Living daily with neuropathy is a challenge on its own, but it adds anxiety to the mix, and it takes the meaning of challenging to a whole new level. It’s like your body...
Living with neuropathy can feel like your world has shrunk because you can no longer move like you used to. What was once the simple act of walking now feels uncertain, painful, and can even be dangerous due to a loss of balance. As a result, you might find yourself feeling hesitant to move, fearing the next step will bring pain and imbalance.
But, here’s the truth – you don’t have to live this way.
Walking and mobility with neuropathy are possible; you just need the right support and treatment to get back on your feet.
A natural, non-invasive approach, which guides you toward healing, strength, and confidence, is the key to regaining mobility and walking again without pain or fear.
Understanding Neuropathy and Its Impact on Mobility
Neuropathy is more than tingling and numbness. It’s a condition that actually disrupts the way your nerves communicate with your brain and muscles. When those signals are misfiring, it becomes more difficult for you to maintain balance, coordination, and strength.
Neuropathy occurs when there is damage or some level of dysfunction to the peripheral nerves. Your body’s nerves are responsible for transmitting signals between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of your body.
Neuropathy often affects the legs and feet, causing burning, shooting pain to be felt with each step. This alone can make you dread making any movement at all. Still, it’s some of the other symptoms of neuropathy, such as muscle weakness and a loss of coordination and balance, that make mobility exceptionally difficult, and even dangerous in severe cases.
Your body relies on a complex process that involves the nerves providing sensory feedback, along with the need for muscle strength and balance.
Neuropathy comes along and disrupts this process in a few different ways.
Loss of Sensation: You might experience numbness in your feet, which makes it difficult to feel the ground beneath you. There’s a lack of feedback between the nerves and the brain, which can lead to missteps, falls, and injuries. This can understandably make you feel more vulnerable during movement, and you may begin to avoid any activity that requires standing or walking without support.
Chronic Pain: Burning, shooting pain is one of the telltale signs of neuropathy, and it often discourages movement. It’s difficult to convince yourself to move when walking hurts. However, this avoidance can eventually lead to muscle weakening, or atrophy, making mobility issues even more challenging.
Muscle Weakness: Neuropathy can affect your muscle strength. When your nerves are damaged, they can’t properly send signals to or activate your muscles. Over time, this can cause your legs to feel heavy, unstable, and incapable of supporting you.
Balance Issues: We don’t often think of the connection between balance and nerve function, but it’s a strong one. Without proper, healthy nerve function, your body can struggle to stay upright. This can lead to those moments of frustration where you feel like the life you have known is a thing of the past.
There are a couple of important things to remember here. First, you didn’t choose this, but you can overcome it with the right approach. By choosing to take action and support your body in ways that heal nerve function, you can regain your life, mobility, and self-confidence.
A Natural Path to Healing: The Benefits of Walking with Neuropathy
Despite the challenges, gentle movement to the best of your ability is one of the most beneficial steps you can take toward relieving neuropathy symptoms.
Walking with neuropathy helps to improve balance and strength, which is critical to reducing your risk of accidents and falls. It also improves circulation, which helps to deliver essential oxygen and nutrients to damaged nerves so that they have the support they need to begin repairing themselves. Plus, gentle exercise, such as walking, can help slow the progression of further nerve damage.
Take a look at the benefits of walking that can help improve your symptoms of neuropathy.
- Even gentle exercise like slow walking releases endorphins that are your body’s natural painkillers, easing the discomfort associated with your neuropathy symptoms
- Improves blood circulation and oxygen delivery to damaged nerves
- Helps to stimulate nerve regeneration
- Builds and enhances balance and coordination
- Strengthens muscles in the legs and feet
- Improves body awareness, also known as proprioception
- Reduces inflammation
- Regular exercise can help lower blood sugar levels, which is key if your neuropathy is diabetes related
- Increases energy levels
- Improves sleep quality
- Reduces stress hormones, such as cortisol, that can make the perception of neuropathy pain worse
- Can help to improve posture, reducing the pressure put on nerves
- Can help to delay the progression of neuropathy
Tips for Walking Safely with Neuropathy
If your neuropathy is severe or you are currently experiencing loss of balance or coordination, please work with a physical therapist or our team at Momentum Health Neuropathy Center to get you started on a plan to safely and gradually increase your mobility. This is also true if neuropathy pain has led to a significant decline in your mobility.
