Has anyone tried acupuncture for neuropathy foot pain??

My chiropractor suggested that. I have thigh to foot tingling, pain, cramps after anterior total hip. My chiropractor told me they are seeing patients in the small town we live near with the same problems after this anterior hip surgery. Please let me know if anyone responds and I will try it. Nothing else works. Thank you.

No. I've tried acupuncture in the past for various pains,back,hip,knees and it did nothing except drain my wallet. Weeks went by and when I asked if it was unusual for nothing to happen to help me the person said everybody is different. The soothing music was horrible. They have better music in funeral homes. After several hundred $$$$ I quit.

Note: Acupuncture is recognized by the US NIH, as having proven medical benefits.

I get acupuncture. I have injuries from car accidents. Acupuncture (with electric stim) is the only thing that gets my back out of pain (L4 an L5 and now others also).

It is also useful for other things.

That being said, it seems to help for awhile. Maybe powerfully for a couple of days and then somewhat over the course of a month. But without any, I would be a total wreck.

I have sciatica and neuropathy. Frankly, I am not always sure which is which.

I have not directed my acupuncturist to treat that, but, I think some of the general acupuncture may help.

What absolutely helps me is compression.

I have done compression socks. But I go farther. I have an anklet, which is much stronger than a regular compression sock.

I have a wrap for my knees, for my arms and for my hands also.

When I do all of them, I do get profound relief from pain.

I do a lot of other things as well...meditation, Hatha Yoga. So other things may be helping.

I would encourage you to try some natural remedies...and note that some may help only a bit. But if you find a few things, that each help a bit, cumulatively, you may get some real symptom reduction.

I also do magnetic therapy. There is supposed to be a strong relationship between magnetic therapy and neuropathy. So, that may be one of the therapies that is helping reduce the neuropathy pain.

With the magnets, I don't use the little ones. I use the most powerful kind. I am not sure how that would interact with you, but you could ask a doctor if he thinks it is ok to try.

Note: with the most powerful magnets, you do have to keep all phones and computers away from them...as the magnetism at that level will destroy those devices.

I am not always consistent in how much therapy I do. Generally, I think when I do get the neuropathy pains, it does tend to be when I haven't been doing the therapies as much.

All that being said, I don't think that neuropathy easily responds to treatments. I do many, many, many things. I assume some of the things in that mix, in coordination with each other, are what is managing the neuropathy pain.

Also note that acupuncturists vary. The most skilled ones are tons better than just any old acupuncturist. So, see if you can find someone who has been doing it forever and has a great reputation.

best of luck...

There are two basic schools of acupuncture. One school is to try and cause the patient the least amount of discomfort possible.

The other school is to press as hard as possible, in order to get at the problem.

I have had both. The "School of Hard Needle Knocks" is not a discomfort thing. It is more painful than anything I have ever had in a dental chair. And by far. You scream. Period.

If you haven't screamed while having acupuncture, then you probably had the gentle kind.

You may need the Medieval Rack and Screw kind of acupuncture.

My Pin Cushion Lady (I am the pin cushion) asks me if she can do the harder kind. Most of time, I am not up for it.

So, that may be part of the problem?

Also, as we are getting needled, we tend to tense up, that somehow interferes with the therapy.

I have my acupuncturist come to the home. When I am on that acupuncture table, it is tiny and I tense up. Getting it done on a regular queen size bed, has made a huge difference.

Also, my acupuncturist is also a licensed massage therapist. So, I have her give me stretches to do daily. Doing daily stretches and also sleeping in a proper sleeping position that does not aggravate my injuries...that extends the effectiveness of the acupuncture.

If you have acupuncture doing the day, then sleep on a bad mattress at night...you are then spending 8 hours mis-aligning your body. That can easily undo the work of the acupuncture. Oh, and you simply have to get the proper mattress. Tempur Pedic works for a lot of folks. I use a pillow top mattress.

So, you may also need to do that extra work daily to enhance the effectiveness of the acupuncture.

You may be "burning" through the day and taking your body into various kinds of positions and stress, which, again, fight against the treatment of the acupuncture. So, even just by physical habits, you can undo the work of the acupuncture. So, the work is good, but your daily habits are undoing its effectiveness.

