Neuropathy Boston > Blog > herniated disc

A lot of people hear that there is no cure for neuropathy, and they get discouraged. Not Susan…

A lot of people hear that there is no cure for neuropathy, and they get discouraged.  They resign themselves to the idea that they will live with their symptoms forever, and might never find relief.  One of our favorite things is being able to dispel this misconception and let someone know that NeuropathyDR® has the means to lessen their pain and improve their life.   “No cure” isn’t the same thing as “no help!”

A great example of a patient we have been able to help with the NeuropathyDR® methodology is Susan.  Susan is a diabetic in middle age who has suffered for more than twenty years with neuropathy symptoms.  Most prominently, Susan has tingling and severe pain in her feet, with the same problem less severely in her hands and arms.  Susan’s pain was so bad that she had trouble telling hot from cold, and even experienced trouble walking.

When she came to us, Susan was taking prescription-strength Advil several times a week for the pain in her hands and feet.  Medication has its place, and can be effective in some cases, but it is too often the first—and last—course of action people with neuropathy are given.  NeuropathyDR® takes a different approach.  We use newer, non-pharmaceutical methods that have been proven to reduce pain and numbness in cases like Susan’s.  We are pleased to report that after applying the NeuropathyDR® protocols, Susan’s symptoms subsided drastically and her quality of life began to improve by leaps and bounds.

footCMT 200x300 A lot of people hear that there is no cure for neuropathy, and they get discouraged. Not Susan...

Welcome relief at the hands of highly trained NeuropathyDR professionals!

Especially in the short term, we want to help reduce the overall level of chronic pain and restore any mobility that might be lost.  In a case like Susan’s, the NeuropathyDR® protocols target three specific areas of treatment:

  • Specifically-directed manual therapies to correct aberrant motion or misalignment in areas of the spine and pelvis, as well as addressing the soft tissue contractures in the neck, legs, feet, arms, and hands.
  • Our NeuropathyDR® nutrition protocol, consisting of a daily regimen of combined nutrients that have been proven to be supportive of the nervous system in slowing the progression of neuropathy and healing damage.
  • Finally, the application of ReBuilder neuro-stimulation in the affected areas.  We use a waveform treatment in the office and at home that opens up nerve pathways to let them heal.

Susan came back for a round of treatments with us three times a week for five weeks, for a total of fifteen treatments.  Following each treatment, Susan reported that the level of pain and tingling had subsided by two-thirds or more!

After applying the NeuropathyDR® protocol, Susan noticed a terrific improvement in her lifestyle.  In her own words, her energy level tripled, and the inflammation and pain in her feet had reduced by ninety percent.  Our objective tests, going by a round before and after the treatments, showed that Susan’s range of motion without pain had also increased, and her ability to sense heat, cold, and vibration had drastically improved.  Perhaps the biggest lifestyle-boost of all, Susan experienced much less pain when walking after applying the NeuropathyDR® methods for five weeks.

We followed up with Susan three months after her treatments with us, and she was continuing to do extremely well.  She has been diligent about keeping up her assigned home-care treatments, and she visits her clinician as-needed for checkups.  Since Susan has struggled with symptoms of diabetic neuropathy for more than twenty years, this kind of progress makes her a real success story!

If you have neuropathy symptoms, whether they are similar to Susan’s or a completely different kind, we are here to help!  Remember; never wait when it comes to neuropathy—the sooner we establish there is a problem, the more a clinician will be able to help you!  Contact us, and we can put you in touch with a NeuropathyDR® clinician who is specially trained to treat you.

Why Herniated Discs Can Cause Neuropathy

Have you been diagnosed with a herniated disc?

mail 61 111x150 Why Herniated Discs Can Cause Neuropathy

If your herniated disc is putting pressure on nerves, you’re in danger of developing nerve damage and neuropathy wherever the nerves are affected.

If so, you probably have the usual symptoms[1]:

  • Low backache
  • Numbness (if the disc is actually pressing on a nerve)
  • Leg pain

Those symptoms are no surprise.

But what may be a surprise are other symptoms[2]:

  • Severe, sharp, electric shock-like, shooting pain
  • Deep burning or cold in the feet or legs
  • Numbness, tingling or weakness in the feet and legs that doesn’t go away
  • Radiating pain down the legs and into the feet
  • Muscle spasms and deep muscle pain

And those symptoms could be caused by neuropathy – a condition you probably never heard of until you developed a herniated disc.

So Why Does a Herniated Disc Cause Neuropathy?

A herniated disc alone may not cause you that much pain.  The pain you experience is caused by the disc putting pressure on the spinal cord and on nerve roots.  The location and intensity of the pain you experience depends on which nerves are affected by the herniated disc and where it’s putting pressure.

Let’s say the herniated disc is putting pressure on nerves that lead to your feet. You will probably feel pain and numbness in your feet.  The longer the pressure is on the nerve, the more the nerve will be damaged.  That nerve damage can lead to neuropathy in your feet.

The same applies to the nerves in any other part of the body.  If your herniated disc is putting pressure on nerves that affect that part of the body, you’re in danger of developing nerve damage and neuropathy wherever the nerves are affected.

If you have any of the neuropathy symptoms we listed above, you need to see your doctor, preferably your local NeuropathyDR® clinician, as soon as possible.  The longer you let the nerve damage go untreated, the more likely the damage will be permanent.

Treatment Options

When you’re diagnosed with a herniated disc and develop neuropathy, the first goals of treatment are:

  • Pain relief – first and foremost
  • Address any weakness or numbness in your feet, legs and lower back
  • Prevention of additional injuries

Find a clinician with extensive experience in treating herniated discs and the accompanying neuropathy issues.  Your local NeuropathyDR® clinician is an excellent place to start.

More than 90% of patients with herniated discs and neuropathy (if treated early on) will improve within 6 months without surgery.  But you need to get in to the doctor and start treatment at the first sign of problems.

Once you get in to see your NeuropathyDR® clinician, the treatment protocol will be adapted to address your particular issues.  For the most part, you can expect:

  • Bed rest followed by increased, prescribed and controlled activity
  • Chiropractic manipulation to get the spine back into proper alignment and take pressure off the herniated disc and nerves
  • Treatment with the ReBuilder™ treatment system to open up nerve channels and stimulate nerve repair
  • Exercises to reduce your pain and strengthen the muscles in the back
  • Dietary counseling to address any other underlying medical issues you may have

Contact us today for information on the best course of treatment to make sure that you’re herniated disc and compressive neuropathy are treated properly and promptly.  Save yourself years of back pain misery.

For more information on coping with the pain of neuropathy, get your Free E-Book and subscription to the Weekly Ezine “Beating Neuropathy” at http://neuropathydr.com.

© Copyright 2012-Dr. John Hayes, Jr. Perfect Practice Web, LLC, NeuropathyDR®
Nothing on this site is intended to be construed as "labeling" relative to the FDA. The FDA has not reviewed, approved or evaluated the data on this site.