Have you ever felt like one of your arms or legs had gone to sleep, or had that heavy pins & needles sensation? The most common reason for these sensations is a decrease in local blood supply. These symptoms can result from something as simple as sleeping on your arm “funny” or sitting with your legs crossed at the knees. This sensation is usually transient and typically only affects your arms or legs.
There are other processes that can produce similar symptoms in your limbs and around your body. These processes, which usually involve one or rarely two limbs, occur with the following disorders:
Nerve trauma
Healed fractures & scar tissue
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Disc herniations
TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome)
T4 Waiter’s Syndrome
Some other processes, which are pathologic (not normal) in nature, can produce numbness, tingling, and weakness in multiple limbs. These processes occur with the following conditions:
Diabetes
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Iron Deficiency Anaemia
Vitamin B-12 Deficiency
Lou Gerrig’s Disease
Syringomyelia
While Chiropractic treatment cannot cure MS, Diabetes, or other such disorders, it has proven to be very effective in the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal (nerve-muscle-skeletal) disorders that cause numbness, tingling, and/or weakness.
As you can see, changes in sensation can occur for a variety of reasons. While numbness and tingling can produce discomfort and alert the fact that there is a problem, a decrease or loss of muscle strength can become a medical emergency. If you are experiencing the sensations of numbness and/or tingling, you should consult your Comox Chiropractor, Dr. Houlgrave, for a thorough chiropractic evaluation. Dr. Houlgrave can help to diagnose your problem and recommend the appropriate course of treatment.