Acupuncture for peripheral neuropathy

I recently completed a course on treating peripheral neuropathy with acupuncture and was excited to learn about some of the research that shows the efficacy of this treatment option.
 
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include tingling, numbness, pain, hypersensitivity, and burning sensations in the feet and/or hands, and if the nerve damage is severe enough there can be balance and gait issues.
 
Unfortunately, besides drug therapy, there aren’t that many effective western medicine treatment options for this condition. And while drugs can help with pain sensations, they do not help with the numbness, which is usually the factor that contributes to balance issues and puts people at risk for falling.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that 20 million Americans suffer from some form of peripheral neuropathy, with the most common causes being from diabetes, chemotherapy and HIV/AIDS drugs. Unfortunately, in about a third of cases the cause is unknown. Regardless of the type of peripheral neuropathy, this condition responds very well to acupuncture. In fact, research suggests that treatment not only lessens symptoms, but can stimulate nerve repair, which is measurable with nerve conduction testing.
 
It should be noted that to have that kind of impact usually requires 10-12 treatments over the course of 8-10 weeks. The success of treatment is linked to the degree of fluctuation in the severity and frequency of symptoms – where there is more variation in symptoms, treatment is easier, while more persistently stable symptoms with little fluctuations are harder to treat.  And while the process is lengthy, it is heartening to know that 75% of patients committing to a course of treatment have a significant or complete reversal of symptoms.

For those of you who would like to see the research, I’m including a link to a paper (click on “Formal Request 2024”) which was prepared by the Acupuncture Now Foundation and presented to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid to request that acupuncture be covered by Medicare and Medicaid in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy. As far as I know, the foundation is still waiting for a response.
 
I invite you to read more on the research into this promising treatment method for peripheral neuropathy and look forward to having a conversation with anyone who would like to explore whether this would be a good option for them.