Precision Medical Group

Peripheral Neuropathies isn’t a single disease but a description of a host of disorders that can result from damage to your body’s peripheral nervous system.

Your body’s nervous system has two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS) made up of the spinal cord and the brain, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which connects the rest of your body to the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system contains nerves that run to the arms and hands, legs and feet, internal organs, joints and also the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.

Peripheral neuropathy is what happens when these peripheral nerves are damaged or destroyed and can no longer send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, skin and other parts of the body.

Because the peripheral nerves run to your extremities (arms, hands, legs, feet) when they are damaged you may have numbness, tingling and pain in those areas. In addition, peripheral neuropathy can affect multiple nerves (polyneuropathy) or only a single nerve or nerve group (mononeuropathy).

Mononeuropathy is usually the result of damage to a single nerve or group of nerves via trauma, injury, local compression, prolonged pressure or inflammation. Some of the more commonly known peripheral mononeuropathies are carpal tunnel syndrome and Bell’s palsy, but patients may also suffer from polyneuropathy, the term for damage to many nerves at the same time.

Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy

• It might feel like you’re wearing an invisible “glove” or “sock” at all times
• Burning sensation
• Sharp jabs, shooting pain or pain like an electric shock
• Areas of your body become extremely sensitive to touch
• A resulting difficulty in sleeping due to these pains or sensitivities
• Loss of coordination or balance
• Weakness in the muscles of affected area
• Difficulty in walking or even moving an extremity
• Unusual sweating
• Changes to your pulse or blood pressure

Testing Peripheral Neuropathies

One of the neurological tests that can be done for peripheral neuropathy is electrodiagnostic testing such as Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV).

An electromyogram (EMG) is a test that measures the electrical activity of a muscle. This test gives information about how well is the nerve supply to the muscle. A nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test is often done at the same time as an EMG.

If you need to schedule an EMG/NCS test because you have Peripheral Neuropathy you can call Precision Medical Group at (855) 364-6281 or click here use our handy contact form. If you’ve been referred to us by your doctor you will want to complete our Patient Intake form. Visit our Locations page for a detailed listing of our locations.