Small Fiber Neuropathy

What is Small Fiber Neuropathy?

Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN) is a condition that affects only the small sensory cutaneous nerves — these are the nerve fibers that reach the skin and determine surface-level pain, feeling, and temperature sensation
The symptoms of SFN are mostly sensory, including tingling and numbness
Some patients also experience burning pain or coldness and electric shock-like brief painful sensations
Since SFN usually does not involve large sensory fibers that convey balance information to the brain or the motor nerve fibers that control muscles, these patients do not tend to have inherent balance problems or muscle weakness, but numbness can often make it more likely that patients might trip or fall over any obstacles in their path

The primary method used to diagnose SFN is a cutaneous skin biopsy, which involves samples of skin being taken from your body and analyzed
Note that this is not a regular skin biopsy and cannot be done at any dermatologist’s office — make sure to check with your provider beforehand that your biopsy can be used to diagnose peripheral neuropathy
SFN can also be diagnosed by medical and a physical exam that involves functional neurophysiologic testing

If you want to learn more, click on the links below that we used to get our information.

Here are some useful webinars and presentations about small fiber neuropathy.

Read personal stories about people’s experiences with small fiber neuropathy.

Here are some useful podcasts we have come across.