Chiropractic Care For Your Diabetic Neuropathy Patients

As a medical professional specializing neuropathy, you probably have a significant number of diabetics as patients.

Chiropractic care for diabetic neuropathy patients usually concentrates on correcting misalignments in the spine.

Diabetes ranks number 5 in the deadly diseases in the United States.

Those numbers are growing at an alarming rate.

One of the more difficult issues in treating diabetic patients is helping them deal with diabetic neuropathy and all it brings with it.

In order to get your diabetic neuropathy patients to make the connection between their diabetes and their diabetic neuropathy, you have to educate them on their diabetic neuropathy and its symptoms and health implications.

You also have to educate them on all their treatment options.

As a NeuropathyDR® clinician, you know how effective chiropractic treatment can be for your diabetic neuropathy patient.  Part of your job as their treating physician is to educate them on the option of chiropractic treatment.

First, make sure they understand why their diabetes has caused diabetic neuropathy.

Why Does Diabetes Cause Neuropathy?

If your patient’s blood glucose levels aren’t controlled and have been high for significant period of time, the blood vessels that carry oxygen to your nerves can be damaged[1].  Elevated blood glucose can also damage the sheath that covers and protects the nerves. That leaves them vulnerable to damage. 

Diabetic neuropathy is just the medical term for the nerve damage caused by elevated blood glucose levels.  That’s the simplest way to explain diabetic neuropathy to your patients.  It will help them to better understand why they’ve developed these new symptoms.

What Happens To The Body Once Those Nerves Are Damaged?

Diabetic neuropathy happens when the nervous system is damaged.  Symptoms change according to which part of the nervous system is damaged.   

If the peripheral nervous system is damaged your patient can experience

  • Numbness in the arms, hands, legs and feet
  • Inability to feel heat, cold or even pain in the arms, hands, legs and feet
  • Burning or tingling or even the “pins and needles” feeling they get when their legs or arms “go to sleep”
  • Changes in the shape of their feet caused by weakened muscles
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome

If their neuropathy affects their autonomic nervous system, they can experience

  • Digestive problems like nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea[2]
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Irregular heart beat
  • Loss of bladder control
  • Inability to regulate their blood pressure

Why Chiropractic Care Can Help Diabetic Neuropathy Patients

Chiropractic care for diabetic neuropathy patients usually concentrates on correcting misalignments in the spine.  Those misalignments can wreak havoc on the nervous system and internal organs – including the pancreas, a direct link to diabetes.

As a NeuropathyDR® clinician, you have an exclusive treatment protocol with proven results for diabetic neuropathy patients.  An integral part of that treatment protocol is chiropractic adjustment to correct problems with spinal alignment.

As a result of chiropractic adjustment for diabetic neuropathy, the next step in the treatment for diabetic neuropathy is taking steps to reduce their symptoms and help the nerves repair themselves.  This can be done through a combination of topical pain medications, manual manipulation of the bones and joints to properly align the nervous system and nerve stimulation. 

Proper alignment of the bones and muscles and nerve stimulation are all important aspects of successful treatment of diabetic neuropathy. 

Offer your diabetic neuropathy patients an ongoing monitoring and follow up program.  Keep in touch and watch for blisters, sores, torn skin, or inflammation as a sign of new nerve damage. Make sure they’re doing a visual inspection and not just relying on soreness or pain.  Diabetic neuropathy impairs the ability to feel pain in the extremities and they may not notice the problem until it’s too late for successful treatment.  It never hurts to have a fresh pair of eyes (yours) keeping watch over them.

When you’re trained and ready to treat them, let us help you reach them.

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