Peripheral neuropathy is a general term that means nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system. This damage may occur due to some sort of trauma to the nerves or as a result of any of several disease processes. Peripheral neuropathy may occur in any one of several varieties, but the most common type, and the type most people think of when the name is mentioned is symmetric polyneuropathy which generally effects the feet and legs and is commonly seen in diabetic patients. The reason this type of peripheral neuropathy is so common is that while heart disease and hypertension rates are currently on the decline, the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes each year continues to climb steadily each year.