Neuropathy

Neuropathy services offered in Sarasota, FL

The pain caused by neuropathy is often hard to control with conventional medical care, but don’t give up hope. Peter Fernandez, MD, and Amanda Fernandez, DPT, MPH, CSCS, at Sunshine Spine and Pain Specialists, PLLC, in Sarasota, Florida, have the skills and expertise needed to identify the damaged nerve and provide personalized interventional treatments that effectively ease nerve pain. To learn about advanced neuropathy treatments and get the relief you need, call the office or connect online to request an appointment today.

Neuropathy Q & A

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy is a general term referring to nerve damage in any part of your body. However, it’s often used to mean peripheral neuropathy — damage to the nerves throughout your body (not including your brain or spinal cord).

Peripheral neuropathy has many potential causes. The nerves may be damaged by an injury or health conditions, including:

Diabetes
Spinal stenosis
Herniated discs
Degenerative disc disease
Kidney disease
Thyroid disease
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Autoimmune diseases
Viral and bacterial infections

Diabetes causes more cases of peripheral neuropathy than any other condition.

What are the symptoms of neuropathy?

Any damaged nerve can cause pain, but you may also have other symptoms depending on the peripheral nerve that’s affected.

Sensory nerves

Your sensory nerves obtain information about temperature, touch, pressure, pain, and other senses and transmit it to your brain. Damaged sensory nerves may cause pain, sensations like tingling (pins and needles) and burning, or make you lose sensation.

Motor nerves

Motor nerves relay information from your brain to your muscles. If you have a damaged motor nerve, you experience symptoms such as pain, cramps, weakness, and loss of muscle mass (atrophy).

Autonomic nerves

Your autonomic nerves cause the most diverse symptoms of all the peripheral nerves. Autonomic nerves control all the systems that keep you alive, including breathing, blood pressure, digestion, and heart rate.

Your symptoms depend on which body system is regulated by the damaged nerve. For example, you may have a fast heartbeat or heat intolerance and excessive sweating.

How is neuropathy treated?

The first line of treatment focuses on the condition causing your neuropathy. Your nerve pain may improve if the underlying cause is treatable.

No matter what causes your neuropathy, the advanced treatments available at Sunshine Spine and Pain Specialists, PLLC, can relieve your pain.

Your provider may recommend interventional treatments, such as a nerve block, radiofrequency ablation, or spinal cord stimulation. Nerve blocks stop the nerve from sending pain messages to your brain for a limited time. Radiofrequency ablation accomplishes the same goal but provides longer-lasting pain relief.

Spinal cord stimulation uses mild electrical pulses to block pain messages traveling through the spinal nerves. As a result, the implanted device can selectively stop nerve signals from any part of your body.

If you need relief from neuropathy, call Sunshine Spine and Pain Specialists, PLLC, or book an appointment online today.