Have you ever felt the pins and needles sensation? We bet that every one of you has already experienced it in your lifetime. Generally, pins and needles is a common condition and often nothing to be concerned about since its just a sign from your nerves that telling you that your specific part of the body need more oxygen supply. So, it is a normal thing if you’re having pins and needles sensation when you’re having a bad position during the sleep, or sitting down too long in a chair, or you’re crossing your leg in a long time.
Since this symptom is commonly harmless to your body, but you need to give this symptom a special attention if you’re experiencing it over-frequently, with the addition with other hazardous symptoms related to your nerves, brain, and other thing that already explained in this article, because it could be the early sign that you’re suffering from various chronic diseases as already listed below.
1. Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy often called as pinched nerve in the spine. This radiculopathy often occurs when surrounding bones, cartilage, or tendons of the spine are injured and this trauma will press the nearby spinal nerve. When the spinal nerves are compressed, the inflammation occurs, and this is why you feel some pins and needles.
So, while this radiculopathy is not avoidable, but you can prevent yourself from this disease by maintaining the good posture and have an ideal weight while you’re still young, considering that this disease usually affect people in the age between 30 until 50 years old. But, if you’re already suffering from it, you could take some analgesics or muscle relaxants. If the radiculopathy doesn’t improve after several periods, you might need to have a surgery.
2. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The carpal tunnel syndrome could happen because of the excessive pressure on your wrist and also on your median nerve as it passes into the hand. When your wrist has an excess pressure, the inflammation occurs and this will lead to swelling in your wrist and obstructed the blood flow, which then lead to pins and needles feeling.
You could prevent yourself from this carpal tunnel syndrome by paying some extra attention to your hand posture and also make sure that you avoiding the activities that overextend your wrist.
But, if you’re already suffering from it, the steroid injection to the carpal tunnel are could be beneficial to reduce the inflammation. Meanwhile, you also might need to have a surgery when your doctor finds severe damages in your median nerve.
3. Neuralgia
This is the most common thing about why you feel some pins and needles in your body. Neuralgia is commonly occuring when your nerve has some damage. So, your nerve is protected by a coating called the myelin sheath. Neuralgia will occurs when this myelin sheath is damaged.
Until right at the moment, the main cause of this neuralgia is still remains a mystery, although neuralgia is widely associated as a sign of several hazardous problems like diabetes, infections, chronic kidney disease, and trauma because of the surgery.
So, when you’re already suffering from neuralgia, you should take some medication to reduce the pain of it. Taking antidepressants like amitriptyline or nortriptyline is one the best remedies. But, please notice that you must go to the doctor as the first move whenever you’re having neuralgia.
4. Peripheral Neuropathy
Peripheral neuropathy is a disease that could happen when there are some malfunctions that occurs within your nerves system. For example, your nerve system would send signals of pain whenever there is nothing causing the pain, or the most dangerous things are, your nerve system would not send signals of pain when there is actually something inside your body that harming you.
This disease commonly happens because of the genetic factors. So, if your family has a history of peripheral neuropathy, you’ll be more likely to suffer from it. Beside that, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are the diseases that could cause this disease. So, it means that healthy lifestyles will be beneficial for you to stay away from this peripheral neuropathy.
5. Diabetic Neuropathy
The feel of pins and needles could be the symptoms of having diabetic neuropathy. This disease is commonly occuring because of the complication of diabetes type 1 and type 2 since your blood sugar levels are uncontrollable and thus, this makes some damage to your nerve.
If you have a chronic disease related to this diabetic neuropathy, you will suffer from the infections in your extremities and the amputation is the only way to cure it before the infections will spread away in your body.
This disease is harmful without a doubt, so you need to protect yourself from this disease. Controlling your blood sugar levels to the doctor on a regular time and making a healthy lifestyle would be beneficial to protect your body from this deadly disease. Also, taking some insulin would be beneficial too if it is prescribed by your doctor.
