Can peripheral neuropathy be reversed? It depends on the cause

If your feet are numb, tingling or burning and you’ve been told it’s neuropathy, ask two questions. Can it be reversed? And is a trapped nerve adding to your symptoms? Peripheral neuropathy means damage to the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. A trapped nerve is a different problem, and surgery can release it.

Can peripheral neuropathy be reversed?

Think of three goals. Stopping the damage is the realistic first goal when the cause can be treated. Improving symptoms comes next. Truly reversing it, so the nerves return to normal, is uncommon.^[1]

Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord can regrow, but slowly, at about a millimeter a day.^[7,8] The longest nerves reach the toes, so recovery takes months and may be incomplete.

Could a trapped nerve be part of your neuropathy?

Neuropathy usually affects both feet evenly, starting at the toes.^[1] A trapped nerve is local: one nerve squeezed at one tight spot. The two can happen together.^[9]

In diabetes, nerves are more prone to getting trapped in tight channels, and trapped nerves can sit on top of neuropathy.^[10] In a Dutch study, 44.9% of people with diabetes had a positive tap test (Tinel sign) over the tibial nerve at the ankle, versus 26.5% of healthy people.^[3] In 107 people who had nerve release for painful diabetic neuropathy, ultrasound beforehand showed a trapped common peroneal or tibial nerve in 39.3%.^[4]

The usual suspects are the tibial nerve behind the inner ankle (tarsal tunnel syndrome) and the common peroneal nerve at the outer knee, the most common trapped nerve in the leg.^[11] With diabetes, the knee site isn’t a common cause of neuropathy, but it can bring leg pain or a dragging foot.^[12]

A specialist exam looks for what doesn’t fit: one foot much worse, one painful spot, weakness, or tingling when a nerve is tapped.

What can nerve release surgery do?

Decompression, also called nerve release, is surgery that opens the tight tissue pressing on a nerve. Dr. Ozturk, a Foot and Ankle Surgeon, performs nerve decompression for appropriate patients.

For a trapped nerve. In a study of at least five years, 65% of 76 feet with tarsal tunnel syndrome had a satisfactory result with non-surgical care. That rose to 78% once surgery was added for the 16 feet that went on to it.^[13]

For a trapped nerve on top of neuropathy. Studies report:

• In 158 people with trapped nerves on top of diabetic or unexplained neuropathy, at least a year after release, 88% of those with numbness reported better feeling, 81% of those with balance trouble reported better balance, and 83% of those with severe pain reported improvement.^[2]
• A study enrolled 628 people with diabetes and a positive tap test. Average pain scores fell from 8.5 to 2.0 at six months and held for 3.5 years.^[14]
• In a randomized trial of 42 people with painful diabetic neuropathy, pain in the operated leg fell from 6.1 to 3.5 at 12 months, versus 5.3 in the other leg. The authors see surgery as an option when there are signs of nerve compression and pain medicine falls short.^[15]
• In the ultrasound study, pain at least halved at 12 months in 83.3% of people with a trapped nerve on ultrasound and 64.6% of those without.^[4]

In diabetic neuropathy overall. A 2025 review pooled 4 randomized trials and 14 observational studies, with 837 people in all. It linked decompression to less pain at 6 months, 12 months and beyond, and to fewer repeat ulcers and amputations. Balance gains weren’t statistically significant, and it called for better trials.^[16] A second review pooled 13 studies of people with diabetes. After decompression, new foot ulcers appeared in 1% of 2,466 people, and ulcers came back in 5% of 540. Its authors said the evidence was too weak for any recommendation.^[17]

How does the answer change by cause?

Recommended first tests check blood sugar, vitamin B12 and a blood protein linked to certain blood disorders.^[1]

• Low vitamin B12. This cause can be treated, and symptoms may become permanent if it isn’t.^[18] See vitamin B12 and neuropathy.
• Alcohol. Treatment aims to stop further damage.^[19] If you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor before you stop, because sudden withdrawal can be dangerous.
• Pre-diabetes. In a one-year study of 32 people with no comparison group, diet and exercise counseling was followed by less pain.^[20]
• Diabetes. The evidence is stronger for prevention than reversal.^[21] Bring blood sugar down steadily with your diabetes team, because a large, fast drop in A1C, a three-month blood sugar average, can bring on sudden nerve pain.^[22]
• Chemotherapy. Many people improve after treatment ends, but not all.^[23] See chemotherapy and numb feet.

What are the limits of nerve release?

Surgery can free a trapped nerve, but no study here shows it reverses neuropathy, and neuropathy may limit how much you gain.^[9] Most of the results above had no comparison group or no sham (fake) operation. For diabetic neuropathy itself, the American Academy of Neurology and a Cochrane review both called this surgery unproven.^[5,6] A double-blind trial in 2024 randomized 78 people with painful diabetic neuropathy. People in the surgery group had a real release in one leg and a sham operation in the other. Pain fell compared with people who were only observed, but at 12 months the real and sham legs had improved equally. At 56 months, real legs scored 1.57 points lower than sham legs on an 11-point scale. The authors said a placebo effect, meaning improvement from expecting to get better, may explain part or all of the benefit.^[24] A 2026 review of seven randomized trials found lower pain scores but a high risk of bias, no trial evidence of better feeling, balance, nerve function, ulcer healing or quality of life, and wound problems in 27 of 113 surgical patients. It called the surgery investigational.^[25]

So we do not offer nerve release as a treatment for neuropathy itself. If you have neuropathy and clear signs of one trapped nerve, we assess that nerve on its own merits.

Why be careful with clinics that promise to reverse neuropathy?

Complete reversal is uncommon, so no honest clinician can promise it.^[1] Before you pay, ask what studies with comparison groups show.

What can you do now?

• Check your feet daily. Numb feet hide injuries. Our sister practice explains the two-minute daily foot check (external site).
• Ask about exercise, including balance training.^[26]

Common questions

Can neuropathy in the feet be reversed?

The same answer applies. Some causes improve, especially when found early, but full reversal is uncommon.^[1,18]

Is there a way to get rid of neuropathy for good?

No single treatment does that. Treating the cause can slow or stop the damage, and medicines can ease pain, though pain often persists.^[1]

Does nerve decompression help neuropathy?

It helps a trapped nerve, and that nerve can sit alongside neuropathy. It has not been shown to treat neuropathy itself.^[5,6,24]

When to see a specialist

Book an evaluation if numbness, tingling or burning is new, getting worse, or much worse in one foot. Our peripheral neuropathy page explains the workup. We see patients in Lyndhurst, Paramus and Millburn, and nerve testing is arranged with another specialist.