And, by the way, that goes for many therapies, including PT, not just acupuncture. Our daily habits can easily undo various therapeutic work. Basically goes to, you know, taking much easier on our body. You may simply have to do less physical work, particularly not lift things that are as heavy, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Best of luck.

I tried acupuncture for 11 months. It helped my balance some, but did not give any relief to night pain w to hich kas left me sleep deprived for many years. Anything is worth a try to let me sleep for more than 2 or 2.5 hours at a time.

Thanks for this helpful information. A lot of people have been skeptical of magnetic therapies but they have merit when used in the correct way with the correct equipment. Early this year the FDA approved a new magnetic therapy for diabetic peripheral neuropathy that I believe represents a major breakthrough. And since virtually all neuropathies have as their proximal cause mitochondrial/endothelial dysfunctions resulting in axonal failure I believe this therapy is applicable to PN's generally ascribed to a broad range of etiologies. Here is an excerpt from Neuralace Medical's announcement in January of this year:

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuralace Medical, Inc., an innovator in pain management technology, today proudly announces the FDA clearance of its groundbreaking product, Axon Therapy (mPNS), for the treatment of chronic Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN). This landmark approval marks the first-ever FDA clearance of a non-invasive, magnetic peripheral nerve stimulation (mPNS) treatment for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy, offering new hope to millions suffering from this debilitating condition.

Axon Therapy utilizes a pioneering approach of magnetic peripheral nerve stimulation (mPNS) to deliver a quick, painless, and non-invasive treatment. Each session, painless and lasting just 13.5 minutes, harnesses the power of magnetic pulses to provide relief, representing a significant advancement in pain management.

In a recent double-blind Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) involving 71 patients, Axon Therapy demonstrated remarkable efficacy. The study included 21 participants in a sham group and 50 in the mPNS active group, with the sham group given an opportunity to cross over (CX group) at 30 days. The primary endpoint, Day 30 Visual Analog Scale Pain Score (VAS), alongside secondary endpoints including Patient Reported Outcomes, highlighted significant improvements in subject outcomes.

Key findings include:

A 72.3% responder rate in the treatment group at Day 30.
A 57.6% average reduction in VAS Pain Score in the treatment group at Day 30.
A 35% average reduction in numbness in the treatment group at Day 30.
A 20% average reduction in QoL-DN total score at Day 30.
At Day 90, the treatment group exhibited an 81.4% responder rate, with the CX group showing an 88.9% responder rate.
At Day 90, PGIC responder rates of 93.0% in the treatment group and 83.3% in the CX group.

"These results not only demonstrate the effectiveness of Axon Therapy in reducing pain and numbness associated with PDN but also highlight its role in significantly enhancing the quality of life for patients," stated Lora Brown, MD, Principal investigator of the study.

Thanks so much, but can one find this type of treatment??

I have had great success with a great acupuncturist here in Grand Junction. I am totally allergic to opiates and most meds to I really benefit from it, even when the VA only pays for some visits.. Semper Fi.

my ex was a cancer researcher (cellular senescence). She used to make me review her grant proposals to the NIH. Was a fun date night, that.

Yes, I have read a couple of the studies about neuropathy and magnetic therapy and a couple of studies about magnetic therapy and healing, generally.

Of course, since magnets are cheap and no one is going to make real money off of magnetic therapy, who is going to fund the research?

So, there is never going to be enough research done.

We really know so little about the body's magnetic field and how that is related to health.

Magnetism for healing goes as far back as the Greeks, at least 2500 years and probably far beyond that.

I have used magnets to take me out of pain from injuries incurred from car accidents.

If I had a team of specialists deeply involved in my medical care we certainly could discuss all kinds of details and possibilities.

What I actually get is a GP who looks over my chart for 30 seconds - 5 minutes, once or twice a year.....and then analyzes my medical treatment on that basis.

I am sure if he spent more time, I could get better medical care.

My sister-in-law has cancer. Was undiagnosed for 2 years. I am sure if her doctor applied a truly proper review, spending the necessary time to do so, they would have caught the cancer early and she would not be facing an early death.

But...she is.

I did acupuncture 2x a week for 5 months with no improvement in neuropathy or foot drop due to sciatic nerve damage. Then I tried acupuncture with electric stimulation and it also wasn’t helpful.