6. Cervical Spondylosis
Cervical spondylosis is also commonly known as cervical osteoarthritis or neck arthritis. This disease commonly happens because age-related condition, which will affect the joints and discs in the neck. This is because the bones and protective cartilage in the neck is really susceptible to wear as the time goes by, so that the elderly people commonly will suffer from this disease.
When you’re getting old and you often feel some pins and needles in the neck, you’re probably having cervical spondylosis. If this disease occurs, you need to go to the doctor immediately, since they will be most likely to give your neck a physical therapy and prescribed some medication such as muscle relaxants or steroid injection. If the cervical spondylosis become chronic, you might need to have a surgery.
7. Ulnar Nerve Palsy
If you feel some pins and needles sensation alongside with the sensation of muscle weakness in your hand or the sensation of losing a grip strength, you might having this ulnar nerve palsy disease. This condition will affect your overall ability to do many routine tasks in the daily life.
Until this time, the main cause of the ulnar nerve palsy is remains a mystery, but some expert says that this disease could happen because of an injury in the nerve, an elbow dislocation, or excess pressure on the nerve.
To prevent yourself from this disease, you need to go to the doctor for medical treatment as soon as possible, especially when you feel some pins and needles in your fourth or fifth fingers. Also, you need to reduce the activity that placing the excess pressure on your ulnar nerve. A splint to support the hands and physical therapy will be very helpful to treat this disease.
8. Transient Ischemic Attack
This disease is commonly called as ministroke. Often called that way because this disease commonly occurs when the blood stops flowing to the brain in short amounts of time. But, this transient ischemic attack would not kill the brain cells, like the common stroke does.
Be careful when you’re having this disease since this disease is an early sign of stroke in the future. If you feel some pins and needles in the body, alongside with other symptoms like unconsciousness, dizziness, sudden fatigue, or difficulty in speaking, you might suffer from this disease.
Since this disease, just like a common stroke, can be caused from obesity, cholesterol, hypertension, or blood clots, so you need to quit smoking, reduce the consumption of alcohol, exercising more frequently, and eating healthy foods to stay away from this disease.
If you are already suffering from this disease, medication to control the blood sugar levels in the body together with taking on aspirin that prescribed by your doctor to prevent blood clots might help you to get away from this disease.
9. Stroke
This disease is the future development if you’re not dealing with transient ischemic attack seriously. The stroke disease could occur because of the blood clots prevent the blood flow to your brain and thus, the brain cells will begin to die. According to National Stroke Association, this disease is ranked fourth in the world for causing the death.
To prevent yourself from this deadly disease, the most important thing is: don’t ignore the signs of it. You need to take the transient ischemic attack disease or other symptoms of stroke seriously by going to the doctor immediately.
If you’re suffering from transient ischemic attack, the doctor could help you to dissolve the blood clots and restore the blood flow to the oxygen. However, if you’re already having a stroke, you need to have some rehabilitation, but that thing is not a guarantee at all that you will get away from stroke.
10. Spinal Cord Injury
If you feel some pins and needles in the extremities, alongside with symptoms like unconsciousness, problems of walking, and inability to move your arms or leg, you might be suffering from the spinal cord injury. This is a disease that occurs because of the damage of the spinal cord. The spinal cord is a very important part in our body, because it has responsibility to send the messages from the brain to the other parts of the body and vice versa. In other words, we can feel the pain in our body is because the messages that sent through the spinal cord.
This disease could happen because of the following reasons:
- Violent behavior, such as gunshot or stabbing.
- Falling from the high surface.
- Trauma during the car accident, especially head, face, and neck trauma.
- Head or spinal injury due to sports event
So, because this disease could happen because of an accident, you need to ensure your own safety during your activities. For example, wearing proper protective tools when you’re doing some sports, or fasten your seatbelt when you’re driving a car.
