Find relief from
● Burning & Tingling
● Numbness
● Sharp stabbing pain
● Insomnia & fatigue
● Muscle weakness
● Side effects from prescribed Rx

Whether your peripheral neuropathy is originally caused by diabetes, chemotherapy or is of unknown origin, acupuncture can significantly reduce the signs of peripheral neuropathy (PN).

It is estimated that 20 million Americans endure PN and more are being diagnosed every day. Whether it is experienced as the “pins and needles” or burning or cramping, PN can seriously impact the quality of life and wellbeing of patients.

Most people first turn to their doctor who prescribes medications such as Gabapentin or Pregabalin (Lyrica) which often have such seriously negative effects on ones quality of life. Often the side effects are unbearable and lead to the patient stopping treatment altogether.

As one patient put it; “Well, it had eased my pain some, but the side effects had taken my life from me. I’m dizzy at times, my head is always foggy and not clear thinking, I have depression, anger outbursts I’ve never had before, daily nausea, and am so tired that I can sleep all day and night long and can barely function. Unfortunately the alternative medications have even worse negative side effects, so what are we supposed to do in order to have some normalcy?”

By design, drugs like gabapentin and pregabalin (lyrica) are anti-epileptic, anticonvulsant drugs whose purpose is to slow down the impulses of the brain function and throughout the entire nervous system. In effect, it is intended to “dumb–down” the brain and nerves so we simply feel less pain. It is also substantially addictive and has significant withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it.

Acupuncture Offers An Alternative.

Thankfully, there have been several high quality university studies looking at the effectiveness of Acupuncture as a treatment. And without exception, acupuncture is shown to not only offer significant relief to symptoms but is able to do so with none of the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical medications.

As one study reports “Acupuncture was significantly more effective than placebo for treatment of numbness of the lower extremities, spontaneous pain in the lower extremities, rigidity in the upper extremities and alterations in temperature perception in the lower extremities after therapy.”

The treatment protocol for acupuncture depends on the individual. Every case is unique. Some people need less acupuncture and some people need more; just like any medicine or therapy. What we have seen in our office is that just 12 sessions spread over 6 weeks can commonly offer significant relief from the signs and symptoms of PN.

Acupuncture is a very “user friendly” experience where the patient comes to the office and relaxes as the acupuncturist places very fine filament-threads of wire (which are often referred to unpleasantly as “needles”) into the skin at certain points on the body. The patient is typically relaxing in a recliner or on a massage table and often dozes off during their 40 minute treatment. It is 100% painless for virtually everybody that comes and is seen almost universally as a pleasant experience.
Like most interventions; healing takes time. Acupuncture is not intended to offer spontaneous relief. It often takes 2-3 treatments to begin to see improvement and that improvement continues to grow throughout the course of treatment over the several weeks. Thankfully, the effects are worth it; with no negative side effects (but do expect to see positive side effects which appear with treatment), acupuncture is addressing many of the underlying causes of the PN and therefore is known to have very long lasting effects (unlike pharmaceuticals where the benefit disappears as soon as you miss a dose). Once patients find their significant relief after 12 or so treatments, many choose to come in periodically for an occasional “tune-up” to keep the results solid. This is because, just like everything else, preventative acupuncture medicine is so much more effective than trying to fix the problem after the fact. With all of the positive side benefits of acupuncture, many do choose routine acupuncture “just because” they like it.