Peripheral Neuropathy
Numbness, tingling and burning have several possible causes, many of them metabolic or systemic. Establishing which applies matters more than assuming.
Schedule a Complimentary Structural ConsultationNeuropathy Has Several Possible Causes
Peripheral neuropathy is a description of what the nerves are doing, not a diagnosis of why. Diabetes is the single most common cause. Others include vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroid disease, kidney disease, alcohol use, chemotherapy and other medications, autoimmune conditions and infections — and in a meaningful proportion of cases no cause is identified at all. Working out which of these applies is a medical evaluation, and it usually involves blood work.
This matters because the causes are not interchangeable. A B12 deficiency or an undiagnosed thyroid problem is treatable, and treating it is what changes the symptoms. If your numbness has not been investigated, that investigation is the priority, and we will say so and refer rather than begin care.
Where a Structural Contribution May Be Relevant
Separately from these systemic causes, nerve roots and peripheral nerves can be irritated or compressed along their course — at the nerve root in the spine, or at entrapment sites such as the carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel. That produces symptoms in the distribution of the affected nerve, which examination can usually distinguish from the symmetrical both-feet or both-hands pattern typical of a metabolic neuropathy.
Where examination points to a compressive or mechanical contribution, that is something structural care may be able to address. Where it points to a metabolic or systemic cause, structural care is not the answer. Both can also be present at once, particularly in patients with diabetes.
How We Approach It
Our aim is to establish whether a structural contribution is plausible, and to be honest when it is not.
- •Detailed Examination: We examine whether a nerve-root or entrapment-site contribution matches the distribution of your symptoms.
- •Structural care where indicated: Where a compressive or mechanical contribution is identified, structural care may be able to address that finding. This does not treat a metabolic neuropathy.
- •Lifestyle Factors: We also discuss the general health factors known to matter for nerve health, and coordinate with your physician where the cause is metabolic rather than structural.
What People Commonly Try
Most people arrive having already tried at least one of these. Each has a legitimate place, and for many people with neuropathy one of them is the right answer. The question is whether anything structural has been measured along the way.
Over-the-counter or prescribed medication
Where it helps: Can reduce pain and inflammation enough to keep you moving and sleeping, which matters. Its appropriate use is a conversation with your physician.
Its limit: It is aimed at the symptom rather than at any structural or mechanical finding, so it does not change what is measured.
Medical referral and evaluation
Where it helps: Essential when there are red flags, progressive neurological findings, or a possible non-mechanical cause. We refer to the appropriate physician when the examination points that way.
Its limit: Medical evaluation answers a different question: whether something serious or non-mechanical is present, or whether medical treatment is needed. Posture and whole-spine alignment are not always measured and tracked alongside it, which is what we add.
Physical therapy
Where it helps: Strengthening, mobility and movement retraining with a qualified professional. Many people do well with it.
Its limit: Whether structural alignment is measured and re-measured varies by provider; progress is often judged mainly by symptoms and function.
None of this is an argument against those options. It is the reason we measure before recommending anything. How relief-focused care and structural correction differ.
How Optimus Approaches the Evaluation
The process is the same for neuropathy as for any presentation we see, because it is designed to find out whether structure is part of your problem rather than to assume it is.
Complimentary Structural Consultation
A private conversation about your concerns, goals, previous care and whether this office is an appropriate fit. No examination, imaging or treatment takes place, and nothing further is booked unless you decide.
New Patient Structural Examination (paid)
A comprehensive structural examination: orthopedic, neurological, movement and functional testing, with posture measured in millimeters against normal reference values so there is a baseline to re-measure against. Structural X-rays or stress views only when the examination indicates them, with the reason explained first. The fee is explained before it is scheduled.
Patient Recommendation Conference
The separate visit where your findings, our recommendations, the proposed plan and the fees are explained before you agree to anything. If structural correction is appropriate, the plan is built around your own measured findings. If another evaluation is the better path, we say so.
Structural Reassessment
Scheduled progress examinations at set points so change is documented, not assumed, with comparative imaging only when there is a clinical reason. If the measurements are not changing, the approach changes.
What the first visits involve, what to bring and how payment works are set out on the new patient page.
Not Sure Whether This Applies to You?
The complimentary structural consultation is the place to ask. It is a private conversation about your neuropathy, what you have already tried and whether measuring your spine is a reasonable next step.
Schedule a Complimentary Structural ConsultationOr call 724-672-3794. New here? See what to expect as a new patient or learn more about Optimus Spine & Posture, our Greensburg chiropractic office.