11. Panic Disorder
If you feel pins and needles around your feet and arms, alongside with symptoms like racing heartbeat, feeling like you’re choking, sweating, or shaking, you might have a panic disorder. According to the American Psychological Association, most people will experience panic attacks once or twice in their lives.
You’re considered to have a panic attack when you feel sudden terror that has no obvious cause. The main cause of this disorder is also remains a mystery, but some researchers evidence that it might be genetically linked.
You can protect yourself from having this panic disorder by reducing the consumption of alcohol as well as caffeine. Also, whenever you’re facing an anxiety about something in your life, don’t be hesitated to share it with people around you, so that your anxiety feeling will be reduced afterwards.
12. Fracture
The feeling of pins and needles is also can be the symptoms of fracture. So, fracture is a broken bone. This damage could be potentially happen as the result of an impact of greater pressure than your bone can support. The impact could be weakening your bone and suddenly break it. The impact that you could get is commonly happening from sports injury, direct strikes to the body, or accident trauma.
So, you could protect yourself from fracture by keeping the strength of your bone, maybe by consuming foods that contain high amounts of calcium, and also always use the recommended safety tools properly when you’re having physical activities. When you’re already having a farcture, the doctor will be most likely to give you a cast, which will prevent your bone from moving in the healing process.
13. Intracerebral Hemorrhage
If you feel some pins and needles, alongside with symptoms like sudden weakness or paralysis in the arms and leg, alongside with the struggle to keep the balance and coordination of your body, you might suffer from Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH). ICH is one of the type of the brain damage, but unlike a stroke, this ICH commonly happen when blood suddenly bursts into brain tissue.
This disease commonly happens because of the head injury, the use of cocaine, bleeding tumors, or any bleeding disorders such as hemophilia or sickle cell anemia.
So, you can prevent and protect yourself from this ICH disease by quit smoking, maintain your blood pressure and also your blood sugar levels, and the most important thing is maintains the healthy lifestyle. But, if you’re already suffering from ICH, surgery is the best treatment to repair torn arteries and relive the pressure on the brain.
14. Spinal Stenosis
If you feel some pins and needles in your legs or buttock alongside with other symptoms like leg or arm weakness and a lower back pain while standing or walking, you might be suffering from spinal stenosis. Before we talk about spinal stenosis, first we need to know what is spine.
Spine is a column of bone, which will bring the stability and support from the upper body. So, in other words, the spine will enable us to turn and twist. Spinal stenosis is a condition when the spinal columns started to compress the spinal cords, which then will also compress the nerve.
The most common thing on why this disease can occur is because of the aging. As the body ages, the tissue in the spine will start to thicken, which will compress the nerve. However, to treat this disease, the first thing to do is taking pharmaceutical thing. But, if the pain continues, taking on a surgery would be the last way to cure it.
15. Guillain-Bare Syndrome
Some of you might be very unfamiliar with this disease. That’s alright since this disease is very rare to happen around the world. Guillain-Bare syndrome is a very rare disease, but this syndrome is very harmful for your body. This disease happens because of your immune system mistakenly makes antibodies that attack your healthy nerves, that can cause muscle weakness and paralysis.
The main cause of this disease is still unknown right at the moment, but many health experts say that Guillain-Bare syndrome could happen because of the viral and bacterial infections.
Here are the symptoms that could be the signs that you’re having this rare disease:
- Pins and needles in your fingers and toes
- Struggling to walk steadily
- Struggling to move your face, swallowing, and talking
- Difficulty in breathing
- Fast heartbeat
- Loss of bladder control
You need to treat it immediately if you’re suffering most of the symptoms that already mentioned above, or it could be very fatal for you. Taking on plasma exchange or intravenous immunoglobin could be very effective to cure the Guillain-Bare syndrome.
