Different nerves in your body carry different information to your brain where it is then interpreted into the sensations that you feel. A full explanation of this process is far beyond the scope of this book, but this is why you may feel burning, tingling, have balance issues, pain, or other symptoms. As the nerves are damaged and die, the brain interprets that as what’s actually happening. A very common thing we see with peripheral neuropathy patients is that they have symptoms that are worse at night or when they’re sedentary. This happens because at this point your nerves are getting less blood so they are more likely to misfire

The first column of nerves has to do with proprioception, which is balance. This is the sense that lets you know where your body is in space without being able to see it. If you have your hand behind your back you know if its open or closed. As these nerves degrade, many patients find themselves looking at they’re feet to see where they’re walking to account for this

The second column has to do with pressure and touch. The third column is pain and temperature. If you notice the pink covering on these nerves is the smallest in this section. That’s the myelin sheath. This is the insulation of nerves as these nerves have the least amount, they are typically the ones to first show symptoms which is why the most common complaint is pain or burning. With the least amount of protection, they get injured first.