Neuropathy

Are you feeling stabbing or burning pain, weakness, or tingling in your arms or legs? Maybe you’re feeling pins and needles in your hands, or your feet feel like you’re walking on tacks? These are signs that you’re suffering from Peripheral Neuropathy. Neuropathy means that your nerves aren’t functioning correctly. Peripheral means that the nerves are involved in the periphery (the outer limits or edge of an area) of the body (arms, legs, hands, and feet).

Signs and symptoms of neuropathy may include:

• Numbness, prickling, tingling in the arms, legs, hands, or feet.
• Sharp, jabbing, or burning pain in the neck, shoulders, or low back.
• Pain or weakness during activities that shouldn’t cause pain or weakness.
• Hypersensitivity to touch; feeling as if you are under blankets or as if you
are wearing gloves or socks when you’re not.

Though numerous conditions can cause neuropathy, they all work the same way. Either they disrupt the nerve signals by physically disrupting the nerve (e.g., pinching), or they affect the nerve’s nutrition (e.g., blood flow), which leads to diminished nerve function. The nerves originate from the brain and leave the skull to travel down to the rest of the body. As they leave the skull they pass through the top bone of the spine,
known as the atlas.

The atlas houses and protects the top part of the spinal cord, and as the nerve bundles continue downwards through the atlas, they branch out and send the peripheral nerves to the rest of your body. The atlas also helps and protects the blood supply to the brain and the top portion of the spinal cord. If the atlas is misaligned, it can twist the spinal cord, causing physical disruption to the nerve and the potential to pinch the arteries that supply blood to the brain and cord, which manifests as diminished blood flow.

Either of these conditions may lead to Peripheral Neuropathy. Through our consultation and exam procedures at Atlas, we will see if your atlas is out of position and if this may have a part in causing your neuropathy. If we suspect it does, we will run a specific analysis through spinal engineering software to determine what we can do to put the atlas back where it needs to be.

Once we have determined your required correction, a painless Atlas procedure will move the atlas back toward its proper position. This, in turn, reduces tension on the spinal cord and nerves and helps correct and improve blood flow to the brain and cord, restoring normalcy to the nervous system and reducing your neuropathy.

If you or someone you know is suffering from neuropathy, call Atlas today to schedule a free consultation. The results may be life-changing!