If you’ve ever felt a strange tingling in your feet, a burning pain in your hands, or even numbness that makes walking or holding things tricky, you might be dealing with something called peripheral neuropathy. For those with diabetes, it’s often referred to as diabetic neuropathy. These conditions can feel overwhelming, but with the right approach, they don’t have to stop you from living a fulfilling life.
What Is Peripheral/Diabetic Neuropathy?
The peripheral nervous system is the network of nerves that lie outside the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Think of these nerves as electrical wires that carry messages between your brain and body. When these wires are damaged, the messages can get scrambled, leading to sensations like tingling, pain, or numbness.
For people with diabetes, high blood sugar can damage the nerves over time, leading to a serious condition that may affect 50% of people with diabetes. High blood sugar damages the tiny blood vessels that supply your nerves, essentially “starving” them of the nutrients they need to function properly. Overtime, this leads to nerve damage.
What Are The Symptoms?
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can include:
- Numbness and tingling in the feet or hands
- Burning or shooting pain
- Muscle weakness
How You Can Manage It?
Living with neuropathy can be challenging, but there are many ways to manage the condition and improve your quality of life. For those with diabetes, managing your blood sugar is the most important step. Consistently high blood sugar can worsen nerve damage, while steady blood sugar levels can slow it down. Work closely with your doctor to monitor your levels and make necessary adjustments to your diet, medication, or insulin routine.
Exercise isn’t just good for your heart and muscles- it can help with neuropathy too. Physical activity improves blood flow to your nerves and can ease symptoms like pain and numbness. You don’t need to run marathons; gentle activities like walking, swimming, or yoga are great options. Start small. Even 10 minutes a day can make a difference, and you can gradually increase as you feel more comfortable.
Living with neuropathy means making some adjustments, but it doesn’t mean giving up the things you love. Setting routines, like checking your feet every morning, can become second nature. Assistive devices such as grab bars, canes, or specialized shoes can help you move around safely and confidently. Education is also empowering- the more you understand about neuropathy, the better equipped you’ll be to manage it. Penrose Physical Therapy would be happy to help you with your questions.
Peripheral and diabetic neuropathy may be lifelong conditions, but they don’t have to define your life. By taking proactive steps to manage your health, protect your nerves, and ease symptoms, you can continue to enjoy the activities and moments that matter most. Penrose Physical Therapy is currently utilizing new technology like pulsed radio frequency to help restore nerves. The next several weeks will be focused on the topic of neuropathy, and we will be sharing more information regarding treatment options that will help. Stay tuned for our upcoming workshop on this in the coming weeks.
Penrose Physical Therapy is located at 1445 Galaxy Dr. NE Suite 301 Lacey, WA 98516 and you can reach us at 360-456-1444 or email info@penrosept.com.
