Understanding Your Peripheral Nervous System
Your peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the vast network of nerves that extends from your brain and spinal cord to every part of your body—your arms, hands, legs, feet, face, and internal organs. These nerves carry two types of signals: sensory signals (touch, temperature, pain, proprioception) traveling from your body to your brain, and motor signals traveling from your brain to your muscles to produce movement.
When peripheral nerves are damaged—whether by diabetes, injury, compression, toxins, or autoimmune conditions—they lose their ability to conduct these signals effectively. The result is neuropathy: a constellation of symptoms including numbness, tingling, burning pain, weakness, and loss of coordination. Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from some form of peripheral neuropathy, making it one of the most common neurological conditions.
The good news is that peripheral nerves have a remarkable capacity for regeneration—unlike nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Given the right stimulus, damaged peripheral nerves can regrow their axons, rebuild their myelin sheaths, and re-establish functional connections. This is exactly what peripheral nerve stimulation therapy is designed to facilitate.
At San Diego Chiropractic Neurology, our functional neurology training gives us specialized expertise in evaluating and treating peripheral nerve dysfunction with precision-targeted stimulation protocols.
Signs of Peripheral Nerve Dysfunction
If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, your peripheral nerves may be damaged or dysfunctional.
- Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, arms, or legs
- Burning or shooting nerve pain
- Loss of sensation or feeling in the extremities
- Muscle weakness or wasting in the hands or feet
- Difficulty with fine motor tasks (buttoning, writing)
- Balance problems due to loss of proprioception
- Hypersensitivity to touch (allodynia)
- Cramping or muscle twitching in the extremities
Neuropathy Conditions We Treat with PNS
Our peripheral nerve stimulation protocols address a wide range of nerve damage causes.
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
Elevated blood sugar damages the small blood vessels that supply peripheral nerves, causing progressive numbness, pain, and weakness—typically starting in the feet and moving upward. PNS helps reactivate damaged nerve fibers and improve circulation to the affected nerves, slowing progression and restoring sensation.
Post-Traumatic Nerve Injury
Car accidents, falls, sports injuries, and surgical procedures can directly damage peripheral nerves. PNS provides the electrical activation these injured nerves need to regenerate, re-establish connections with muscles and sensory receptors, and restore function that may have been lost for months or years.
Carpal Tunnel & Nerve Entrapment Syndromes
When peripheral nerves become compressed as they pass through tight anatomical tunnels (carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, tarsal tunnel), they lose the ability to conduct signals properly. PNS stimulates these compressed nerves while complementary treatments address the structural compression, providing both symptom relief and functional improvement.
Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)
Certain chemotherapy drugs are toxic to peripheral nerves, causing painful neuropathy that can persist long after cancer treatment ends. PNS helps reactivate damaged nerve fibers and reduce the debilitating numbness and pain that affects quality of life in cancer survivors.
Idiopathic Neuropathy
In approximately 30% of neuropathy cases, no identifiable cause is found. Despite the unknown origin, these nerves still respond to targeted electrical stimulation. PNS improves nerve conduction, reduces symptoms, and enhances quality of life regardless of the underlying cause.
Our 5-Step Nerve Restoration Program
A comprehensive protocol that combines electrical stimulation with neurological rehabilitation for maximum nerve recovery.
Comprehensive Neurological Assessment
Detailed nerve function testing including sensory mapping, motor strength testing, reflex assessment, and evaluation of nerve conduction patterns to identify exactly which nerves are affected and the degree of dysfunction.
Targeted Nerve Stimulation
Precisely calibrated electrical stimulation delivered to the affected peripheral nerves using surface electrodes placed along the nerve pathway. The frequency, intensity, and waveform are customized based on the type and location of nerve damage.
Neuroplasticity Exercises
Active exercises performed during and after stimulation that challenge the treated nerves to process sensory input and coordinate motor output—leveraging the stimulation-enhanced window of neural plasticity for maximum recovery.
Complementary Therapies
Low-level laser therapy to reduce nerve inflammation, chiropractic care to address spinal nerve root compression that may contribute to peripheral symptoms, and nutritional guidance to support nerve repair.
Progressive Home Program
Graduated exercises to maintain and build upon nerve function improvements, including balance training for proprioceptive neuropathy, fine motor exercises for hand neuropathy, and sensory re-education techniques.
Supporting Your Nerve Recovery at Home
Nerve regeneration requires time, consistency, and nutritional support. Here's how to maximize your recovery between sessions:
B-vitamin support. Vitamins B1 (thiamine), B6, B12, and folate are essential for nerve health and myelin production. Deficiencies in these vitamins can cause or worsen neuropathy. We may recommend specific supplementation based on your lab work.
Blood sugar management. If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, keeping blood sugar in a healthy range is critical. Elevated glucose directly damages peripheral nerves and slows regeneration. Even modest improvements in blood sugar control can significantly impact nerve healing.
Sensory re-education. Practice exposing affected areas to different textures, temperatures, and pressures. Roll a textured ball under your feet, identify objects by touch with your eyes closed, or alternate warm and cool water on your hands. These activities stimulate nerve pathways and accelerate sensory recovery.
Balance training. If neuropathy affects your feet, daily balance exercises (standing on one leg, tandem walking, standing on an unstable surface) rebuild the proprioceptive pathways that maintain stability and prevent falls.
Why Choose San Diego Chiropractic Neurology for Peripheral Nerve Stimulation?
Functional Neurology
Advanced nerve assessment expertise
Precision Targeting
Nerve-specific stimulation protocols
Drug-Free Relief
No medications or injections
Measurable Progress
Objective nerve function tracking
Integrated Approach
PNS + laser + rehab combined
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation FAQs
Common questions about peripheral nerve stimulation and neuropathy treatment in San Diego.
Related Conditions
Sciatica
Sciatic nerve compression causes peripheral nerve symptoms that respond well to targeted nerve stimulation.
Learn moreConcussion
Post-concussion peripheral nerve dysfunction—especially cervical nerve irritation—benefits from PNS therapy.
Learn morePOTS
Autonomic peripheral nerve dysfunction in POTS can be addressed through specialized nerve stimulation protocols.
Learn moreTreatments That May Help
Low-Level Laser Therapy
Cold laser promotes nerve regeneration and reduces inflammation around damaged peripheral nerves.
View serviceVagus Nerve Therapy
Vagus nerve stimulation addresses the autonomic component of peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
View serviceCoordination, Balance & Gait Therapy
Proprioceptive rehabilitation rebuilds the balance and coordination lost to peripheral nerve damage.
View service