What is the reason for numbness in feet and legs

Our body will have body language when it is uncomfortable. This is to remind you that what you are doing is not good for your body. For example, sitting or standing for a long time, or maintaining a certain posture for a long time will cause numbness in the legs and feet. Numbness in the legs and feet is a very common phenomenon in both young and old people, but people generally do not pay much attention to it. This is not a correct view. Numbness in the legs and feet may be a manifestation of arteriosclerosis, cervical spondylosis, diabetes, and stroke. Once discovered, it should be treated in time to prevent more serious phenomena. Here I will introduce what is going on with numbness in the legs and feet.

Causes of numbness in the legs and feet

arteriosclerosis

The characteristics of numbness are mostly numbness of one upper limb or lower limb or half of the body, which usually lasts for several hours to several days. If not treated in time, it will develop into hemiplegia and paralysis.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The limb numbness caused by this disease is characterized by numbness that worsens when the wrist is flexed.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by strain of the fingers and wrist, which leads to thickening of the transverse carpal ligament, swelling of the tendons in the carpal tunnel, congestion causing tissue degeneration, or degeneration and hyperplasia of the carpal bones causing the circumference of the tunnel to decrease, thereby compressing the median nerve, causing numbness and weakness in the fingers, and progressively worsening symptoms. It is common in middle-aged women who do more housework such as mopping the floor and washing clothes.

Cervical spondylosis is the most common disease that causes numbness in the fingers. It is also one of the diseases that are common among middle-aged and elderly people. In recent years, this disease has tended to occur in younger people. Due to long-term sitting and unwillingness to move, abnormal neck posture, especially prolonged use of computers and mobile phones, the cervical intervertebral discs undergo degenerative changes, causing disc herniation or articular process hyperplasia or hypertrophy. Once these protruding cervical discs or hyperplastic articular processes compress the adjacent cervical nerve roots and blood vessels, numbness of the arms and fingers will occur. This numbness is usually chronic and recurrent, accompanied by soreness, stiffness and other discomforts in the neck and shoulders.

Numbness in one arm or finger may be caused by cervical spondylosis, which can be easily caused by long-term work with the head down, too high a pillow, or cold neck.

Most patients with lumbar disc herniation will experience numbness in the lower limbs, usually manifested as chronic, recurrent unilateral or bilateral numbness in the thighs, calves and feet, accompanied by symptoms such as pain and discomfort in the lower back. Long-term heavy physical labor, history of trauma, cold, strenuous exercise, poor posture and smoking can easily cause lumbar disease. The patient can be diagnosed through X-rays, CT scans or MRI scans.

Transient ischemic attack

If numbness in the hands and feet occurs on one side while the other side is normal, it may be caused by a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which can easily develop into a cerebral infarction. Therefore, middle-aged and elderly people with three highs or carotid artery sclerosis and plaque formation should pay special attention to this kind of numbness in the hands and feet. Limb numbness caused by TIA or cerebral infarction is usually acute and may be accompanied by symptoms such as speech disorders and hemi-limb movement disorders. This type of numbness should be treated immediately.

diabetes

Bilateral symmetric numbness in the fingers is a common symptom of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes. Many diabetic patients have poor blood sugar control and will develop complications in the early stages. Measure blood sugar regularly and visit the endocrinology department promptly if you have any related symptoms.

Elderly people may suffer from indigestion and insufficient nutrition, which may cause peripheral neuritis due to vitamin B1 deficiency. In addition, since diabetic patients are prone to multiple complications, people with numbness in their hands may also have diabetes.

gout

Clinically, about 1% of patients with hand numbness suffer from gout, which may be caused by uric acid deposited in the median nerve, compressing the median nerve and causing numbness and pain in the hands.

Since there are many people smoking and drinking in today's society, for those who drink frequently, if they drink too much, it will cause numbness in their hands. This is because you are already suffering from chronic alcohol poisoning.

Autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and multiple sclerosis are caused by autoimmune attacks on nerve fibers and myelin sheaths.

Early symptoms are mainly sensory disturbances, but electrophysiological examinations often show that both motor and sensory nerves are affected. Clinically, the symptoms are symmetrical pain and paresthesia, with symptoms in the lower limbs being more common than in the upper limbs. Abnormal sensations include numbness, crawling ants, fever, and electric shock-like sensations, which often spread from the distal toes to above the knees. Patients feel like they are wearing socks and gloves. Diagnosing this disease requires extensive clinical experience of the neurologist as well as a detailed medical history and systematic neurological examination.