Poor circulation and neuropathy: why your nerves need oxygen

Short answer: nerves need a steady supply of blood to bring them oxygen and nutrients. When circulation drops, the nerve becomes stressed and inflamed and starts to fail. Cold or burning hands and feet, leg cramps, skin turning purple or dark, slow-healing cuts and constant numbness can all point to a circulation problem behind neuropathy symptoms, says Dr. Mohamed Karim, D.C.

Signs circulation may be part of the problem

• Cold hands and feet
• Burning hands and feet, or skin that feels hot
• Cramping, especially in the calves and legs
• Skin discoloration: purple, and sometimes black, which he calls a very bad sign
• Cuts that heal slowly or become infected
• Numbness that is there all the time, not just for a day or two

Some of these, especially calf pain when you walk and color changes in the feet, can also signal peripheral artery disease, which needs a medical evaluation. Do not self-diagnose from a list.

Why oxygen matters so much to a nerve

You breathe in, your lungs pass oxygen into the blood, and the blood carries it to every tissue. Without enough of it, nerve tissue gets stressed, inflamed and starts to die off.

Dr. Karim describes a feedback loop that makes this worse. As oxygen drops, nerve activity drops. As nerve activity drops, the body sends less blood to an area that seems to be doing less work. Less blood, less oxygen, and around it goes. Federal health researchers describe a similar pattern in diabetes, where high blood sugar damages the small blood vessels that nourish the nerves.

Why nerves take longer to recover than skin

He divides the body’s cells into simple and complex. Skin is simple: a cut closes in a week or two. Brain, heart and nerve cells are complex. Someone recovering from a brain injury may need months of speech or physical therapy to walk and talk again, and nerves are in the same category. They need more time and more effort.

How his clinic approaches it

The Relief Protocol leans heavily on circulation and oxygen, because healthier blood flow gives the nerves a healthier environment. Its three parts are getting the nerve firing properly again, angiogenesis (growing new small blood vessels) to restore blood and oxygen delivery, and metabolic work to bring down inflammation around the nerve so it stops, in his words, suffocating.

Watch the episode

Cold, discolored or slow-healing feet? Book a free consultation or read how neuropathy treatment in North Liberty works. Related: why to check your feet every night.

This article summarizes a podcast episode and is general information, not medical advice. Black or rapidly darkening skin, a cold pale foot, or a wound that will not heal needs prompt medical care. Source on blood sugar and small blood vessels: NIDDK. See our medical disclaimer.