Health Topic

Peripheral Nerve Disorders

Peripheral nerves are nerves outside your brain and spinal cord. Learn about neuropathy and more than 100 other types of peripheral nerve disorders.

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Also called: Neuritis · Peripheral neuritis · Peripheral neuropathy

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Peripheral Nerve Disorders

Nerves are like wires that carry messages back and forth between your brain and your body. Your peripheral nerves branch off from your brain and spinal cord and connect to all parts of your body, including your muscles and organs. Peripheral nerves carry messages from your brain that control your movement, breathing, heartbeat, digestion, and more. They also carry messages from your body to your brain, so you can feel things, such as pain, heat, and cold.

Peripheral nerve disorders happen when one or more peripheral nerves are damaged. Damaged nerves may not carry messages correctly, or they may not work at all. As a result, you may have pain, trouble walking, or a variety of other problems, depending on which nerves are involved.

Peripheral nerve disorders are very common. There are more than 100 different types.

Many things can damage nerves and lead to peripheral nerve disorders:

  • Diabetes is the most common cause of peripheral nerve disorders. Most people with diabetes will develop diabetic nerve problems.
  • Physical injury (trauma) that stretches, crushes, squeezes, cuts, or puts pressure on one or more nerves. Some examples of peripheral nerve disorders from physical injury include complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries.
  • Health conditions, including: Certain cancers and their treatment (chemotherapy and radiation therapy).
  • Infections, such as HIV and Lyme disease.
  • Problems with blood or blood vessels.
  • Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
  • Kidney or liver disease.

In certain cases, the cause of peripheral nerve disorder is not known.

The symptoms of peripheral nerve disorders depend on which nerves are affected, what is causing the damage, and how serious it is:

  • Weak or aching muscles
  • Problems with balance, walking, or using your arms and hands
  • Cramps or twitching muscles
  • Muscle shrinking
  • Tingling, numbness, or pain often in the hands and feet
  • Not being able to feel heat, cold, or pain, such as a cut on your foot
  • Pain from even light touch
  • A heartbeat that's too fast or too slow
  • Trouble swallowing
  • Sweating too much or too little
  • Vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation
  • Problems with urination or sexual function

Symptoms may range from mild to very strong. They may develop quickly over days or slowly over months and years. But they are rarely life-threatening.

To find out if you have a peripheral nerve disorder, your provider will:

  • Ask about your medical history
  • Ask about your family health history
  • Do a physical exam
  • Order tests, which may include: Blood tests
  • Genetic tests
  • Nerve tests that measure: Electrical activity in your nerves and muscles
  • How well your autonomic nerves are working

It's important to treat any conditions that are causing nerve damage. In certain cases, that will allow your nerves to heal over time.

Treatment for symptoms depends on the type of peripheral nerve disorder you have, where it is, and how severe. Treatment options include:

  • Braces or splints
  • Over-the-counter patches and skin creams
  • Prescription medicines
  • Non-drug pain management, such as electrical stimulation or relaxation therapy
  • Surgery to relieve pressure on a nerve

You can help prevent peripheral nerve disorders by:

  • Managing health conditions that may cause nerve damage, especially diabetes
  • Preventing falls and accidents
  • Avoiding toxic substances
  • Being careful to avoid repeated motions and body positions that press on your nerves
  • Eating a balanced diet, exercising, limiting alcohol, and not smoking

It sits within Brain and Nerves.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Peripheral Nerve Disorders

6,093 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Treatments and Therapies

Related Issues

Genetics

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Peripheral Nerve Injuries, Peripheral Nervous System Diseases. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Peripheral Nerve Disorders, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.