Sometimes nerves are damaged as a result of illness or injury. Peripheral nerves can regenerate provided that the nerves have not been completely destroyed. When nerves are damaged, a loss of sensation, numbness, sleep difficulties and pain can result. Pain can worsen in the evening when the body is already fatigued. Symptoms associated with nerve damage can be managed via alternative medicines and treatments.
Improving Overall Health to Encourage Nerve Regeneration
Getting adequate exercise, losing excess weight, limiting one's exposure to environmental toxins, ensuring adequate vitamin and mineral intake and cessation of bad habits like smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol are recommended in order to achieve healthy nerve regeneration. All of these measures will help ease the symptoms associated with nerve pain. Smoking cessation is vital; smoking constricts the blood vessels that are the primary suppliers of nutrients to peripheral nerve fibers.
Acetyl-l-Carnitine
In a study published in 2004 in the journal Diabetes Care conducted by A.F. Sima, MD, PhD, Menotti Calvani, MD, Munish Mehra, PhD and Antonino Amato, MD from the Department of Pathology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, it was found that Acetyl-l-Carnitine supplementation helps reduce pain associated with nerve regeneration in diabetic patients. The group of researchers found that after taking Acetyl-l-Carnitine, patients illustrated an improvement in fiber cluster regeneration, and there was significant pain reduction in those individuals taking more than 1000 milligrams of Acetyl-l-Carnitine daily. Acetyl-l-Carnitine can be consumed in capsule form by taking 1 to 4 588 milligram capsules daily with or without food.
St. John's Wort
St. John's Wort can be used as a holistic treatment for nerve regeneration pain. St. John's Wort can be consumed in capsule form by taking three 300-mg capsules a day with or without meals.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of Chinese alternative medicine that uses micro-needles placed at different points of the body in order to alter one's body energies. The needles help to stimulate the nerve fibers, which send certain signals to the spinal column and brain which, in turn, activates your body's nervous system. Then, your body begins to produce needed hormones for diminishing pain, improving circulatory processes, regulating body temperature, and enhancing the functioning of white blood cells.
In a study released in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine conducted by Yueh-Sheng Chen, Jaung-Geng Lin, Chih-Jui Lao from the Institute of Chinese Medical Science, China Medical College in Taiwan along with colleagues Ter-Hsin Chen, Ching-Liang Hsieh, Chun-Ching Lin, Chih-Jui Lao, and Chin-Chuan Tsai revealed that acupuncture offers positive effects in terms of nerve regeneration. The researchers found that electroneedling treatment helped enhance the ultrastructural nerve organization, increases nerve axon density, and improves the condition of blood vessels. Similar studies were conducted by S Schröder, J Liepert, A Remppis, and JH Greten from the Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine in Germany. The latter researchers studied the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy; the study revealed that those patients that received acupuncture illustrated improvements in terms of the painful symptoms associated with their condition.
