What Is
Peripheral Neuropathy?

Peripheral Neuropathy refers to conditions that affect your nerves primarily in the feet and legs, and occasionally in the hands, fingers or arms. There are many types of Peripheral Neuropathy and many causes. Neuropathies that primarily cause discomfort in the feet and lower leg are perhaps the most common type.

The Peripheral Nervous System is an extension of your Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord), a system of nerves that branch beyond the spinal cord and serve the outer aspects of your body, such as your legs and feet. Picture the peripheral nerves as small feeder streams in the skin that eventually form into a large river (your spinal cord) and then into a big lake (your brain). Ultimately, pain is sensed as the nerves on the outside of the body (small feeder streams) send the signals through the spinal cord to the brain.

The Peripheral Nervous System includes the Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System. The somatic nervous system includes the nerves serving the musculoskeletal system and the skin. It reacts to outside stimuli affecting the body such as in touch, cuts, heat and cold sensations. The autonomic nervous system automatically seeks to maintain normal function of everything that is supposed to run on "auto-pilot."


When not functioning correctly, as in the case of Peripheral Neuropathy, blood flow to the skin of the feet and legs is reduced or shut down and pores constrict, thus preventing sweating and cooling down of the legs and feet. All of this reduces or prevents nutrition and oxygen from reaching the nerves that serve the skin.

Nutrient and O2 restriction to nerves first damages an insulating coating around them known as myelin. Myelin is a substance which protects the nerves and aids in transmission of the nerve signal itself. When myelin is damaged, the whole nerve is damaged - leading to peripheral neuropathy.

To make matters worse, when nutrient and oxygen restriction damages the myelin coating, proper skin perspiration is prevented. This often leads to more challenges such as swelling, as well as hot or cold feelings in the feet or legs. As you can see, once this snowball starts rolling, it's often like a line-up of falling dominoes leading to more and greater problems.
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