You may feel a tingling sensation in any part of your body. Hands and arms are common areas where people experience a tingling sensation. Often, sleeping on our hands or arms for a long time is the cause.
But if you suffer from constant numbness, take it seriously and see a doctor to find the cause of this symptom. The causes of tingling and numbness of the hands and arms are a lot and various, and we will continue to say what Causes numbness and tingling in the arms and legs
what you will read next :
Causes of numbness and tingling in arms and hands
The simplest and most common causes of this sensation are:
- Leaning your hand or arm on somewhere for a long time
- Sleeping on the arm for a long time
In these cases, pressure is applied to our nerves in the arm, forearm and arms. When we change our position and the pressure is removed from the nerves, the symptoms gradually go away.
Other causes of tingling and numbness in the hands include:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Scar tissue that can put pressure on nerves
- Enlarged blood vessels
- Masses and tumors
The causes mentioned above can also cause a tingling sensation in the legs.
Other causes of tingling and numbness in the hands and arms include the following:
- Unbalanced blood levels of vitamin B12
- Impairment of potassium, calcium or sodium levels in blood
- Insect bites or animal bites
- Some toxins in seafood
- Recent radiotherapy history
- Recent Chemotherapy
- Skin damage: Inflammation and rash
- shingles (painful rash following chickenpox virus)
- frostbite (localized damage to a part of the body by cold)
- Inflammations and infections
In addition to the above, the following two factors can also put pressure on the roots of the spinal nerves that protrude from the space between the vertebrae in the neck area.
- Degenerative changes (arthritis):
In old age, they are one of the factors that cause pressure on the nerve. Following the pressure, the person suffers from weakness in the muscles of the arm and hand, as well as numbness and tingling in these areas.
- Herniated disc between cervical vertebrae:
In young people, the jelly-like nucleus protrudes from its place like the middle of an intervertebral disc due to movements and pressures on the vertebrae, which is called an intervertebral disc herniation. This disc protrudes from the space between the vertebrae to the roots. The spinal nerve puts pressure on the muscles, causing numbness and tingling.
The roots of the cervical spinal cord, when connected, form the main nerve trunks, which innervate our nerve trunks from the shoulder to the fingertips and provide sensation and movement in these areas.
Other causes of numbness and tingling in the arms and hands include:
- Peripheral nerve disorders:
- Peripheral neuropathies
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Pharmaceutical neuropathy
- Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis:
In cases of untreated hypothyroidism, the person develops numbness and tingling in the limbs.
- Atherosclerosis:
Hardening of the walls of blood vessels
- Types of migraines
- Raynaud’s syndrome:
It is a set of clinical symptoms that occur in the blood vessels of the fingers following a severe reduction in blood flow. In this syndrome, small arteries in the extremities of the hands and feet become involved following a cold or other stress. In Raynaud, following a cold, the fingers and toes become pale, bruised, and then red, painful, numbness, and tingling. Severe contraction of the small arteries in the hands and feet is the cause of this syndrome.
- Cerebrovascular events:
Mini-stroke or (TIA): As the name implies, in this disorder, a person will have the symptoms of a stroke for a maximum of twenty hours. People who have a mini-stroke are at high risk for having a stroke.
- Multiple sclerosis (MS):
One of the most common symptoms in people with MS is sensory symptoms. A person with MS experiences a decrease or change in their body senses. Numbness, and tingling in the arms, legs, and so on are common in MS. This numbness and tingling is not temporary and short term (not a few minutes); it will last longer (at least twenty-four hours).
When is it necessary to see a doctor?
Most people experience numbness and tingling in their arms and hands temporarily for a few minutes. This is a short-term, temporary experience that lasts no more than a few minutes and is nothing to worry about.
But in some cases, tingling and numbness of the hands and arms can be a sign of a serious injury.
It is important to see a doctor immediately if you have numbness or tingling in your arms, legs or arms and a history of any of the following problems:
- If you have recently had a head trauma or neck trauma
- If you have lost the ability to move
- If you have lost consciousness even for a few moments
- If you have recently had vision problems
- Feeling weak or severe pain
- If you have urinary or fecal incontinence
- slurred speech
Treatment of tingling in the hands and feet
Treatment of numbness and tingling of the hands and feet should be done according to the cause, in other words, numbness of the hands and arms is not the disease itself but is a sign of disorder or injury.
To diagnose the cause of tingling and numbness, your doctor will use different diagnostic methods such as nerve conduction velocity (NCv), MRI, etc., depending on your history, examination, and underlying diseases.