Your symptoms may vary depending on the type of nerve(s) that are affected. Sensory nerves, motor nerves, and autonomic nerves all play different roles in the body and the affect of nerve damage to any one type of nerve will result in a different response:
Sensory Nerves: these types of nerves allow your body to feel sensations such as vibration, pain, light touch, and temperature changes. Neuropathy in these nerves would generally lead to symptoms of numbness, pain, burning, and tingling.
Motor Nerves: motor nerves are involved in muscles movement and control. Neuropathy involving motor nerves would generally cause muscle weakness, motor control issues, and/or poor balance and coordination.
Autonomic Nerves: These nerves control the function of things such as your digestion, bladder function, bowel function, blood pressure, and heart rate. Neuropathy of the autonomic nerves may cause bladder and bowel problems, digestive issues, and/or drops in blood pressure causing dizziness or light headedness. Autonomic nerve damage could also result in heat intolerance and/or abnormal perspiration.
Despite the variety of symptoms that can come with neuropathy, the most commonly experienced symptoms start in the hands and feet and progress up the legs and arms as the condition worsens. Most often, people experience muscle weakness, numbness, tingling and/or stabbing and burning pain.
Another phenomenon of neuropathy is extreme sensitivity to touch and pain from activities that shouldn’t cause pain, such as wearing socks or putting weight on your feet.
Peripheral neuropathy can affect one nerve (mononeuropathy) or many nerves (polyneuropathy). Most people who suffer from this condition have polyneuropathy.
