Perineural Injections For Diabetic Neuropathy: How Do They Work And What Should You Expect During The Procedure?

People who have diabetes sometimes develop neuropathy, which is a form of chronic nerve pain that's caused by damage to the nerves. Neuropathy can be difficult to treat because it differs from normal pain. If you twist your ankle, for example, your nerves send pain signals because your bones, ligaments, and muscles are damaged and inflamed. With neuropathy, the nerves themselves are damaged, and the damage causes them to send false pain signals to your brain even when all of the tissue surrounding them is unharmed.

Neuropathy treatment requires preventing the damaged nerve from sending false pain signals, and one way to accomplish this is through receiving perineural injections. Perineural injections can slow down nerve transmission, preventing the pain signals they're sending out from reaching your brain and causing you to feel nerve pain. To learn how perineural injections can help treat diabetic neuropathy and what the procedure is like, read on.

How Do Perineural Injections Help Reduce Nerve Pain?

Perineural injections contain a large amount of dextrose that's dissolved in sterile water. Dextrose is a simple sugar that's made by plants. During the procedure, the dextrose and water mixture will be injected underneath your skin as close to the damaged nerves as possible, where it will surround the nerve cells. The dextrose interferes with the nerve's ability to send and receive electrical impulses, which helps reduce neuropathic pain by stopping the damaged nerve from transmitting pain signals to your brain.

What Should You Expect When You Get Perineural Injections for Diabetic Neuropathy?

The damaged nerves responsible for diabetic neuropathy are located close to the surface of your skin, so it's easy to reach them with a short needle. When you go to your perineural injection appointment, you'll tell the doctor about all of the areas where you experience diabetic nerve pain. Using an ultrasound scanner, the doctor will look at the nerves in the affected areas.

The doctor will use the ultrasound scanner to position the needle as close to the damaged nerves as possible, then inject the dextrose and water mixture underneath your skin. They'll continue the injections along the entire length of the damaged nerve to ensure that all of the nerve is treated. Since the needle used for perineural injections is so short, the procedure isn't painful. However, you may feel some itchiness at the injection sites.

Reach out to your doctor to learn more about neuropathy treatments.