Decoding diabetic neuropathy

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Decoding Diabetic Neuropathy Diabetic neuropathy is a serious condition that can affect vital bodily functions. Treatment is available to improve nerve function and help the patient get back to normal living.

Diabetic neuropathy refers to nerve damage caused by diabetes. Around 60% of people diagnosed with diabetes suffer some kind of nerve damage which could affect the legs, eyes, feet or nerves controlling vital body functions such as digestion, heart rate and blood pressure.

Types of Diabetic Neuropathy It is important to know that diabetic neuropathy does not refer to just a single kind of nerve damage. These are the various diabetic neuropathy conditions and not all affect every diabetic neuropathy patient. Here are the most typical forms of neuropathy caused by diabetes: • Peripheral neuropathy – As the term suggests, this refers to diabetes affecting the peripheral nerves, mostly of the legs and feet. It is characterized a kind of tingling sensation or numbness, loss of sensation or a burning sensation in lower legs and/or feet. http://www.hqbk.com/

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• Autonomic neuropathy affects the nerves controlling blood pressure, heart rate, bowel and bladder movements including digestion, sweating, and so on.

Low blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, fainting, and difficulty in swallowing are some of the symptoms.

• Femoral neuropathy deals with dysfunction of the femoral nerve. This is a serious condition as the individual would not have proper control while walking and this would increase the risk of falls. There would also be pain in the hip or groin and numbness or a tingling sensation in the knee, calf and foot.

• Thoracic or lumbar radiculopathy occurs when nerves exiting the spine are compressed or irritated. Pain, particularly localized back and neck pain, are the common symptoms. This kind of diabetic neuropathy can also be caused by an infection or tumor.

• Neurogenic arthropathy, commonly called Charcot’s Joint, is a degenerative condition that affects more than a single joint and causes swelling, hemorrhage, joint instability, heat as well as hypertrophic and atrophic bone changes.

• Foot drop is another condition caused by diabetic neuropathy. It causes inability in lifting the front part of the affected foot causing the toes to drag through the ground while walking.

Factors Causing Diabetics to Develop Nerve Damage

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So why does diabetes or increased blood glucose exposure result in nerve damage? Though the causes are still being researched intensively, the following contributory factors have been identified: • Metabolic factors – increased duration of the diabetic condition, high levels of blood glucose, low insulin levels (considered a possibility) and abnormally high levels of blood fat.

• Autoimmune factors could also cause nerves to inflame.

• Neurovascular conditions are thought to be another major cause of diabetic neuropathy. These affect the blood vessels carrying vital nutrients and oxygen to the nerves.

• Conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome in the diabetic individual could cause mechanical injury to the nerves.

• There could be genetically inherited traits which could increase the risk of the individual incurring nerve damage or disease.

• Finally, lifestyle factors have also been blamed for increasing the risk of neuropathy in diabetic individuals and these factors include alcohol use, smoking and obesity.

Effective Diabetic Neuropathy Treatment At a state-of-the-art multi-specialty healthcare center, diabetic neuropathy evaluation involves various http://www.hqbk.com/

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neurological tests based on the symptoms experienced by the patient. EMG (electromyography) is also performed to determine where and what level of sensation is lost. The treatment plan would include chiropractic care as well as nerve pain relief treatment.

Chiropractic and Nerve Pain Relief Chiropractic adjustments help correct spinal misalignments.

Chiropractic treatment can help activate the nervous system enabling it to perform better and improving the transmission of signals from the brain to the body and back.

Nerve pain relief treatment consists of methods to reduce symptoms and repair the nerves via tricyclic antidepressants, narcotic pain medication as well as opiods and other drugs like opiods. Medication is administered based on the specific diabetic neuropathy condition, symptoms, and general health of the patient.

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