Feeling pins and needles — or not feeling anything at all — in an arm or leg can happen to someone every once in a while. There are times when one wakes up after sleeping in an odd position and finds that their hands are tingly or they have difficulty moving an arm.
For the most part, occasionally encountering strange sensations or the absence of sensations like this is relatively normal. But, sometimes, losing sensation or struggling with consistent tingling can be frustrating and create difficulty in enjoying the things you love.
To further complicate matters, getting down to the source of the numbness and tingling can be difficult, and it is not uncommon to make multiple doctor visits until a diagnosis is found.
Optimum Health Rehab Woodstock is ready to show you how we can help. Our custom treatment plans are designed with your needs in mind and are aimed at tackling the root cause of your tingling and numbness.
Reach out to us today to schedule your first consultation. Call call (770) 516-7477 or contact us online to get started.
How Numbness/Tingling Treatment Can Help
Treatments work most effectively and consistently when they are created to target the root cause of a problem. The custom treatments available at Optimum are made with that in mind.
Our staff of expert providers will administer tests and ask questions to learn more about you and what is making you lose sensation or feel tingling.
What Causes Numbness and Tingling?
Numbness and tingling can be caused by an array of issues. More commonly, people experience numbness and tingling when there is pressure applied to a nerve, they have encountered an injury to the nerve, they remain standing or sitting in the same position for too long, there is a lack of blood supply to an area of the body, or there are abnormal levels of key nutrients: potassium, calcium, sodium, or B vitamins.
Additionally, numbness and tingling have been seen in clients who experience hyperventilation, seizures, whiplash, dehydration, and panic attacks. If any of these episodes happened just before the presentation of the numbness or tingling, it is important to let your provider know.
Numbness (also called paresthesia) is normally felt in all parts of the body except the brain. When felt as a lone symptom, it is not a sign of a life-threatening condition. However, in cases where it is present in combination with other symptoms, it can be a sign of a more complex medical problem, like a stroke or hardening of the arteries.
When you are working with your provider, they will run tests to rule out more complex medical conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism, and multiple sclerosis (MS). If it is determined that you have one of these additional conditions, you must seek immediate medical care for treatment.
Understanding Neuropathy
Neuropathy is a common medical condition describing the symptoms of nerve damage, and the symptoms are commonly described as numbness, weakness, and tingling sensations. Treating this condition through physical therapy sessions can help manage and reduce symptoms.
Diabetes Leads to a Loss of Sensation
Specifically in the hands and feet, diabetes takes a huge toll on all functions of the body. As the human body fails to regulate blood sugar adequately, it can lead to multiple symptoms, including inability to sleep, elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and weight gain, along with loss of sensation and tingling, especially in the feet.
Without medication, the body will be unable to properly regulate, increasing the chances of these additional conditions.
Diabetics may need to incorporate further changes to their diet and re-calibrate their insulin dosage when they are struggling with loss of sensation and tingling in their body. They may also need to increase stretching and physical activity in order to stimulate blood flow and support healthy maintenance of musculature.
Those Diagnosed with Hypothyroidism Can find Relief from Numbness
Clients who were previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism find that they have moments where they lose feeling or feel tingling in place of normal sensations in different parts of their bodies.
Hypothyroidism is a medical condition that affects the thyroid glands that are found in the neck. These glands regulate hormones and metabolic rates in the body, and when it does not function like intended, it can lead to quick weight gain, hair loss, brittle nails, and mood swings.
In females, it can also lead to unusual hair growth, fertility issues, and the inability to lose weight despite dieting and exercising.
Those suffering from hypothyroidism encounter paresthesia that results in pain, burning, loss of strength, abnormal weakness, and loss of sensation. This can impact them in many parts of their bodies and can happen at random.
In many cases, a combination of physical therapy and chiropractic sessions can help ease symptoms.
Additionally, incorporating chiropractic sessions has proven to be effective as it corrects any misalignments of areas that can interfere with the nerves of the spine.
