Acupuncture for Peripheral Neuropathy

What is Peripheral Neuropathy?

Peripheral Neuropathy is a disorder of the peripheral nervous system, the vehicle that allows communication from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body (arms, legs and face).

Many different conditions are associated with Peripheral Neuropathy, such as Diabetes, treatments for Cancer, HIV, etc.

Lack of oxygen is the most common link in pain conditions associated with Peripheral Neuropathy.

What happens to nerves when deprived of oxygen?
Shrinkage of nerve cells resulting in widened synaptic junction as seen in the image above. How are oxygen and nutrients transmitted throughout the body?
By our amazing, but vulnerable circulatory system.

What Hinders Flow of Blood in our Circulatory System?

Chronic Pain and Nerve Damage
Factors leading to Diabetes
Chemotherapy Toxicity
Trauma, Repetitive Strain
Inflammation in Myo-Fascial Tissue
Taut Muscle bands and/or Trigger Points
Excess Weight
Stress and Tension
Smoking
Arteriolosclerosis
Weak Organ Function
Aging

Western medical treatments for the chronic pain of Peripheral Neuropathy are not a long-term solution.

Our acupuncture treatment for Peripheral Neuropathy treatment can retrain your brain to heal your body by itself.

This treatment protocol uses natural tools to maximally improve blood and oxygen circulation:

Acupuncture to vasodilate peripheral body parts currently deficient in vital blood supply.

Chinese Herbs in the form of carefully balanced formulas that remove stagnation of fluids, clear biofilms, disperse stagnant gases in the body, and disperse blood stagnation.

Crucial Supplements at therapeutic and safe dosages, that reduce inflammation, improve blood flow, improve insulin sensitivity, and counter anti-oxidant damage to nerves.

Well balanced and alkaline Diet to complement the effects of each tool in the protocol.

Stress Management Techniques like Meditation to counter the negative consequences of stress on blood circulation.

How many treatments will you need in order to see results?

Non-numbness Neuropathy: 3 treatments
Pain, burning, and tingling condtions Numbness Neuropathy: 6 treatments
This condition is more difficult to treat because it is often times harder for the patient to recognize change in condition.

Treatment plans based on response:

Fast Responders:
1-2 treatments per week for 4 weeks, then 1 treatment per week or every other week for another month. Slow Responders:
3 treatments per week for 4 weeks, then 2 treatments a week for another month, then 1 treatment per week, for four weeks.

Additional benefits of using acupuncture treatment for Peripheral Neuropathy:

Great safety record and has no side effects, aside from possible transient soreness.

Only medical therapy that helps reestablish communication between the brain/spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (exercise helps too).

You can usually tell during a treatment whether Acupuncture is working or not.

Rationale for more frequent acupuncture treatments upfront and weaning off of treatment:

We keep needling and jumping the threshold until the body REMEMBERS and RE-ESTABLISHES the normal threshold to signal the brain (Brain is being retrained!)

How can You know that Acupuncture Works?

Scientific research supports it!

1) Meta-Analysis of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain

Vickers et al. (2012). Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis. Archives of Internal Medicine.172(19): 1444-1453. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3654

2) Meta-Analysis of Acupuncture for Peripheral Neuropathy

Dimitrova A., Murchison C, Oken B. (2017). Acupuncture for the Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23(3), 164-179. doi: 10.1089/acm2016.01555

The majority of 13 Randomized Clinical Trials for Peripheral Neuropathy showed benefit for acupuncture over control in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, Bell’s palsy, and carpal tunnel syndrome.  Researchers deemed Acupuncture “probably effective” in the treatment of HIV-related neuropathy.

The pooled meta-analysis of all trials studying Diabetic PN and Bell’s Palsy, when adjusting for heterogeneity, found an odds ratio of 4.23 in favor of Acupuncture over control (P < .001)

3) Acupuncture found helpful for PN, before, during and after Chemo:

2015 Retrospective Study in Medical Acupuncture: Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s facility at Tulsa, Oklahoma applied Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) style acupuncture to 10 patients with chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy. They note that “all of the patients reported or had improvement in their Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy grades after starting acupuncture.”

Internet source

http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1500-acupuncture-alleviates-chemotherapy-peripheral-neuropathy

What our patients are saying:

“Stage 3 Cancer of the Colon requiring 6 months  of Chemotherapy, which caused extensive nerve damage, making it very difficult to feel things and leading to sensation of cold in hands.  Prescription drugs did not help uAfter only several treatments, Rick began to notice nerve sensations beginning to return.  “I could now feel the gas and brake pedals in my car.  The numbness in my fingers has been reduced as well!” Patient has reported a reduction in the area of his discomfort in his hands and in the coldness of his hands (from 5/6 to 2/6).”

– Rick Woodell

“I had only received three Acupuncture treatments for my peripheral neuropathy but had already noticed less cold in my feet, less pain and less numbness in my feet. By the 12th treatment, and after adding Dr. Jones’s footsoak herbs and recommended supplements for the neuropathy, my pain and discomfort in my feet had dropped from 5/6 to 2/6. My feeling of low energy improved from 5/6 to 2/6. The main functional limitation I faced from the neuropathy was painful feet when walking for 20 minutes or more. This limitation too decreased from 6/6 to 3/6.

Finally, as a diabetic, I have observed my blood sugar dropping to around 75, from a usual of 95 or higher, after each acupuncture treatment. I credit the stress reduction from the Acupuncture treatment for this effect.”

– Mike Hudson