Neuropathy

Neuropathy limits your life by causing pain, muscle weakness, and poor coordination. These challenges improve with treatment from Holsman Physical Therapy, which has 17 locations throughout New Jersey and New York City. Their expert neurological physical therapists focus on relieving your symptoms, retraining your muscles and nerves, and restoring optimal function. Connect with their team by calling the nearest office or using online booking to request a consultation today and learn how physical therapy can promote a better quality of life despite neuropathy.

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy, more often called peripheral neuropathy, means you have a damaged nerve in your body but outside your brain and spinal cord. There are many reasons you could have neuropathy, including:

• Injuries
• Diabetes
• Kidney disease
• Thyroid disease
• Infections
• Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Substance use disorder (alcohol and drugs)
• Certain medications
• Autoimmune diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and others)

Of all the possible causes, diabetes is the most common.

What symptoms does neuropathy cause?

You have three types of peripheral nerves: sensory, motor, and autonomic. Sensory nerves carry messages about pain, temperature, and other senses from your body to your brain.

Motor nerves deliver movement instructions from your brain to your muscles. Autonomic nerves control life-sustaining functions like blood pressure, digestion, breathing, and heart rate.

The symptoms you experience depend on which nerves sustain damage and whether the injury affects one or more types. The range of symptoms includes:

• Pain
• Tingling and burning
• Numbness
• Muscle weakness
• Muscle pain and cramps
• Muscle loss
• Balance problems
• Racing heartbeat
• Sweating too much or too little
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dizziness and vertigo

If you have diabetic neuropathy, pain and tingling typically begin in your feet, putting you at risk of developing non-healing foot wounds.

How is neuropathy diagnosed?

Physical therapists assess and diagnose orthopedic conditions and can identify neuropathy with a neurological assessment. However, they may refer you to a neurologist for specialized testing such as nerve conduction velocity (NCV) tests and electromyography (EMG), which shows if the problem is in your nerves or muscles.

How does physical therapy treat neuropathy?

The first step is dealing with the underlying condition. In some cases, the nerves will heal after treating the cause. If you have diabetes, controlling your blood sugar prevents ongoing nerve damage.

Physical therapy has a crucial role in improving and maintaining functions affected by neuropathy. The Holsman Physical Therapy team tailors your treatment, drawing from their extensive experience in neurological physical therapy and treatments proven to support your health.

They may recommend:

• Nerve gliding exercises
• Electrical stimulation
• Therapeutic massage
• Strengthening exercises
• Balance training
• Functional rehabilitation

Problems caused by damaged motor nerves may need braces or other assistive devices.

Call Holsman Physical Therapy today or connect online to request an appointment if you need help with the pain, tingling, and muscle weakness caused by neuropathy. ​​

Holsman Physical Therapy has convenient locations in Lyndhurst, Fair Lawn, Cedar Grove, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Newark, South Orange, Clifton, Paterson, Kearney, Jersey City, and Rahway, New Jersey, and the Crotona and Van Nest neighborhoods in the Bronx and the Cypress Hills neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City.