Neuropathy

It’s happening more often these days. You sometimes feel weak, and the tingling in your toes makes it hard to keep your balance.

You might have neuropathy — a big word for nerve damage. Your nerves are like cables carrying electrical signals all over your body. When the cables get damaged, the electricity can’t flow where it needs to, and they can short-circuit. When that happens, you can have pain, numbness, tingling and muscle weakness.

At Cleveland Clinic, our neurology experts are specialists in diagnosing and treating neuropathy. We can help manage the short circuits when they happen. From testing to treatment, we’ll be by your side — guiding you and supporting you through your entire care journey.

Why Choose Cleveland Clinic for Neuropathy Care?

Comprehensive treatment:

Your Cleveland Clinic team will include experts in all aspects of neuropathy care. We’ll be there for everything — from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation and follow-up care.

Innovation and research:

We use the latest technology and testing to diagnose and treat whatever is causing your symptoms. And we’re always learning. Cleveland Clinic is leading research to find new ways to treat neuromuscular problems like neuropathy.

Trusted experts:

We work with more than 140,000 people with neuromuscular conditions, including neuropathy, each year. We’ve diagnosed and treated every kind of nerve issue, including the most complicated cases. Meet our team.

Virtual visits:

If getting to your provider’s office is a challenge, you might be able to have a virtual visit for some appointments. You’ll get the same great care but from the comfort and convenience of home. All you need is an internet connection and a smartphone, computer or tablet.

National recognition:

Cleveland Clinic is a trusted healthcare leader. We're recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for our expertise and care.

Diagnosing Neuropathy at Cleveland Clinic

Your care will always start with a thorough history of your neurological symptoms. We’ll ask you to tell us what you’ve been experiencing in your own words. This is important because the symptoms of neuropathy can be different for everyone. We’ll ask:

What are your symptoms?
Are your symptoms getting worse?
How do these symptoms affect your daily life?

We’ll then review your medical history to better understand other health conditions you’re treated for as well as your family history, social history and other factors that could contribute to your symptoms.

Next, we’ll give you a physical exam and a neurological exam to check the connection between your brain and body. Depending on your history and examination, we may order more testing, including:

Meet Our Neuropathy Team

Your Cleveland Clinic care team will include experts from different specialties. Each of these providers works together — and with you — to diagnose and treat your neuropathy. Your team might include:

Providers Who Treat Neuropathy

Locations

Our healthcare providers see patients at convenient locations throughout Northeast Ohio, Florida and London.

Treating Neuropathy at Cleveland Clinic

Since everyone experiences neuropathy differently, we’ll tailor your treatment plan to meet your unique needs. Your providers may recommend one or more of these treatments to relieve your symptoms and prevent more damage to your nerves and muscles:

Medications: Your providers may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications to relieve your pain. These can be injections (shots), pills, skin patches, slow-release medications and more.
Other pain management methods: If standard medications don’t relieve your pain, we may recommend acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) or a surgically implanted spinal cord stimulator.
Physical or occupational therapy: Physical therapy can help strengthen your muscles, especially after surgery. An occupational therapist will help you adjust to changes in your body and help you move more confidently. These therapies can also help manage some of your symptoms, like pain, tingling or numbness.
Surgery: You might need surgery to reconnect or repair damaged nerves, or to remove damaged nerves (brachial plexus repair and reconstruction) to keep pain signals from reaching your brain. Our surgeons are skilled at all procedures to treat nerve damage.

Follow-Up Care

Managing neuropathy is often lifelong and doesn’t stop after your initial visit and testing. We’ll be there for you every step of the way to answer questions, measure your progress and adjust your treatment as needed. Our follow-up care includes a review of your symptoms and seeing how you respond to treatment. We may also consider more testing, assessment and other treatment options if your symptoms don’t improve or change.

Taking the Next Step

It’s important to trust your body and listen to what it’s telling you. If you feel like something isn’t right, it’s time to talk to an expert. Cleveland Clinic’s neuropathy specialists are ready to help. We’ll work with you to understand what’s going on and make a plan to help you feel better, stronger and as pain-free as possible.