Conditions · Pain

Acupuncture for Peripheral Neuropathy (Numbness & Tingling)

Peripheral neuropathy is damage to the nerves of the hands and feet that causes numbness, tingling, burning or pain. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help ease symptoms, alongside the care that manages the cause, such as diabetes or cancer treatment.

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Common symptoms

Numbness or pins and needles in the feet, and sometimes the hands, often in a stocking or glove pattern
Burning, stabbing or electric pain, often worse at night
Feet that feel cold, or feeling like you are walking on cotton
Sensitivity to touch, even from socks or bedsheets
Poor balance or unsteadiness, especially in the dark
Weakness in the feet or hands

Common causes

Diabetes, the most common cause
Chemotherapy and some other medicines
Low vitamin B12, and heavy alcohol use
Kidney disease, an underactive thyroid and some infections
Autoimmune conditions and inherited nerve disorders

How Chinese medicine understands peripheral neuropathy

In Chinese medicine, the skin and muscles feel normally when Qi and Blood reach them. Numbness means they are not arriving, either because there is not enough, or because something is blocking the way.

The common patterns are:

Qi and Blood deficiency. Numbness with weakness, tiredness and pale skin. The limbs are seen as not being nourished well enough. This pattern is common after long illness or chemotherapy.
Blood stasis in the channels. Sharp, stabbing or fixed pain, often worse at night, with darker or cooler skin on the feet.
Damp or Phlegm obstruction. Heavy, swollen or dull feet, often with weight gain or digestive trouble. This is often linked with diabetes in Chinese medicine.
Yin deficiency with heat. Burning feet, worse at night, with a dry mouth and poor sleep.

Most people have a mix, and the mix decides the treatment. Burning feet are treated differently from cold, numb ones.

What treatment involves

Neuropathy always has a cause, and that cause needs medical care first. Treatment here runs alongside your family doctor, specialist or oncology team.

Your first visit includes a lot of questions: where the numbness is, when it started, what makes it worse, your blood sugar or treatment history, and your medicines. I also look at your tongue and take your pulse. The pattern diagnosis comes from that.

Acupuncture for neuropathy commonly uses points on the lower legs, feet, hands and arms, plus points elsewhere to address the pattern. I treat the whole body at every treatment, not only the area that hurts. The skin of numb feet is checked each time, and extra care is taken where feeling is reduced.

Where the feet are cold and the pattern is a deficient or cold one, moxibustion can add warmth, used cautiously because numb skin may not sense heat well. Chinese herbal medicine is a formula written for your pattern and dispensed at the clinic. Check with your doctor or oncology team before taking herbs, especially during chemotherapy.

The clinic is in Keswick. Nerve symptoms change slowly, so progress is gradual. Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress.

Between visits

Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters or redness, especially if you have diabetes. Use a mirror or ask for help.
Wear well-fitting shoes and do not walk barefoot, even at home.
Test bath water with your elbow, not your feet, and avoid heating pads on numb skin.
Keep moving. Regular walking and simple balance exercises help circulation and steadiness.
Keep up with your medical care, including blood sugar control and any vitamin B12 tests your doctor suggests.

When to see your doctor first

See your doctor before starting treatment if your numbness or tingling has not been assessed. Get help promptly if:

Numbness or weakness comes on suddenly, or on one side of the body, or with a drooping face or trouble speaking. Call 911.
Weakness spreads up the legs over hours or days, or you have trouble breathing or swallowing. Go to the emergency department.
You lose control of your bladder or bowels, or have numbness in the groin.
You have a foot wound, blister or colour change that is not healing.
Symptoms are getting worse quickly, or you fall.
You are on chemotherapy and the numbness is new or worsening. Tell your oncology team.

What the research says

Across 25 trials with 1,561 people, acupuncture added to conventional treatment eased pain from diabetic neuropathy more than conventional treatment alone. The authors noted limitations in the review and said further clinical studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Acupuncture for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neurology, 2023.
Pooling 6 randomized trials with 386 people with cancer, acupuncture improved pain and nerve symptom scores from chemotherapy-related neuropathy, though nerve conduction did not change. The authors said the small number of people studied means larger trials are needed.
The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2019.

Research findings describe groups of people in studies. How you respond depends on your own diagnosis.

Questions about peripheral neuropathy (numbness & tingling)

How is this different from carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal tunnel is one nerve squeezed at the wrist, so the numbness is in the thumb side of one hand. Peripheral neuropathy usually affects many nerves and starts in both feet, working its way up. Your doctor can tell them apart, sometimes with nerve tests.

I have diabetes. Is acupuncture safe for my feet?

It is used for people with diabetes, with extra care. Numb feet heal more slowly and may not feel a problem, so the skin of your feet is checked at each visit. Keep up your foot checks with your doctor or foot specialist, and tell me if your blood sugar has been hard to control.

Can I have acupuncture during chemotherapy?

Often yes, but only with your oncology team's knowledge. Low blood counts can raise the risk of infection or bruising, so treatment is timed around your cycles and your team's advice.