16. Frostbite
You might suffer from frostbite if you feel the following symptoms:
- Pins and needles in the skin
- Discolored skin
- Stiff joints and muscle
- Blisters on the skin
So, frostbite is a disorder that occurs when the skin ar overexposed with the extreme cold of weather. In an extreme frostbite, your muscle and blood vessel will also be frozen. You will be more likely to suffer from frostbite if you are not dressed properly in a cold condition.
Also, this frostbite could happen to you if you’re having a fatigue, hunger, or dehydration since your body become weaker than the normal condition.
To protect yourself from this disorder, all you need to do is ensure that you’re dressed properly in a cold weather, and none of your skin is exposed from the extreme cold. Also, just limit your time in outside of your house when the weather is very cold will be beneficial to prevent you from frostbite.
17. Axillary Nerve Dysfunction
Axillary nerve dysfunction could happen when the shoulder is loss its movement. The main cause of this disorder is because of the excess stress and damage to the axillary nerve. So, you might suffer from the axillary nerve dysfunction if you have the feeling of pins and needles in your shoulder, together with other symptoms like the weakness of your shoulder, and have some problems with physical activities like lifting things
Since this dysfunction is strongly related to the physical activity of the shoulder, you need to take care the health of your shoulder if you want to protect yourself from this dysfunction. You are not recommended to perform repetitive task using your shoulder, for example overused your shoulder in the gym.
If you’re already suffering from this dysfunction, proper physical therapy would be helpful for you. But, if severe pain still occurs, the surgery is the best way to cure this dysfunction.
18. Mononeuropathy
If you feel some pins and needles, together with burning sensation, numbness, lack of coordination, and loss of reflexes, you could suffer from mononeuropathy. This is a disease that can affect the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord, which in this case, only a single nerve or the nerve group so that it will affect the part of the body associated with that damaged nerve or nerve group. This disease can affect any parts of the body.
This disease is mainly caused by the injury caused by accident or repetitive stress. Other than that, you might also have this disease because of the malfunction of your immune system, metabolic disorder, and lack of vitamins in the body. The treatment of this disease is by physical therapy and in some cases, surgery.
Make sure that you consume all of the vitamins properly and wear a proper safety tools while you’re doing activity to stay away from this disease.
19. Spinal Cord Abscess
Spinal cord abscess (SCA) is a very rare disease, yet very deadly because it can occur when the spinal cords are damaged permanently. The main cause of the SCA is mainly because of the infection of bacteria in your spinal cord. The most common species bacteria that will live and grow in your spinal cord are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. So, if you feel some pins and needles, together with a sharp pain that can radiate to arms and legs, and rapid weakness in the body, you might suffer from this disease.
Whenever you’re suffering from the symptoms that already mentioned above, go to the doctor immediately, since sooner the treatment of this disease, the more positive the result is. Rehabilitation is the best way to cure this disease since it will enable the neurological symptoms will disappear as the time goes by.
20. Dry Beriberi
Beriberi disease could happen because of the thiamine or Vitamin B1 deficiency. Beriberi divided into two types, wet and dry. Wet beriberi will affect the heart and the circulatory system, while dry beriberi will affect the nerve and thus, you can lose the strength in the muscle.
So, if you feel some pins and needles around your feet and hand, together with symptoms like vomiting, decreased muscle function in the lower leg, and have a difficult time to talk, you might suffer from dry beriberi.
Beriberi can affect many types of people, like breastfeeding women, people who drink alcohol too much, and infants that drinking breast milk. So, to keep yourself away from this disease, you need to ensure that your body has sufficient amount of thiamine by consuming foods like meat, fish, whole grains, vegetables, beans, nuts, and dairy products. Also, don’t forget to reduce your alcohol consumption. If you’re already suffering from beriberi, taking on thiamine supplements is the best way to overcome it.
21. Brain Cancer
If you feel some pins and needles in the area of your legs or arms, alongside with many symptoms like headaches in the morning, nausea, vomiting, lack of coordination and balance, difficult to thinking and walking, vision problem, personality changes, and muscle twitching, you’ll be more likely to suffer from brain cancer. Brain cancer commonly happens because of the growing tumor inside your brain.
