What Are the Different Types of Neuropathy? | New Berlin Guide
When you hear the word “neuropathy,” you might immediately think of a burning sensation in the feet or a numbness that keeps you awake at night. While these are common symptoms, neuropathy is not a single disease. Rather, it is a broad medical term describing damage or dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system.
At Advantage Chiropractic in New Berlin, our Advantage Neuropathy Program helps patients overcome the debilitating effects of nerve damage without relying on invasive surgeries or endless prescription pain medications.
To understand how we manage this condition, it is vital to understand the different types of neuropathy, how they develop, and the specific symptoms they trigger.
The Role of the Peripheral Nervous System
Your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord) is the control center of your body. Your peripheral nervous system acts as the “wiring” that connects the control center to your arms, legs, skin, and internal organs.
When these peripheral nerves are damaged, compressed, or starved of oxygen and nutrients, the signals they transmit become distorted. This distortion is known as peripheral neuropathy.
There are over 100 known variations of nerve damage, but they generally fall into four primary clinical categories.
1. Peripheral Neuropathy (The Most Common)
When people use the word “neuropathy,” they are almost always referring to Peripheral Neuropathy. This type specifically affects the nerves in the extremities—the toes, feet, legs, fingers, hands, and arms.
Common Symptoms: A gradual onset of numbness, prickling, or a “pins and needles” sensation. As it progresses, patients often describe a sharp, jabbing, or burning pain, particularly at night. Extreme sensitivity to touch (where even the weight of a bedsheet causes pain) is also a hallmark sign.
Common Causes: Type 2 Diabetes is the leading cause of peripheral neuropathy, as chronically high blood sugar levels damage the delicate blood vessels that supply oxygen to the nerves. It can also be caused by systemic inflammation, vitamin B deficiencies, and chronic lower back subluxations (spinal misalignments) that compress the nerve roots.
2. Proximal Neuropathy
While peripheral neuropathy usually starts in the toes and feet (the furthest points from the spinal cord), proximal neuropathy affects nerves closer to the body’s center.
Common Symptoms: Pain that shoots through the thighs, hips, or buttocks. It frequently leads to severe muscle weakness in the legs, making it difficult for the patient to stand up from a seated position without assistance.
Common Causes: This type is also heavily linked to uncontrolled diabetes and systemic metabolic issues that starve the larger nerve bundles in the lower extremities.
3. Focal Neuropathy (Mononeuropathy)
Unlike polyneuropathy (which affects multiple nerves system-wide), focal neuropathy involves damage to a single specific nerve.
Common Symptoms: The symptoms depend entirely on which nerve is affected. For example, damage to the median nerve in the wrist causes pain and weakness in the hand. Damage to the peroneal nerve in the leg can cause “foot drop.”
Common Causes: Focal neuropathy is almost always caused by a physical entrapment or compression. Common examples include Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (compression in the wrist) or severe Sciatica (compression of the sciatic nerve root in the lumbar spine).
4. Autonomic Neuropathy
Your autonomic nervous system controls the involuntary functions of your body that you don’t actively think about, such as your heart rate, digestion, and temperature regulation.
Common Symptoms: Dizziness or fainting when standing up (due to poor blood pressure regulation), abnormal sweating, and severe digestive issues.
Management: Because this involves regulation of internal organs, autonomic neuropathy requires comprehensive medical management, often co-managed by a primary care physician or endocrinologist.
How We Approach Neuropathy in New Berlin
The standard medical approach to neuropathy often involves prescribing medications like Gabapentin or Lyrica. While these drugs can temporarily dull the pain signals in the brain, they do not repair the damaged nerves, and they often come with severe side effects like dizziness and chronic fatigue.
Our Advantage Neuropathy Program takes a restorative approach. We focus on healing the nerve environment from the inside out.
Our comprehensive protocol includes:
Torque Release Technique (TRT) Adjustments: Gentle, instrument-assisted adjustments to the spine to remove structural interference and ensure the nerve roots have a clear communication pathway to the extremities.
Advanced Light Therapy: Using targeted infrared light therapy to stimulate angiogenesis (the creation of new blood vessels), which brings vital oxygen and nutrients back to the dying, damaged nerves in the feet and hands.
Targeted Nutritional Support: Providing the specific vitamins and nitric oxide precursors your body needs to reduce systemic inflammation and rebuild the nerve’s protective myelin sheath.
Don’t Let Neuropathy Steal Your Independence
Neuropathy is a progressive condition. If left unaddressed, the numbness and balance issues can lead to dangerous falls, complete loss of mobility, and a drastic reduction in your quality of life.
You do not have to settle for masking the pain with medication. Contact Advantage Chiropractic in New Berlin today to schedule your comprehensive 54-point Neuropathy Evaluation and discover if you are a candidate for our restorative program.
