Diabetic Neuropathy: Can A Nerve Block Provide Relief?

Diabetic neuropathy can cause nerves to send pain signals because high glucose (blood sugar) has damaged them. Fortunately, there are many ways you might be able to reduce neuropathy symptoms like pain and tingling, including a few simple lifestyle changes. 

Double board-certified pain management specialist and leading regenerative orthopedic physician Glenn Flanagan, MD, uses diagnostic nerve blocks to evaluate foot pain and other pain in the extremities from diabetic neuropathy at Naples Regenerative Institute in Naples, Florida.

After finding the nerves at the source of the pain, Dr. Flanagan makes personalized care recommendations to improve the underlying problem before offering therapeutic options.

In this article, we’ll discuss what you can expect from diagnostic nerve blocks and personalized treatment  for diabetic neuropathy.

How diabetic neuropathy causes nerve pain

When you have high blood sugar for a long time, it can damage nerves. Up to half of people with diabetes have peripheral neuropathy, which is a type of neuropathy that affects nerves outside the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).

Diabetic neuropathy can cause these symptoms: 

• Sharp nerve pain
• Shooting pain
• Burning
• Pins-and-needles
• Unusual sensations when something touches you (dysesthesia)

Neuropathy can also cause numbness, which can lead to the inability to feel tissue damage. This is why many people with diabetic neuropathy develop leg and foot ulcers, which heal slowly because of poor circulation. 

How diagnostic nerve blocks work

A nerve block is an injection delivered directly to a nerve at the source of your pain. Dr. Flanagan uses imaging technology to guide the needle near the pain’s origin before administering the numbing medication. 

The local anesthesia in a diagnostic nerve block may result in some pain relief, which means the nerve block has reached the specific nerves at the source of the neuropathy pain. The anesthesia stops those pain signals for a short time.

When to consider diagnostic nerve blocks for neuropathy

A diagnostic nerve block can tell Dr. Flanagan about your neuropathy pain and where it starts, so he can treat you accordingly. He might recommend a diagnostic nerve block when you have symptoms of neuropathy with your diabetes, like burning or tingling.

What happens after a diagnostic nerve block for neuropathy

To help manage neuropathy, Dr. Flanagan usually first recommends nutrition and exercise counseling. These steps can help regulate your blood sugar to improve the underlying diabetes. Managing your overall health can improve neuropathy symptoms.

Dr. Flanagan recommends further diabetic neuropathy treatment on a case-by-case basis. There are several treatments he can use to slow nerve damage and improve the nerve’s health:

Nerve hydrodissection

Nerve hydrodissection uses fluid to reduce pressure on nerves at the source of your pain, which can help give them the opportunity to heal while reducing some discomfort from nerve compression.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) 

PRP is a natural injectable substance containing a high concentration of blood platelets, which can support the healing and recovery process for damaged nerves. 

Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC)

BMAC is a form of stem cell therapy that uses stem cells collected from bone marrow. Injecting these immature stem cells near a nerve with neuropathy can help that nerve heal. 

Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy treats nerve pain by triggering a healing response for the nerve damage. A sugar solution is injected, which aggravates targeted tissues to cause inflammation and stimulate healing. 

MLS laser therapy

Multiwave Locked System® (MLS) laser therapy uses concentrated light energy from a laser to help rejuvenate damaged nerves that cause pain, like in the case of diabetic neuropathy.

Dr. Flanagan can evaluate your neuropathy and help decide if nerve block injections can help guide treatment choices. Call Naples Regenerative Institute or request an appointment online today.