As your mobility increases, there are a few things to keep in mind. Safety should be a top priority to both ease neuropathy symptoms and prevent injury.
Easy Does It! - Start slow, even if that means taking a few laps in your living room. Choose flat, even surfaces and don’t overexert yourself. There isn’t a competition, and it’s important to honor your body. You can gradually increase your duration and distance as mobility increases.
Support Those Feet - The value of good, supportive footwear can’t be overstated. There are shoes designed specifically for individuals with neuropathy or diabetes that can make mobility easier and more comfortable. Look for shoes that are supportive, with cushioned soles, wide box toes to prevent pinching or rubbing, seamless interiors to prevent irritation, and non-slip soles.
Consider Orthotic Inserts - You might not need to invest in a new pair of shoes to increase mobility. Orthotic inserts are available to fit into your existing shoes. These types of inserts help to add extra support and reduce unnecessary pressure on sensitive areas of your feet.
Get By With a Little Help - Assisted mobility devices like canes, walkers, and trekking poles can be a game changer when it comes to improving mobility. They offer added stability that will help you grow stronger as you’re working toward recovery from neuropathy.
Stay Hydrated – Being dehydrated can worsen symptoms like muscle cramps and fatigue. Make sure to consume adequate water daily, even if you aren’t currently mobile or starting out with gentle exercise. Most people need at least six to eight glasses of water per day.
Listen to Your Body - Never push your body too far. If you’re experiencing intense neuropathy pain or other symptoms like dizziness and fatigue, this is your body telling you it’s time to stop and rest. Pushing through can lead to injury and worsen neuropathy symptoms. Give yourself some grace and take those breaks as needed. Remember, progress isn’t always linear.
Physical Therapy and Movement: A Game Changer for Mobility
When neuropathy has chipped away at your mobility, physical therapy and movement therapy can help you start being able to move freely again. Working with a licensed physical therapist, doctor, or qualified practitioner is one of the best things you can do to improve your mobility.
These types of professional movement therapies can help with issues like gait abnormalities, muscle weakness, muscle imbalance, joint stiffness, and postural instability. The goal is to restore function and reduce discomfort while reducing the risk of falls.
At Momentum Health Neuropathy Center, we can put you on the path to mobility with our specialized therapies, helping you feel more in control of your body.
Walking Toward Hope
Neuropathy may change your mobility for today, but it doesn’t stop you from moving forward. With the right tools, treatment, and support, mobility can once again become a source of your strength, rather than a frustrating, painful struggle.
Always remember that every step counts, even if it’s one small step at a time. Each step is a movement toward progress and something to be proud of.
FAQs
Does Walking Aggravate Neuropathy?
Walking with neuropathy can be uncomfortable or even painful, but walking movements don’t typically aggravate neuropathy. In fact, walking is a low-impact activity that can help improve circulation, promote nerve regeneration, and strengthen muscles. Even just a few steps every 30 minutes can help.
However, if you’re feeling unsteady, make sure you are using a supportive walking aid, have someone with you, or work with a neuropathy treatment specialist who can help you walk safely and securely.
Can You Improve Mobility with Neuropathy?
You can absolutely improve mobility with neuropathy. Low-impact, gentle exercise is one way to improve nerve health and circulation. There are specific exercises that are beneficial for healing neuropathy, but can be as simple as walking, chair exercises, or balance training.
Can You Drive with Neuropathy?
Whether or not you can drive with neuropathy depends on what part of your body is affected. If you have neuropathy in the feet or legs, this can affect pedal control, reaction times, and the heaviness of your foot on the pedals. If you’re taking medications, some produce side effects like drowsiness that can also make driving a more dangerous activity.
The limited mobility of neuropathy is frustrating, but therapies that work to heal the nerves are available and can have you on your feet and behind the wheel again.
