If you are reading this article, you probably already know you have neuropathy. Your doctor told you. You have painful, burning sensations in your feet. Or they feel cold. Or they are numb and tingling. Perhaps you walk without feeling clear contact with the ground, as though on a cloud. Your hands might be suffering as well. Why are you reading this article? Maybe conventional treatment has not worked for you. You searched the web with hope and read acupuncture could help.
It can. Peripheral neuropathy is a condition I have treated successfully more often than any other condition listed on my website. I have probably performed over 3000 treatments for this condition, maybe more. There are 3 causes, and acupuncture helps with each. I have witnessed significant improvement in around 80% of my patients.
First, a little history. I gained most of my experience treating peripheral neuropathy from 1994 to 2001 as the primary acupuncturist in Sacramento treating AIDS patients. Almost all of them had neuropathy. I treated at least 10 neuropathy patients per week for several years and was able to develop an effective treatment protocol.
I have treated 3 types of peripheral neuropathy, categorized by causality: drug-induced, diabetic and idiopathic. My AIDS patients suffered from the first type, due to strong medications. Type 2 is caused by nerve damage from high blood-sugar levels. Type 3 is more mysterious. The word “idiopathic” means nobody understands the cause.
The treatment is essentially the same for all 3 types. Acupuncture points are needled on the hands or feet, or both, with the patient lying face up. After the needles are removed, the patient turns over and points are treated on the back near the spine. This strategic combination of points helps to reduce the sensitivity of the nerves and restore them to a state of normal function. The treatments are actually quite relaxing, and patients often experience other health benefits as well.
Results are not immediate—effects are cumulative. Usually the patient feels some benefit by the end of the 4th treatment, though it takes more treatments for the condition to improve significantly or completely clear up.
Several neuropathy patients have been kind enough to write testimonials to their success.
For more information, please read the article Peripheral Neuropathy and Acupuncture.