Preventing Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral Neuropathy: Brief Overview

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition where the nerves in your peripheral nervous system (such as the nerves in the hands and feet, face, and internal organs) stop functioning properly.  This means you won’t feel sensations as you should, such as loss of heat and cold sensations, and feeling pain with no provocation.  See our first two articles on peripheral neuropathy at https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/a-z-diseases/neuropathy/ for more information.

Peripheral Neuropathy: Can I Prevent It?

As with any illness, it’s always better to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place, rather than to treat it later.  Luckily, there are many options for peripheral neuropathy prevention.  These include lifestyle tips, as well as getting advice from your doctor.

Your doctor will be able to answer any questions you have about genetic causes of peripheral neuropathy, and if you are at risk due to hereditary reasons.  They will also be able to give you steps to help lower your risk.

If you require medications, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor about taking medications that have a lower risk of causing peripheral neuropathy as a side effect. 

Female infertility due to weak digestion

There are also many lifestyle tips to help with peripheral neuropathy prevention.  Reducing, and especially quitting smoking can help to promote healthy circulation, which means your nerves will be more likely to stay healthy too.  Improving your quality of sleep may also help.  This can be achieved by setting a regulated sleep pattern and avoiding caffeine.

Improving the quality of food is also a major factor in peripheral neuropathy prevention and is also a great tip for staying healthy altogether!  Make sure you get enough nutritious fruits, vegetables and wholesome grains to nourish your body.  For more information about following a healthy diet, see our website at https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/diet-and-nutrition/.

Outlook for Peripheral Neuropathy Patients:

While peripheral neuropathy prevention is the ideal, sometimes this is not always possible.  For instance, you may have never heard of peripheral neuropathy at all until you experienced it yourself.  There are many ways of treating peripheral neuropathy, depending on the underlying cause.  By treating the underlying cause, which may even be another disease such as diabetes, you can reduce the effects of peripheral neuropathy.  There are also may options for self-care, and medications to help treat peripheral neuropathy if you already have it.

Chinese Medicine and Peripheral Neuropathy:

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for many ailments.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, health problems are treated by finding out the root cause of the problem.  Since all the organs in the body are related to each other, an imbalance in one organ may lead to symptoms occurring in other parts of the body.  Chinese Medicine attempts to find the main imbalance in your body, and to then restore that balance through acupuncture and herbal medicine.  This allows the organs in your body to regain their natural function, which in turn relieves symptoms such as those of peripheral neuropathy.

For more information about how Chinese Medicine can help improve your health and treat peripheral neuropathy, see our website at https://balancetcm.co.nz/traditional-chinese-medicine-hamilton/, and https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/a-z-diseases/neuropathy/.

Our Offer to You

Fill in our online questionnaire for free – and save the $135 it would cost you to do this detailed medical history in person with a practitioner.  You can request a phone call from a practitioner after they have read your online form, or just book your initial exam for $40.  Call us on 07 846 7956 to book, or fill in the questionnaire now.

References:

Carey, E. (2021, October 5). Peripheral Neuropathy. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/peripheral-neuropathy

Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine (n.d.). Archive for category: Diet and Nutrition. https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/diet-and-nutrition/

Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine (n.d.). Archive for category: Neuropathy. https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/a-z-diseases/neuropathy/

Phua, S. (n.d.). What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine. https://balancetcm.co.nz/traditional-chinese-medicine-hamilton/

Leave Comment

Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.