Neuropathy Treatment in Greenville, SC
Neuropathy Treatment in Greenville, SC. Root-cause acupuncture + functional medicine. Dr. Hendry, DAOM, NCBAHM-certified. Call (864) 365-6156.
"Having Cancer and the side effects of the Medicine has made it difficult with the Joint Pain. However by receiving the treatments it has made my outlook and pain tolerable with the help of Dr. Hendry. Highly recommend this practice."
— Margie Halley · April 2015 · Google Review
I published research specifically on taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy in cancer survivors — the kind that comes from chemotherapy and leaves people unable to feel their feet properly. That experience shaped how I approach all neuropathy: find the cause first, then match the treatment to it. Diabetic neuropathy, CIPN, B12 deficiency neuropathy, and idiopathic neuropathy are mechanistically distinct and require different protocols. The 2 Hz electroacupuncture frequency that drives BDNF and nerve growth factor is the foundation, but the metabolic work is what determines whether those growth factors actually produce regeneration.
How Neuropathy Treatment Works
Neuropathy treatment centers on electroacupuncture at 2 Hz (the frequency that stimulates BDNF and nerve growth factor release, supporting nerve regeneration) along the affected nerve distributions. Points are selected along the affected extremities following both the nerve distribution and the classical Chinese meridian channels. Functional medicine testing investigates the underlying causes: diabetic neuropathy (blood glucose dysregulation), chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage), B12 deficiency neuropathy, and idiopathic neuropathy with elevated inflammatory markers.
Conditions Treated with Neuropathy Treatment
Electroacupuncture and Nerve Repair vs. Gabapentinoids and Antidepressants for Neuropathic Pain
Gabapentinoids and tricyclic antidepressants are first-line pharmacological treatments for neuropathic pain, operating through calcium channel blockade and monoamine reuptake inhibition respectively to reduce ectopic nerve discharge and enhance descending inhibition. These mechanisms address the pain signal but do not promote nerve fiber regeneration or myelin repair. For progressive neuropathy, managing symptoms while the underlying nerve damage worsens represents an incomplete treatment approach. Weiner and Ernst (Clin J Pain, 2004) distinguish symptom modulation from structural nerve repair in their analysis of complementary approaches to neuropathic pain. Electroacupuncture promotes nerve regeneration through stimulation of nerve growth factor expression and increased local blood flow to nerve tissue, mechanisms documented in both animal models and clinical studies. B12 biopuncture at nerve pathway points provides methylcobalamin directly to the peripheral nerve tissue, supporting the myelin synthesis required for nerve fiber structural repair. Our approach uses gabapentinoids when appropriate for acute pain relief while applying electroacupuncture and biopuncture to address the underlying nerve damage. This combination reduces the pharmacological burden over time as nerve function improves, rather than maintaining indefinite drug dependence for symptom suppression.
Research & Evidence
Peripheral neuropathy involves structural and functional damage to peripheral nerve fibers, producing the characteristic symptoms of burning, numbness, tingling, and impaired proprioception. The nerve fiber damage initiates a cascade of ectopic discharge from demyelinated axons, dorsal root ganglion sensitization, and ultimately central reorganization of somatosensory processing. The pathological process differs between small fiber neuropathy, which affects unmyelinated C fibers and produces burning and autonomic symptoms, and large fiber neuropathy, which impairs proprioception and vibration. Weiner DK and Ernst E (Clin J Pain, 2004) reviewed complementary approaches to persistent musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain, identifying acupuncture as providing neurologically grounded mechanisms for both peripheral and central neuropathic pain components. Electroacupuncture at frequencies of 2-100 Hz activates different classes of afferent fibers and produces distinct endogenous opioid release profiles. Our neuropathy protocols use frequency-specific electroacupuncture along the affected nerve pathways combined with B12 biopuncture at key points to provide direct neuronal substrate support for myelin repair and axonal regeneration.
Your First Appointment
Bring nerve conduction study results if available. Describe the character and distribution of your neuropathic symptoms precisely — burning, tingling, numbness, shooting pain, allodynia (pain from light touch). History of chemotherapy, diabetes, alcohol use, medications, and prior neuropathy testing is all relevant.
Why Dr. Hendry for Neuropathy Treatment
Dr. Hendry's 2020 Prisma Health publication on taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy in cancer survivors — specifically examining acupuncture's effects — makes him one of the few practitioners in South Carolina with published research specifically on acupuncture for neuropathy.