Writer: Vani Agarwal
What is Paresthesia?
Ever wonder why you feel like ants are crawling all over your foot after being still for a while? This happens when your feet “fall asleep”, which happens to almost everyone. However, you may not know the real reason behind it. When we feel numbness in our hands or feet, it is often after being in one place for a long time or putting excess pressure on those limbs. It happens, then returns to normal after a few seconds of you stomping or shaking. But why does it happen?
This phenomenon is called paresthesia. When you put your feet under pressure or sit on them, the nerves in that area are crushed briefly. [1] Nerves, which send messages to our brain, can’t anymore and the connection is halted momentarily. This is why you may feel nothing or like many pins are poking you. [1] If you ever feel the tingling feeling while sitting down for a prolonged period of time, try changing positions and it should go away. It is usually nothing to worry about. Easy ways to prevent paresthesia are to not sit or lie on one body part for an extended period, not sit too long with your legs crossed, and take walking breaks or change positions if you often sit in one place all day. [2]
While paresthesia can be temporary, common, and something almost everyone has experienced in their lives, it can be bad for some people. Persistent, or chronic, paresthesia is when it doesn’t go away. This, again, has something to do with your nervous system.
Causes of Paresthesia
One reason that chronic paresthesia may occur is circulatory issues. A lack of adequate blood flow may disrupt nerves that carry signals to your brain. [3] An example of a circulatory condition is thoracic outlet syndrome. This occurs when there is a compression of nerves and/or blood vessels, causing pain or tingling in your hands. [4]
Damage to your nervous system is more commonly associated with paresthesia. Head injuries or nerve damage may increase the frequency of feeling numbness in your body. However, peripheral neuropathy is also shown to have links to this issue. Peripheral neuropathy affects nerves in the peripheral nervous system, or nerves outside your brain and/or spinal cord. Nerves of the legs and arms are part of the peripheral nervous system and tend to be the first ones affected by diseases of peripheral nerves. [2] Peripheral neuropathy is common because it refers to many conditions and can affect anyone. [5]
Other causes of paresthesia include metabolic and endocrine issues. These conditions can affect hormones or cause deficiencies that may result in nerve damage. Any infections or infectious diseases that affect your nerves or cause damage to your brain may also result in paresthesia. Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases are when your immune system attacks your body, which can result in paresthesia if the disease targets your nerves or your nervous system overall. Inflammatory conditions may cause swelling of tissues, affecting nerves as well. [3]
Treatment
Temporary paresthesia usually doesn’t need treatment, but chronic paresthesia may. Treatment would usually depend on the underlying cause. Getting treatment for the underlying disease can solve the problem altogether. [7] However, your doctor may recommend rest to allow the pinched nerve to heal. Rest would allow the tissues to heal and stop the nerve compression. Physical therapy may also help solve the problem as it would help strengthen the muscles around the hurt nerve. This can help relieve the compression of tissues. If the condition is worse, surgery may be medically necessary to help eliminate the pressure on the pinched nerve. The surgery would depend on the person and the specific condition and symptoms they have. [6]
Prevention
While paresthesia is not preventable and we can’t help it at times, there are things we can do to minimize the risk. Good posture always helps to avoid excess nerve pressure. If doing repetitive movements, take breaks or limit those activities. It is also important to avoid injuries that could cause nerve compression.
Conclusion
Paresthesia is something we all have likely experienced in our life, whether it is from sleeping on our arms, or working while sitting on our feet. It’s just important to know the difference and if it can hurt you, or if it will go away. The bottom line is to always contact a doctor if you are concerned about symptoms getting worse or coming up more often.
Sources and Works Cited
[1] “Why Does My Foot Fall Asleep?”, 2025, KidsHealth: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/foot-asleep.html
[2] “Hands or feet asleep? What To Do” , 2020, Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/hands-or-feet-asleep-what-to-do-2020022118924
[3] “Paresthesia”, 2023, Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24932-paresthesia
[4] “Thoracic Outlet Syndrome”, 2023, Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17553-thoracic-outlet-syndrome-tos
[5] “Peripheral Neuropathy”, 2022, Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14737-peripheral-neuropathy
[6] “What to know about paresthesia”, 2024, Medical News Today; https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318845#treatments
[7] “What Is Paresthesia?”, 2017, Healthline: healthline.com/health/paresthesia#treatment
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