation, exercise, and eating a healthy diet. Together, we’ll help you reduce your symptoms so you can live a full life.
To see if you have neuropathy or to get treatment if you do, book an appointment over the phone with Premier Foot & Ankle today.
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