The main cause of brain cancer is still unknown at the moment, but some unhealthy lifestyle like smoking or consuming alcohol excessively, or often being exposed to pesticide or ionizing radiation are believed to be the common thing that would lead to the brain cancer. So, if you want to protect yourself from brain cancer, you need to do the following things:
- Avoid exposure to pesticides
- Avoid exposure of radiation
- Quit smoking
However, the good news is that this disease is very rare to happen. According to the American Cancer Society, only less than 1% of people suffering from this disease.
22. Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a disease that can occur when the plaque narrowing the arteries and thus, the other tissue in the body will experience some lacks of blood and oxygen. The plaque that blocks the arteries are commonly made by the fat and cholsterol that accumulated in the body. So, if you have a feeling of pins and needles around your body alongside with the pain, shortness of breath, confusion, and muscle weakness, you’re probably having atherosclerosis.
This main cause of this disease is because of the age. As the time goes by, we are more susceptible to suffer from this disease. Meanwhile, high cholesterol level and high blood pressure can be the strong point of why you’re suffering from atherosclerosis. You can protect yourself from this disease by doing these following things:
- Eating healthy foods that have low cholesterol levels.
- Have a physical activity throughout the day.
- Quit smoking if you’re a smoker.
- Manage your stress.
23. Vertebrobasilar Circulatory Disorder
If you’re feeling some pins and needles in the extremities and in around your face, then you also have sleepiness, sudden falls, dizziness, and vision problem like blurred vision or double vision, you’re probably suffering the vertebrobasilar circulatory disorder.
Vertebrobasilar circulatory disorder could happen when there is no enough supply of blood in the back area of the brain. This disease is commonly caused by atherosclerosis, while other disease might stimulate this disorder like stroke or vasculitis.
Same as atherosclerosis, people who have a history of cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity are susceptible to suffer from this disease. This disease is preventable, you can protect yourself from this disease by quit smoking and have a healthy lifestyle. But, if you’re already suffering from it, you might need a surgery to increase the blood flow to the back area of your brain.
24. Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that makes people become fearful about the place or situation that they see as dangerous or uncomfortable. Commonly, agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that makes people avoid the place or situation that can cause some panicked, helpless, trapped, and embarrassment to them.
So, you might have agoraphobia if you’re feeling the pins and needles sensation alongside with other symptoms like sweating, rapid heartbeat, choking, trembling, shaking, nausea, vomiting, or shortness of breath in the situation as described below:
- Staying at home alone at several periods of time.
- Being alone in the public situation.
- Being alone in the claustrophobic place like cars, or elevator.
- Losing control in the public places
The main cause of agoraphobia is still remains a mystery, but having a history of physical and sexual abuse in the past, alongside with depression and phobia would develop this disorder. The best way to cure this disorder is through a medical therapy or self medication, with the addition of healthy lifestyle too.
25. Rabies
Rabies is one of the disease that caused by the virus from the animal that attacks the central nervous system. The virus that can cause rabies commonly transmitted to humans from the saliva of infected animals.
This disease has commonly had some symptoms like pins and needles sensation, alongside with the fever, muscle weakness, and burning sensation in the infected area. The good news is, the risk of people having rabies is relatively low.
But, you still need to take some attention of this disease if you’re often to traveling to the developing country, or going on camping in the jungle, or maybe live in the rural area where there is greater exposure to the wild animals. If you’re already having rabies, you need to go to the doctor immediately, which then you will be more likely to get rabies immunoglobin.
26. Carotid Stenosis
If you’re feeling pins and needles sensation in around your arm, leg, and face alongside with other symptoms like memory loss, permanent blindness, inability to speak, and loss of consciousness, you’re probably suffering from chronic disease called carotid stenosis.
