Author: Zach Mathews
Do
you know of someone who has issues with their feet? Not sure what is wrong but
something just feels tingling, numb or hurts? This may be due to an underlying
issue called neuropathy. We are going to discuss the background of neuropathy
and take a look at potential causes of neuropathy to see how to prevent it as
well as how to manage symptoms once neuropathy is present. Quite often
neuropathy is referred to as idiopathic neuropathy. In this situation,
idiopathic means a disease in which the cause is unknown. Peripheral neuropathy
is one of the neurologic issues that primary care physicians see most often and
it comes in many different forms with different symptoms making it hard to
recognize, evaluate, and treat.1 Symptoms can range and be present
with sensory issues such as loss in feeling, motor functions such as walking or
other physical movements, and autonomic functions such as control of urine or
other functions that an individual usually doesn’t have to think about
controlling. Of the three types of symptoms, sensory signs usually present
themselves before the latter two.1 As Dr Doughty and Seyedsajadi
state, sensory fibers can be large diameter fibers which deal with vibration
and proprioception (awareness of the body and its positioning) as well as small
diameter fibers which deal with pain and sensing temperature. Both of these
fibers are affected in most neuropathy so we will primarily focus on sensory
symptoms and issues when looking at management possibilities. Motor function
symptoms can be present such as difficulty walking, especially when the
proprioception is affected in a negative way. Autonomic symptoms such as
constipation, diarrhea, loss of bladder control, erectile dysfunction as well
as many others can be present with neuropathy.1 With such a wide
range of common symptoms present with neuropathy, it is evident why the reason
often goes undiagnosed and termed idiopathic neuropathy.
While
contributing factors to neuropathy vary widely, there seems to be a group of
issues that are common, relatable and potentially avoidable. When looking at
individuals with idiopathic neuropathy, it is shown there is a relationship
with these individuals and having impaired glucose tolerance whether that be
prediabetes or diabetes;2 with diabetes, Type 1 and Type II, being
the leading cause of neuropathy.1 The occurrence of both of these
conditions is increased with being overweight and having a high amount of
excess fat in the abdominal area. This can in part be explained by the fact
that as the thickness of subcutaneous tissue (fat tissue underneath the skin)
increases in overweight individuals, there is a reduction in the amount and
intensity of sensory nerve responses.3 This is saying that an excess
amount of fat will reduce the activation and stimulation of sensory neurons
within these individuals. Another association discovered between individuals
who already have neuropathy and their prior lifestyle is intense alcohol use
over an extended period of time.1
From
looking at the contributing factors above the most basic prevention method
would be to not drink alcohol heavily for an excess period of time. However, this
is most likely not the most significant prevention method because this is not
the leading cause of neuropathy. A prevention method that can affect the most
amount of people would be to live a healthy and active lifestyle which would
decrease individual’s fat mass. By living a healthy and active lifestyle this
can prevent an individual from becoming overweight and having an excess amount
of abdominal fat which can lead to pre-diabetes and diabetes, the leading
causes of peripheral neuropathy. If someone has pre-diabetes, exercise and
healthy eating can keep them from becoming fully diabetic and exercise can also
help an individual who already has diabetes prevent or slow the development of
neuropathy. As Lee and Kim show in their study, an early induction of exercise
could postpone the demyelination (eroding of protective layer surrounding
nerve) process in a nerve fiber in diabetic rats by reducing the complications
such as hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), dyslipidemia (high or low amounts of
fat in the blood) and inflammatory effects of obesity.4 The rats
were subject to swimming exercise during this study to view the effects.
Although
exercise can be very beneficial, it is important to know what type of exercise
and the intensity that should be completed. Improvements with symptoms of
neuropathy as well as re-growth, preventing further damage, and repairing
damaged nerves can be obtained through the use of aerobic exercise.4
Aerobic exercise is exercise with the presence of oxygen so the intensity
should not be too high for the individual but a casual pace. Because the nerves
are damaged, exercise with low impact or low stress conditions would be
desirable so a great suggestion for this would be an exercise bike for around
thirty minutes.4 An exercise bike would be beneficial because there
is not a ton of impact and this exercise is a pretty basic movement so there is
less risk for injury from the general performance of the exercise as well as
from losing balance.
Exercise
is great for delaying or improving symptoms but in most cases will not
completely erase all the symptoms. In this case, individuals with sensory loss
in their feet should be aware of caring for their feet and making sure no
injuries are present that they do not feel. When individuals have weakness,
they can improve their daily functioning from using ankle-foot orthotics to
help give them strength and stability. With weakness often comes issues with
balance and an individual’s gait. Although this can be a significant risk,
these individuals can reduce the risk of injury by participating in balance
training and specific exercises like increasing strength in the knee and ankle
muscles that correlate with walking such as knee extension and ankle
dorsiflexion.1
As one can see, neuropathy remains a mystery to health professionals to a certain degree. Specific causes of neuropathy are not determined most of the time and this makes it hard to put a definite answer on how to prevent neuropathy. However, most cases of neuropathy can be directly or indirectly traced back to an issue that can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In this instance “healthy lifestyle” means staying eating well and exercising regularly because this keeps your body fat low among other things. The issues that arise solely from being overweight and having a high body fat mass lead to neuropathy and can be prevented in the first place. Therefore, I am stating that in my opinion the most beneficial way to prevent the occurrence of any form of neuropathy is to keep yourself healthy and avoid becoming overweight. Once neuropathy has occurred, treatment should follow the same methods as prevention. This can differ and vary depending on the symptoms present. Eating as close to an all-natural diet as possible, as well as exercising at moderate intensity in a safe environment.
- Doughty CT, Seyedsadjadi R. Approach to
Peripheral Neuropathy for the Primary Care Clinician. The American Journal of Medicine. 2018;131(9):1010-1016.
doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2017.12.042
- Singleton JR, Smith AG. Neuropathy
associated with prediabetes: What is new in 2007? Current Diabetes Reports. 2007;7(6):420-424.
doi:10.1007/s11892-007-0070-y
- Miscio G, Guastamacchia G, Brunani A,
Priano L, Baudo S, Mauro A. Obesity and peripheral neuropathy risk: a dangerous
liaison. Journal of the Peripheral
Nervous System.
2005;10(4):354-358. doi:10.1111/j.1085-9489.2005.00047.x
- Lee EC, Kim MO, Roh GH, Hong SE. Effects
of Exercise on Neuropathy in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats. Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine. 2017;41(3):402.
doi:10.5535/arm.2017.41.3.402