The peripheral nervous system plays an important role in connecting brain to body, as its network of sensory, motor, and autonomic nerves communicate sensations like pain and touch, control muscles, and regulate automatic functions such as blood pressure. When these nerves are damaged, often due to injury, infection, and most commonly, diabetes, the brain receives messages of pain, numbness, and in some cases, even paralysis. Not only does this cause extreme discomfort and degraded quality of life in the day-to-day (many patients report feeling sharp jabbing, throbbing, or burning sensations), but over time, symptoms can worsen, leaving extremities at risk of infection, as you may be less likely to feel complications. Unfortunately, the most common treatments for peripheral neuropathy rely on powerful steroids and prescription painkillers — a means to suppress symptoms rather than heal the problem.