This disease is mainly occuring because your carotid arteries are blocked by the plaque and thus, the carotid arteries will be more narrow than before. Carotids are located on the both sides of your neck, which has the responsibility to carry oxygen-rich blood to the brain.
Same as other disease that occurs because of the narrowing of the arteries, carotid stenosis is commonly happening because of the fat and cholesterol that accumulated in the body which then forming as a plaque. People with diabetes, cholesterol, and obesity are more prone of having this disease. So, to prevent yourself from this disease, you need to quit smoking and have a healthy lifestyle.
27. Alkalosis
Naturally, your blood contains a correct balance between acids and bases. But in the case of alkalosis, your body contains too much bases. There two main problems on why your body contain too much bases. The first one is because the decreased level of carbon dioxide in the blood and the second one is because the increase of bicarbonate levels in the blood.
If you have symptoms like the pins and needles sensation, muscle twitching, hand tremors, prolonged muscle spasm, and nausea, you’re probably suffering from this disease.
Since this disease could happen to anybody, you need to protect yourself from this disease. This disease is preventable, so you need to eat the healthier foods, which have high amounts of nutrients and potassium like carrots, banana, milk, bean, and spinach. You need to stay hydrated throughout the day as well.
28. Primary Cerebral Lymphoma
Primary cerebral lymphoma can occur to the people when the cells called lymphocytes become cancerous when they travel around the central nervous system, which then it will spread to the brain and the tissues. Without treatment, people that suffer from this disease will die for about two months after they are attacked by this cancer.
The main cause of this problem still remains a mystery, but some expert says that the impaired immune system will lead you to this disease.
So, if you’re having some symptoms like pins and needles sensation to the extreme temperatures, changes in vision, unexplained weight loss, changes in personality, and seizures, you should go to the doctor immediately. You will be more likely to have some treatment like chemotherapy, radiation, or steroid injection.
29. Osteomalacia
Osteomalacia is a kind of disease that weakens your bone. For your information, osteomalacia is totally different with osteoporosis, because osteoporosis is the weakening of living bone that has already been formed, while osteomalacia is the weakening of the bone that caused from the problem during the bone formation.
So, if you’re having some symptoms like pins and needles sensation in around your mouth, arms, or legs, and then irregular heart rhythm, and spasm in the hands or feet, you’re probably suffering from this disease.
Since the main cause of this disease is due to the lack of Vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus in the body, you need to consume foods that contain high amounts of Vitamin D like milk, cheese, sardines, yoghurt, and many more to protect yourself from this disease.
30. Femoral Neuropathy
Femoral neuropathy is a disease that occurs when you can’t feel or move the part of your legs because of the damaged of the femoral nerve. Typically, this disease will go away without treatment as the time goes by. The diabetes is subjected as the main cause of the femoral neuropathy. But, there are also several reasons on why your femoral nerve could be damaged:
- Prolonged injury
- Prolonged pressure on the femoral nerve
- Pelvic fracture
- Bleeding in the space behind the abdomen, which is often called retroperitoneal space.
So, if you have some symptoms like the pins and needles sensation around your legs, lower extremity muscle weakness, and struggling to extend your knee, you’re probably suffering from this disease. However, you can protect yourself from diabetes by controlling your blood sugar level since this disease is mainly caused by diabetes.
So, now you already know about every disease that might cause the feeling of pins and needles. From right now, if you’re suffering from the pins and needles in short amounts of time after you’re crossing your leg, or having a bad position during the sleep, you can say that the symptom is harmless since it’s just the sign of that your specific part of the body need more oxygen-rich blood supply.
But, if you’re having the pins and needles over frequently in specific areas and followed by other dangerous symptoms, you probably need to go to the doctor immediately since you might suffer from one of the diseases that already mentioned above. Remember, early treatment would be very beneficial to cure any disease before it’s become complicated and begin to spread to the other parts of your body.