Causes Behind The Sensation Of Pins And Needles

Everyone experiences paresthesia at least once in their lives. Think, for example, of when you’ve been sitting cross-legged for too long and you have the sensation that your limb has “fallen asleep.” Or it can happen while you are asleep, often because your arm or hand has gone numb from being twisted under your head.

This “pins and needles” sensation occurs when certain nerves are pressured and are unable to send signals to the brain relating to movement or sensation. Some forms of paresthesia are temporary and benign – and can be resolved by shifting your body’s position.

However, if this symptom is recurring, chronic, or getting worse over time, you should seek an accurate diagnosis: paresthesia can be a telltale sign of a severe condition affecting your musculoskeletal or nervous system (e.g. sciatica, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis).

In this guide, we’ll look at paresthesia and what causes sensations in pins and needles. We’ll also help you understand how NextPain Care’s multidisciplinary approach can help you address the pain and discomfort caused by the sensation of pins and needles. Let’s get started.

Recognizing The Prickly Sensation

Pins and needles, medically known as paresthesia, refers to burning or prickling sensations that are commonly felt in the limbs but can spread to any area of the body. The most common cause of paresthesia is sustained pressure on a nerve, which can occur when you lie in a certain position for too long or sit with your legs crooked under your body.

Depending on which nerve is pressured, you may experience pins and needles in various locations such as hands, feet, arms, and legs. If these sensations are caused by temporary pressure on a nerve, changing position will restore the normal function of your limbs in no time. However, in some cases, recurring paresthesia or numbness that spreads from your limbs across the body can indicate a severe underlying condition, including damage to the nerves in the central or peripheral nervous systems.

Other Symptoms Associated With Pins And Needles

Paresthesia usually manifests as pins and needles sensations. However, you may also experience a wide range of symptoms in the affected areas, including the following:

• Burning
• Itching
• “Skin crawling”
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Pain (sometimes described as dull)

Paresthesia typically occurs without warning and can develop within minutes when a nerve is compressed. If it results from a pinched, damaged, or irritated nerve, these sensations can continue spreading over time. When it is a symptom of nerve damage (neuropathy), paresthesia tends to occur first in the fingers and toes, progressing towards the hands, feet, arms, and legs. This happens due to a phenomenon known as “axonal degeneration” or “dying back,” where the nerves furthest from the spinal cord and brain are affected first, to protect more critical nerves that support vital organs.

Possible Underlying Conditions

Although pins and needles sensations may occur without an apparent reason, recurring episodes of paresthesia should not go unaddressed. While this condition is often temporary and can be resolved in a matter of minutes, repeated or worsening occurrences may indicate underlying problems with your peripheral or central nervous systems.

Peripheral Neuropathy

One of the most common causes of paresthesia is peripheral neuropathy, a condition that leads to progressive nerve damage, interfering with the normal transmission of signals from the peripheral nerves to the central nervous system. When this transmission is interrupted, you are likely to experience pain, numbness, and pins and needles. Nearly 90% of people with neuropathy have painful symptoms including tingling, burning, and prickling sensations. Causes of nerve damage can include:

• Diabetes (up to 50% of people with diabetes mellitus report neuropathy in some form)
• Exposure to toxins
• Vitamin deficiencies (especially vitamin B12)
• Lifestyle factors (e.g., aging, alcohol consumption, and smoking)
• Certain medications (e.g., chemotherapy)
• Tumors that press on or damage nerves
• Unknown causes (up to 30% of neuropathy cases are idiopathic)

Nerve Compression

Pins and needles can also result from sustained nerve compression, often due to an awkward body position. This can occur if you fall asleep with your arm under your head or sit in a cross-legged position for a while. Recurring episodes of paresthesia may indicate other compressive factors such as:

• Abnormal tissue growth next to the nerves, such as tumors
• Swelling of tissues around the nerves
• Narrowing of the canal housing the nerves (e.g., peroneal nerve dysfunction, carpal tunnel syndrome, spinal stenosis)
• Bone spurs
• Improper mechanics like poor posture
• An injury causing a body component to press on a nerve
• Medical conditions causing body changes, such as a herniated disc
• Genetic factors, such as having a carpal tunnel that’s too small

An accurate analysis of your symptoms and medical history is necessary to determine the cause of your nerve compression and pinpoint the treatment options for your needs.

Poor Blood Circulation

Poor blood circulation prevents essential oxygen and nutrients from reaching parts of the body, leading to symptoms like pins and needles. Causes can include:

• Lying or sitting awkwardly: Body weight can press on blood vessels, causing limbs to “fall asleep.”
• Atherosclerosis: Plaque buildup in blood vessels like arteries can cause sudden numbness and tingling.
• Blood clots: Can partially or completely block blood flow, causing numbness, pain, and pins and needles, and in severe cases, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
• Diabetes: Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, interrupting blood flow.
• Risk factors: Smoking and obesity can affect blood vessel health and lead to poor circulation.

Diabetes, especially if undiagnosed or uncontrolled, can impair blood flow to nerve endings, leading to nerve damage and peripheral neuropathy, conditions commonly associated with paresthesia.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative, lifelong condition affecting the central nervous system. If you have MS, your immune system mistakenly attacks the protective sheath covering nerve fibers, called myelin, disrupting nerve communication and leading to symptoms like paresthesia.

Nerve damage may begin in the hands and feet but tends to progress to other nerves across the body, eventually leading to various degrees of disability. Pins and needles sensations, alongside numbness, tingling, and pain, are some of the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain across the body. The pain caused by fibromyalgia is often described as aching, burning, or throbbing, and it is accompanied by a wide range of symptoms, including paresthesia, mood issues, fatigue, memory problems, and poor sleep quality.

In people with fibromyalgia, painful sensations are amplified due to dysfunction in the way the central nervous system processes painful and non-painful stimuli. It is estimated that today, around four million people in the US – or 2% of the adult population – have fibromyalgia in some form.

Sciatica

Sciatica is one of the most common reasons for pins and needles sensations, numbness, and tingling, especially those occurring in the buttocks, hips, legs, feet, and toe areas. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched, irritated, inflamed, or damaged.

There are two sciatic nerves in your body, one on each side, running from the lower back to the feet. These nerves are among the largest and longest in the body, and they are responsible for transmitting signals relating to touch, temperature, pain, vibration, and movement between the brain and the lower part of the body.

There are several conditions that cause a sciatic nerve to become compressed or irritated, including:

• Spinal stenosis
• Old and new injuries (e.g. fractures or dislocations)
• Herniated or bulging discs
• Poor posture
• Inactivity and prolonged sitting
• Weak core and back muscles
• Occupation, especially if it involves repetitive or forceful movements of the spine
• Risk factors such as aging and obesity
• Medical conditions such as diabetes

Around 40% of people will experience at least one episode of sciatica, and this condition tends to resolve on its own within three to twelve weeks.

Nonetheless, if your symptoms are not going away or getting worse, it is important to seek an adequate line of treatment that involves continuous support. This is because sciatica-like pain can conceal more severe underlying diseases, which may derive from systemic inflammation. Tackling this root cause is the first step to regaining your musculoskeletal health.

Raynaud’s Disease

Raynaud’s disease, also called Raynaud’s phenomenon, occurs in around 3-5% of the population. In people with this disorder, the body triggers an abnormal response to cold or stress, causing spasms in small blood vessels located in certain areas of the body (usually the hands and feet). These abnormal spasms (known as vasospasms) reduce blood circulation, which can lead to a range of symptoms, including paresthesia, numbness, tingling sensations, pain, and skin color changes.