Our expert biohacker, Dr. Jeffrey Tucker gives us 6 tips for alternative medicine treatments that work for neuropathy.
What is Neuropathy? According to the Cleveland Clinic: Neuropathy is damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves that typically results in numbness, tingling, muscle weakness and pain in the affected area.
Dr. Tucker sees patients that are not exactly sure how they hurt an ankle, knee, hip, hands, or shoulder that developed into neuropathy. All they know is that it feels numb, tingles, and is painful. Instead of turning to cortisone shots or heavy doses of pain medication, his patients are turning to the more ancient ways of doing self-care along with modern medicine called Biohacking.
“It’s working – patients that were not making progress are feeling much better,” says Tucker.
Tucker says self-care plus traditional and alternative medicine which is the foundation of biohacking can work wonders – radial and focused shockwave therapy, deep heat from TECAR, laser light therapy and peripheral electro magnetic frequency (PEMF), along with certain supplements, herbs, better sleep, topicals, mindfulness breathing and guided movements.
Dr. Tucker is in a unique position. He has been in practice for over 40 years and met a lot of smart people. He uses the experience of his colleagues and their collective knowledge plus the current science from around the world. He has cultivated relations with other doctors and has small group weekly zoom calls where medical doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, podiatrists, nutritionists, and the lay public share information about their preferences and what is working and what is sham.
Tucker has helped popularize TECAR Ask Me Anything (AMA), Shockwave AMA, Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) and Physical Therapy (PT) AMA and Kinotek AMA. These on-going zoom calls with regular practitioners, educators, integrative medicine specialists, University and Hospital based medicine practitioners are using and looking at new and innovative methods and technologies like TECAR and focused shockwave. “We like to share the benefits of non-invasive procedures that help athletes recover faster, and help regular people deal with chronic pain. We see difficult cases of pain heal better and faster using combination therapies like shockwave, Winback TECAR therapy and laser light therapy especially for patients with neuropathy and osteoarthritis.”
Dr. Tucker treating with Winback
These doctors recognize that extensive studies have been done but cannot keep up with all the formation. Doctors get together and talk about everything from sports medicine, injuries, and best approaches to neuropathy, dementia and arthritis. “In the Ask Me Anything format we share what we find works out in our practices for patient lives in real time. We talk about everything from products that claim to increase longevity, increase sexual vigor, costs of care, and how to optimize your body.”
How do you know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to Biohacking alternative medicine? Google search is easy but takes a lot of time to sort through. Biohackers are looking for well-done, independent studies on herbs, acupuncture, hypnosis, hyperbaric oxygen, etc. to guide them. Doctors banding together with the purpose of sharing experience, encouraging in-office research, education, and new evidence on alternative medicine, are gathering information to give to their patients. This practice takes solid science and natural experience behind them into Biohacking.
Here, are six alternative neuropathy practices that are among the most promising:
- Light therapy for pain: Hands, down, this was the No. 1 recommendation from Tucker’s panel of experts he chooses to consult with. They also recommended laser light therapy for other problems, including arthritis, healing better and faster after surgery and chemotherapy. Tucker has a laser on his website www.DrJeffreyTucker.com that he recommends for daily at home use.
- Pulsed Shockwave Therapy: Shockwave has emerged as state of the art for painful scar tissue, fascial stiffness, muscle stiffness, improved decreased range of motion, increasing blood flow and decreasing pain.
- Winback TECAR therapy: Our panel of experts agreed this new deep heat sensation is promising. “It’s worth a try for neuropathy,” says Tucker. Winback TECAR increases blood flow and oxygen to the vessels and nerves.
- Movement: One of the biggest mistakes people make when they have neuropathy is that they stop moving because they feel unsteady. Tucker says, “If you have a body you have a workout.” You don’t need to be formally trained, just set a two-minute timer and practice gentle repetitive movements. One place to start is doing repetitive ankle or arm circles. Take it slow but be consistent daily!
- Supplements: “I tell people it’s going to take a while,” says Tucker. Try new supplements for a six- to twelve -week trial. AMA experts encourage upregulating NAD and the B complex because this will improve mitochondria capacity. Other important oral treatments consisting of Nutraceuticals or supplements that address neuropathy and inflammation include: N-Acetyl Cysteine, Tocopherols (Vitamin E – alpha, delta, gamma), Omega -3/6 (Fish Oils – DHA/EPA), Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ like CoQ-10), Quercetin.
- Topicals for pain and uncomfortable sensations: These AMA experts say it really helps. The technique is simple, rub in PhytoZol directly into the area, relax and focus on breathing and transport of the product into the pain or symptom. “Topicals are safe and effective,” says Tucker. It needs to be done at least 3 times a day.
To visit Dr. Tucker, go to: https://www.drjeffreytucker.com/
Read more about Dr. Tucker and his work with laser treatment HERE.
