Could Sugar Be Compressing Your Nerves? The Hidden Link Between Diabetes, RLS and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Many people with diabetes also suffer from restless legs syndrome (RLS) or carpal tunnel syndrome. But what if this isn't just coincidence? According to Dr. Michael Anderson, a U.S.-based podiatrist and peripheral nerve surgeon, the real culprit may be sugar – and the damage it causes deep inside your nerves.

In one of his recent videos, Dr. Anderson explains a striking theory: that sugar doesn’t just damage nerves chemically – it also causes them to swell physically, and the tunnels they pass through become stiffer and less flexible. The result? A mechanical compression that leads to burning, tingling, numbness, and RLS-like symptoms.

Let’s walk through what he says, and why it matters so much – especially if you’re living with diabetes and unexplained nerve discomfort.

1. Sugar Makes Your Nerves Swell

Inside diabetic nerves, a sugar alcohol called sorbitol tends to build up. Sorbitol attracts water into the nerves, causing them to swell up – sometimes by 40–50%.

Imagine trying to push a thick cable through a narrow tube – that’s what’s happening to your nerves inside soft tissue tunnels like the carpal tunnel or the tarsal tunnel in the ankle. If the nerve gets bigger but the tunnel stays the same, something has to give – and it’s usually your comfort.

This, Dr. Anderson explains, is one of the reasons diabetics are 7 times more likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

2. Sugar Stiffens the Tunnels

Swelling isn’t the only problem. Dr. Anderson highlights another issue: the Maillard effect. This is a chemical process where sugar molecules bind to proteins and make tissues stiffer, less flexible, and more brittle over time.

That means the soft, elastic tunnels that should allow nerves to glide easily become rigid and unforgiving. Combine that with a swollen nerve, and compression is almost guaranteed.

It’s not just about pain – it’s about how sugar silently reshapes the tissue architecture of your entire nervous system.

3. Compression Triggers RLS and Neuropathy

Whether it’s burning, tingling, numbness, or that crawling, jerking feeling in your legs at night – these sensations may not be random. Dr. Anderson believes they are mechanical symptoms of nerves under pressure.

This could mean that RLS – at least in a large group of diabetics – is not a mystery of the brain, but a downstream effect of sugar-induced nerve compression.

4. Surgery Shows Long-Term Relief

Dr. Anderson shares the story of a diabetic patient who had surgery to decompress one of his nerve tunnels. A year later, after an accident delayed follow-up care, he returned – and told Dr. Anderson: "I’m still improving."

That’s rare in classic diabetic neuropathy, which usually worsens with time. But here’s the twist: the nerve pressure had been removed, and the improvement curve kept rising.

In fact, he references an upcoming study in which patients who had nerve decompression surgery kept improving over five to six years – even though many of them were still diabetic.

This strongly suggests that removing pressure from nerves has benefits that go beyond blood sugar control.

5. Could You Be Born With Tighter Tunnels?

Dr. Anderson goes one step further: he suggests that some people may be born with smaller or less flexible nerve tunnels. This could explain why some develop carpal tunnel from minimal activity, while others never get it despite a lifetime of manual labor.

It might also explain why RLS runs in families. Maybe it's not just genes for dopamine sensitivity – but genes for tight tunnels that become problematic when sugar enters the picture.

Rethinking Nerve Pain in Diabetes

If Dr. Anderson is right – and the early results seem to suggest he is – we may need to rethink a huge chunk of how we understand neuropathy and RLS in diabetes.

It’s not just about chemical damage from blood sugar. It’s about mechanical compression caused by sugar-swollen nerves trying to pass through stiff, narrow tunnels.

For many, nerve decompression surgery might offer real, long-lasting relief – especially when paired with lifestyle changes like fasting, ketogenic diets, or better glucose control.