Infrared Heat Therapy for Neuropathy

Neuropathy is a general medical term used to describe any sort of disease, condition, or abnormality of the nervous system. Neuropathy is often caused by degenerative diseases such as diabetes, and a number of treatments and therapies are still being tested and perfected to help in these cases. One of these treatments is infrared heat therapy.

Selection

• The first step is to go through any necessary tests and make sure that infrared heat therapy is a treatment option. Low-level infrared therapy uses a laser to direct heat radiation into the areas the neuropathy is effecting. Often, especially with conditions like diabetes, these areas are the extremeties such as the hands and feet. However, infrared heat therapy is not considered a traditional treatment, and in cases of neuropathy it's considered to be experimental for the most part. So other methods will have had to fail first, or they'll be used in conjunction with the heat therapy.

Preparation

• Like with any other therapy, it's important that those patients who are undergoing infrared heat therapy understand what they're going to experience and what the possible side effects are. Some people will have negative reactions to the heat and the light, which can cause skin irritation and sensitivity to natural sunlight.
  This therapy is usually performed at a clinic, not at a hospital, so it will be important for a patient to decide which clinic to go to and find out how often therapy visits will be necessary.

Expectations

• While infrared heat therapy does show promise, it is still an unproven method of therapy. This should be explained to patients, and it is critical that they understand that infrared heat therapy is not a cure. Additionally, there's a chance that sessions won't be covered by medical insurance. This may be another important consideration, as regular sessions of infrared heat therapy can be expensive.