What to Do if You Experience Numbness and Tingling

We know that experiencing numbness and tingling can be frightening. While many people associate numbness and tingling with very serious health problems, like a stroke or heart attack, there is a much more common reason —  nerve compression and injury. Nerve compression and injury are much more likely to be the source of your symptoms that come on gradually and repeat randomly for weeks or even months. If you’ve been experiencing these symptoms, here is what you should do. 

What is Numbness and Tingling? 

Numbness and tingling often occur hand-in-hand and are collectively known as paresthesia. This term can also include other sensations like pins and needles, tickling, itching, or even burning. The loss of sensation in a limb or large portion of the body can make it hard to continue living your life at the same pace you once were. Everyone experiences these symptoms when they have a foot or body part that ‘falls asleep’ due to being in an awkward position. However, persistent numbness and tingling that returns often could indicate there is a deeper issue at hand. 

Finding the Causes

When you first come into Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we will begin by asking you simple questions to help us get to the bottom of your issue and how serious it might be. You can expect questions like: 

• Did your symptoms start gradually or suddenly? 
• Does it affect one or both of your hands?
• Do you get woken up at night because of it?
• Is it persistent or intermediate? 
• Do you have an injury to your neck or upper shoulder?
• Is it relieved by resting? 

The Common Causes

Many different conditions or issues could be to blame when you begin to feel numb or a tingling sensation. Common causes include: 

• Sitting or standing in one position for a long time.
• Injuring a nerve ( a neck injury may cause you to feel numbness anywhere along your arm or hand, while a low back injury can cause numbness or tingling down the back of your leg).
• Pressure on the nerves of the spine, such as a herniated disk. 
• Enlarged blood vessels, tumors, scar tissue, or infection that places pressure on peripheral nerves.
• Abnormal levels of calcium, potassium, or sodium in your body.
• Deficiency of B vitamins or folic acid.
• Certain medications.
• Nerve damage.
• Animal bites, tick, mite, and spider bites.

While these causes are common, certain medical conditions can also be the source of your symptoms. Conditions such as: carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, diabetes, seizures, and more could be the reason for your symptoms. 

Treatment Options 

At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we offer a variety of treatment options to help relieve your symptoms based on their cause. If you seek non-surgical treatments, we can provide: 

• Chiropractic adjustments
• Massage therapy to restore sensation to the area 
• Electrical nerve stimulation that can calm the affected nerves
• Gentle supplements and creams to treat the symptoms at the surface level
• Exercise and dietary advice to help you improve your general fitness
• Advanced nerve testing
• Peripheral neuropathy treatment 

Can You Prevent Numbness and Tingling?

Preventing numbness and tingling depends on the cause. To do all you can to prevent these symptoms from occurring include:

• Eating a low fat, high fiber diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
• Limiting salt intake.
• Maintaining a healthy body weight and body mass index (BMI).
• Getting 2.5 hours of moderate intensity aerobic activity weekly. 
• Limiting alcohol intake and stopping smoking. 
• Washing hands with soap and water regularly. 
• Avoiding sharing food or objects with people potentially exposed to infectious conditions.
• Staying up-to-date with vaccinations.
• Avoiding radiation exposure.
• Limiting repetitive hand or wrist motions. 
• Eating foods rich in vitamin V12, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium or taking other supplements.
• Treating back pain early and limit activities that make the pain worse.
• Managing stress.

Your Visit at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center

When you come in for your visit, our team will spend time learning more about you, your symptoms, and your health history to help us learn more about what could be causing your symptoms. This information will help us know just how significant your numbness and tingling is and how we can best help you and your pain. If you are suffering from numbness and tingling, our team at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center is ready to help. Conveniently located in Austin, Texas, we’re here for you. Make an appointment by calling our office today at (512)-806-0015.