Neuropathy is known to cause pain and numbness in your hands and feet. The pain can be severe and unrelenting. It can also cause muscle weakness, making everyday activities like walking difficult. Arlington neuropathy occurs when the nerves throughout your body are damaged or become dysfunctional.
Nerves carry messages from your brain to your muscles, organs, and skin. When these nerves don’t function correctly, you may experience symptoms such as tingling, extreme sensitivity to touch, pain, burning sensations and muscle weakness. Neuropathy can occur on its own or in association with other conditions, such as diabetes or alcoholism.
Below are the symptoms and potential causes of neuropathy.
Numbness
The most common symptom of neuropathy is numbness or tingling in the feet or hands that spread up from toes to fingertips or from fingers down to knees. The sensation may be described as pins and needles. Sometimes there is a burning sensation or shooting pains in addition to numbness or tingling sensations.
Pain in hands and feet
Neuropathy is characterized by burning, sharp, throbbing pain that sometimes feels like electric shocks running through them (paresthesias). Pain can be constant or intermittent. It might come and go throughout the day or night randomly.
Charcot foot
Diabetic neuropathy can cause Charcot foot, which makes your feet more susceptible to injury and deformity due to nerve damage. If you have diabetic neuropathy and are at risk for Charcot foot, you should have regular checkups with your doctor and podiatrist to prevent injury and treat problems early on.
What are the risk factors of neuropathy?
Several risk factors may increase your chances of developing neuropathy. These include:
Genetic factors: Genetic mutations may play a role in some cases of neuropathy. These genes may be inherited from your parents or caused by environmental exposures during pregnancy or after birth.
Chronic alcoholism: Chronic alcoholism is the most common risk factor for neuropathy. Alcohol abuse can cause various problems, including malnutrition and vitamin B-1 deficiency, leading to peripheral neuropathy.
Cancer: Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy can cause nerve damage, which may be temporary or permanent. Some cancers involve malignant cells that enter the peripheral nervous system through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The most common cancers associated with neuropathy are those affecting the digestive system, liver and pancreas (such as pancreatic cancer). Other cancers linked to neuropathy include leukemia and lymphoma.
If you develop neuropathy, it is crucial you know that the condition can be treated with lifestyle changes, medications and physical therapy. Surgery may sometimes be necessary if more conservative treatments don’t work.
Neuropathy is nerve damage that causes pain, numbness and other symptoms. It can happen when the nerves are damaged by diabetes or certain medicines, as well as in some diseases and injuries. Neuropathy can affect your feet, legs, hands and arms. You may have burning or tingling sensations that feel like pins and needles. You might also lose feeling in parts of your body. If you have neuropathy, contact Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists.
