Among the traditional healing medicines, Acupuncture is the most popular one with proven effectiveness. It is part of the ancient Chinese medicine of healing practice. In this process, an acupuncturist penetrates thin needles inside specific points across the body to improve energy flow and relieve pain from the body. This age-old healing medicine is being practiced worldwide and is popular among people who have been suffering from various issues like peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy, another way known as burning feet, is a syndrome that causes several sensational difficulties to the body by damaging part of the nervous system. Most sufferers feel an extreme burning pain in their hands or feet, while others suffer from organ or gland dysfunction.
If we point to Peripheral neuropathy as a severe physical issue, then acupuncture is its solution. And here in this article, we will combine both to inform you of the real fact so that you can take an immediate decision to take this traditional medicine to heal.
What Is Peripheral Neuropathy?
Our whole body runs with the signals transferring from the brain to every organ of the body. The system that transfers these signals from the brain and spinal cord to the whole body is called the peripheral nervous system. If these nerves get damaged somehow, the malfunction or disorders get exposed, called peripheral neuropathy. Some disorders cause this neuropathy. Such as:
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Traumatic injuries (fracture, carpal tunnel)
- High Power Medicinal doze (chemotherapy)
- Infections
- Stepping abnormality
- Autoimmunity
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Overuse of alcohol
- Inherited disorder
- Over-supplementation
- Metabolic problems
- Kidney disease
- hypothyroidism
Peripheral neuropathy has some symptoms that people experience uncomfortably. They experience pain, touch sensitivity, weakness, numbness, tingling, and burning. There are three types of peripheral nerves. If one or all three nerves get affected by peripheral neuropathy, we experience any or most symptoms. The Peripheral nerves are:
- Sensory nerves
- Motor nerves
- Autonomic nerves
Sensory nerves are connected to our body’s skin. If these nerves get damaged, we experience sensitivity to touch or pain with wrong or no signal. Motor nerves connect between the brain and muscles. Neuropathy in these nerves creates numbness, weakness, cramping, and other muscle disorders. Neuropathy in the Autonomic nerves interrupts the controlling of the internal organs and causes digestive problems, sexual dysfunction, weakness in the arms and legs, etc. Treatments are helpful, and here acupuncture is the most common and effective medicinal solution to this disorder.
Symptoms Of Peripheral Neuropathy
People experience abundant symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Those can range from subtle to severe. Nonetheless, doctors stated that many people had been diagnosed with neuropathy even without any symptoms. The most common forms of symptoms of peripheral neuropathy are:
- Numbness to pain or temperature
- Tingling in the hands or feet
- Stabbing-like pains
- Burning feet at night
- Heavy feeling around arms or feet
- Muscle weakness
- High sensitivity to temperature or touch
- Loss of balance and body parts coordination, tendency to fall
- Thinner skin
- A sudden drop in blood pressure
- Sexual dysfunction
- Weight loss abnormally
- Either constipation or diarrhea
The most common form of the symptoms is burning feet. Due to the disruption in the nerve’s normal functions, your brain might send wrong pain signals when there is no syndrome causing pain. Again, your brain and spinal cord might send no pain signal even when something causes you to lead to pain. Though peripheral neuropathy is painful and uncomfortable, they are curable. You should mention any of the symptoms if you experience this.
Does Acupuncture Treat Peripheral Neuropathy?
Acupuncture has been treating peripheral neuropathy with maximum effectiveness and cure rate. Chinese traditional medicine experts are known as the oldest physicians to treat neuropathy applying acupuncture. According to this traditional treatment, peripheral neuropathy happens when our body systems develop some blockages of energy and blood. This blockage doesn’t let the blood flow freely, leading to an interruption in sending the signals to cells and tissues. The expert inserts thin needles at those pressure points to clear the blockages and release the pressure with acupuncture treatment.
Western medicine experts admit that acupuncture helps to create balance in the flow of energy in the body. They stated that acupuncture restores the functions of the nerves and muscles by stimulating blood flow. This increased blood flow boosts the response to any pain and improves healing abilities. The overall idea of this age-old medicine is to keep the nerves active and engaged.
Commonly Used Acupuncture Points For Burning Feet
An acupuncturist uses certain pressure points for the needling to relieve the pain from burning feet. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), over 1000 pressure points or acupuncture points in our body. These points are linked to the energy channels, and these channels are connected to the body’s organ systems. Each patient with a specific diagnosis needs custom treatment according to the condition and symptoms. There are many acupuncture points on our hands and feet. To get the best result, acupuncturists select the points according to the highest impact that the points can make. For burning feet, the points are usually selected from the affected area and the connection points. For burning feet, the most commonly used points to be needled are situated in the lower limb. The specific points are:
- GB-30
- GB-34
- GB-39
- SP-6
What Are The Negative Side Effects Of Acupuncture?
A licensed acupuncturist should take acupuncture to get maximum results with minimum side effects. During the procedure, you may experience some minor side effects like:
- Pain: You may feel the pain when the acupuncturist inserts the needles. You will continue to feel the pain after the treatment which might take a couple of days to recover. And light bleeding is usual, no need to worry.
- Injury: If the needles are inserted too deep inside the skin, it might injure the organs like lungs or bones.
- Infection: The needles should be sterile before use. If they are reused or older enough then the points might get infected and lead to severe conditions. And your skin should keep clean and sterile before needling.
So, our advice is to visit a licensed and expert professional to avoid harmful side effects.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Is acupuncture supposed to hurt?
Since several needles are inserted inside the skin, there should be some sensitivity during the process. You may feel discomfort or little pain, but you will feel relaxed when the needles are positioned properly. Ultimately it will vary over the intensity of the treatment and level of your sensitiveness.
Does acupuncture help with nerve damage?
In a word, Yes. The main goal of acupuncture is to restore the nervous system. The needles help to release the pressure points and restore the connection between the brain and organs. This ancient medicine is proved to be effective by the results and western research.
How many acupuncture sessions are needed for neuropathy?
It varies over the type and condition of the patient. The symptoms will let the acupuncturist decide about the length, number, and frequency of treatment. It takes around 30 minutes in a session to complete the procedure. And according to severity, typically, one or two sessions are required in a week for 10 weeks.
Can acupuncture make peripheral neuropathy worse?
As acupuncture has been followed for thousands of years, it’s proven to treat peripheral neuropathy without severe side effects. But, you should visit an experienced and licensed professional who can diagnose and treat you properly. They will treat your body to restore your nervous system and relieve the pain gradually. The minor side effects are usual, and you will recover them immediately.
What should you not do after acupuncture?
There are several things you should avoid to prevent peripheral neuropathy as your affordability. But after the acupuncture treatment, you must avoid some habits to get the best results of acupuncture. Such as:
- Avoid heavy exercise and stressful activities.
- Avoid junk food, caffeine, and alcohol
- Avoid Ice around the treated area
- Avoid a specific position for too long
Alternative Peripheral Neuropathy Treatments
There are some ways of remedies to follow if you have mild symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Remember that there is always prevention is better than cure. But all you have to do is follow the systems carefully and strictly without making any mistakes.
Regular exercise is the most advised and effective treatment to recover any health issues. It increases blood circulation throughout the body and helps to relieve the pain. It lowers sugar levels, burns extra fat, and strengthens the body, eventually improving the nervous system. Limiting alcohol is good for any health issue—overuse of alcohol damages the nerves and causes neuropathy. Regular use of Warm water, sober massage, TENS, meditation, and yoga are great ways of curing peripheral neuropathy.