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“The Neuropathic Therapy Center at Loma Linda allows me to live my life.”  For Mark Knowlton, age 61, those words are no exaggeration. Mark walks, drives, does yard work, and plays with his grandkids. In the past year, he has been downhill skiing on a top-tier slope, gone boating, off-roading and fishing, and visited the Grand Canyon. He has done all of this despite severe neuropathy (nerve pain), tingling, and numbness in his hands, feet, and lower leg. Four years ago, the former college football quarterback was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

In 2006, Mark Bussell, DPT, developed a physical therapy technique called intraneural facilitation (INF) to relieve nerve pain, numbness and tingling. Since then, he has treated more than 4,200 patients with a high degree of success. Currently, Dr. Bussell and other therapists provide INF at Loma Linda’s  Neuropathic Therapy Center. How does INF work? The pain, numbness and tingling that occurs from damaged nerves are often due to blood supply being cut off to those nerves.

If you’re living with nerve pain, there is a definite benefit to eating healthy, low-inflammatory foods. A plant-based diet offers abundant opportunities for healthier nerves and less pain.  What’s also great, is how easy it is to prepare simple meals at home, where you control the ingredients that go into your meals.

Nerves have a special relationship with your blood for many reasons. There are two reasons that stand out: Blood removes waste products. Nerve firing requires energy, but after firing, there are byproducts called “metabolic waste” that shouldn’t remain around a nerve. You could compare this to trash around a house. Most of us have garbage services that assist with removing garbage from where we live. If something was to happen to the waste removal services, then it would be difficult for us to function.

The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in uncertainty, opportunities for resilience, and is set to shape a new era of medicine. For those who are sheltering in place and suffering from neuropathy, this can also be a time of stress and may leave them wondering what experts have to say about managing their pain at home. Our care team at the Neuropathic Therapy Center is committed to providing quality care for those with nerve pain during coronavirus pandemic. We are offering a variety of telehealth opportunities and tips on the blog to help during this time.

Doctors tell us the benefits of a healthy diet range from disease prevention, longevity and overall making you feel good. For those of us living with chronic neuropathy, smart nutrition choices are essential to minimizing nerve pain. March is National Nutrition Awareness month, and we’re taking this opportunity to shed light on metabolic neuropathy and how what you eat affects your pain.  What is metabolic neuropathy? Metabolic neuropathy is a secondary neuropathy to a disease process that is already occurring in the body.

You hurt. You hurt a lot, and the pain is frequent. As a result, you’ve conducted research and discovered your pain symptoms matched common signs of nerve pain. Empowered with that information, you begin taking steps to ease your neuropathy by making healthier lifestyle choices and working with a physician to identify the cause of your pain.   Upon completing several examinations, you receive an official diagnosis of neuropathy from your primary care physician.

The winter season is in full gear and you know what that means — colder temperatures, snow-filled activities, hearty foods and slowing down. While winter can be abundant in joyful things to do, for those experiencing chronic nerve pain, it can also be one of the more challenging times of the year. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying the seasonal offerings — in fact, I encourage it — the truth is the colder temperatures and sweet treats can bring discomfort to those with nerve pain.

The holiday season is upon us, and you know what that means — baking, decorating holiday festivals, traveling to loved ones, and office parties. The holidays bring the opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family. However, it can also be a hard time for those with nerve pain. Before missing out on the festivities, remember that minor adjustments can make the difference in your pain symptoms.

November often marks the beginning of the holiday season — the time of year for giving, traveling and likely enjoying a good meal with loved ones. As we celebrate the season, we also have the unique opportunity in November — diabetes awareness month — to shed light on diabetic-related nerve pain and what you can do to manage it when dining out with friends and loved ones.  Blood sugar control is essential Individuals with diabetes are no stranger to the daily routine of closely monitoring what they eat, medications and blood-sugar testing.