Additional Georgetown Nutritional Options for Neuropathy
Neuropathy is a painful condition. The usual approach for conventional medicine is pharmacological drugs. Some patients are satisfied with this approach while others look beyond medication when they don’t get the relief they want. New realizations are indicating an inflammation/gut connection that may play a role. Nutritional supplements come into play for these Georgetown neuropathy pain sufferers. Dr. Butwell as a member of their healthcare team shares some new studies on the effectiveness of these additional nutritional options.
NUTRITION FOR NEUROPATHY PAIN
Neuropathic pain affects 7 to 10% of the population. Typical treatment options consist of tricyclic antidepressant drugs, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and anticonvulsants. For many sufferers, these options don’t always fulfill their expectations, so they turn to nonpharmacologic treatments like nutritional supplements. Many try vitamins B and D, zinc, magnesium, and St. John’s wart and curcumin. (1) In a recent rat study, the antinociceptive effect of biotin (a B vitamin, namely B7) on neuropathic pain was tested and confirmed it as a potential therapy for neuropathic pain. The study documented that biotin supplementation could decrease the dose required of analgesic drugs. (2) Other nutritional means have been tested like magnesium, ALA, and GLA but need to be carefully utilized in certain patients with specific conditions (like renal dysfunction). Again, Vitamin B supplementation was found to be well tolerated and to be more effective in relieving neuropathic pain than medications alone. (3) Dr. Butwell will blend options to assist patients in finding pain relief.
COMBINATION OF APPROACHES NEUROPATHY RELIEF
Combinations of treatment methods often do more than one. For neuropathy, combining the knowledge that metabolic syndrome and neuropathy are linked with lifestyle changes, researchers realized that diet and lifestyle interventions help manage neuropathy. Since the gut microbiome and inflammation influence neuropathy, researchers studied and recognized value in exercise, nutrition, supplements, acupuncture and mindfulness-based practices in neuropathy care. (4) One study specifically combined mindfulness with vitamin D to find how it affected the lives of diabetic neuropathy patients. It worked! The combination decreased pain severity and disability which improved their quality of life. (5) At Dr. Butwell we insert gentle spinal manipulation via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management into the mix to enhance relief.
CONTACT Dr. Butwell
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Silke Laub on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she illustrates how chiropractic care can augment traditional treatments of diseases to help pain patients.
Schedule your Georgetown chiropractic appointment today. The pain of neuropathy stimulates its sufferers to find relief. The common approach of medication is one method. If it doesn’t deliver the relief you want, let us talk about some other choices to try. Your pain relief and quality of life are vital to Dr. Butwell!