Physical therapy, diet, a healthy sleeping routine, and exercise designed to help those with thyroid issues have proven beneficial to curb and manage hypothyroidism symptoms. Clients with this medical condition should also consider incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and reducing processed foods into their diet.
Does Working with A Doctor Help?
Reaching the root cause of your numbness and tingling is best resolved while working with your doctor. With their support, our team at Optimum Health Rehab is ready to administer a complete diagnostic through a series of tests and imaging.
Once the results are in, it will be easier to understand why you feel tingling sensations and numbness in a particular area of your body. We start our process of diagnostics by:
- Identifying the area of numbness — Finding out where you are experiencing numbness or tingling is the first step in learning more about what is causing you discomfort. Your providers will ask a series of questions to learn more about your condition and your medical history, lifestyle, habits, and levels of physical activity. All these questions are answered during your initial consultation.
- Completing a physical evaluation — Learning more about how well you move and how wide your range of motion are key indicators that help narrow down your symptoms to potential root causes. This can be accomplished by performing muscle, neurological, orthopedic, and range-of-motion tests to pinpoint the source of nerve compression or other issues contributing to your symptoms.
- Imaging — Clients can expect a single or a combination of imaging testing for their profile and to help determine the source of their numbness. Your provider might opt to perform a combination of X-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans. All of these different scans help provide a picture of what is happening inside, creating a loss of sensation.
- Nerve Conduction Velocity Testing (NVC) — This test stimulates nerves in order to understand the speed and time for electrical impulses to travel between electrodes. Completing this kind of test can help identify other medical conditions, like Sciatica issues or herniated discs.
These forms of diagnostics are noninvasive and permit clients to return to work or their daily activities with minimal interruption. If any client has a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator, they must inform their provider prior to completing any of these exams, as they may interfere with medical equipment or test results.
Testing During a Physical Evaluation
Performing tests is part of any initial consultation at Optimum Health Rehab. With the guidance of one of our licensed physical therapists, you will be asked to perform a series of strength and flexibility tests.
Your provider can check the following:
- Checking cardiovascular endurance and heart palpitations
- Neurological testing to check for nerve damage
- Range of motion measurements (ROM) and mobility
- Tests that determine the strength of the part of the body feeling numbness or weakness
- Tests to determine the balance
When Numbness and Tingling Can Be Life-Threatening
While most cases are not life-threatening, a few instances can mean the client has a more serious underlying condition that requires immediate medical care. Numbness and tingling should not come with additional symptoms, especially throughout the entire body.
If the patient is coping with any of these additional symptoms, they should call their doctor as soon as possible for a medical evaluation:
- Fatigue
- Vision blurriness or other related issues
- Pain in the back
- Pain in the neck
Are There Home Remedies to Prevent Paresthesia?
While seeking professional care is important, there are lifestyle adjustments that one can make to help curb the symptoms of paresthesia. For the most part, practicing a lifestyle that involves adequate sleep schedules, a good diet that is low in sugar and processed foods, and regular exercise helps promote a healthy lifestyle that will also help with any symptoms.
Clients who incorporate these habits tend to find help with their symptoms when they are:
- Consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
- Consuming food that is low in fat and sodium content
- Eating foods rich in vitamins, specifically vitamins B-12, D, Calcium, and Magnesium
- Exercising about 2.5 hours of cardiovascular exercise each week
- Keeping up to date with vaccines
- Limiting alcohol and smoking use
- Maintaining a healthy body weight as per your height and age
- Managing stress
- Washing hands regularly
Visit One of Our Georgia Clinics for Numbness and Tingling Management
Suffering from Numbness or Tingling? Call Optimum Health Today
Losing sensation or struggling with pins and needles can seriously affect your quality of life. To make matters worse, when coping with numbness and tingling, limited mobility and reaction times can cause more perilous conditions, like when driving a car or operating machinery.
Let the experts at Optimum Health Rehab Woodstock be there for you. Our goal is to get to the root cause of your problem and tailor a custom-made treatment plan to resolve your numbness and tingling.
Ready to schedule your initial consultation? You can reach us today when you call (770) 516-7477 or contact us online.