What causes numbness?
The feeling of numbness in the body occurs as a result of overstimulation or damage to nerve cells. Numbness can commonly occur in the hands, feet, legs, arms and other parts of the body. The severity of the numbness is more important than the area in which it occurs. There is a feeling of not being present in the numb area. Numbness, which can be felt as tingling or creates a feeling of discomfort with burning or stinging pain, occurs in the brain and numbness occurs in the right or left part of the body. Numbness in the hands and feet manifests itself as pain and burning sensation. The cause of this type of numbness, which is considered neuropathic pain, is generally diabetes.
Causes of numbness
- Spinal Canal Narrowing
- Disc herniation, Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors
- Brain Hemorrhage and Vascular Occlusions
- Brain Infections
- Diabetes
- cancer metastases
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Leg Fracture
- Vitamin Deficiency
- Psychological Reasons
- Circulatory Disorders
- Diseases such as migraine and rheumatism
- Pain caused by constantly staying in the same position
Types of numbness
arm numbness
The causes of right and left arm numbness may be different. Numbness in the left arm is caused by disorders in the heart and vessels leading to the heart. Arm numbness, which occurs as a result of restricted blood flow, occurs due to lifting heavy loads. Numbness in the arm may also be observed in falls, accidents and sudden movements. Arm numbness experienced without a physical factor develops due to a neurological factor or stress.
Foot Numbness
Foot numbness, which can occur in one foot or in both feet, usually occurs as a result of nerve damage or blood circulation disorders. Blows to the foot, nerve damage, infections, traumas, inflammation and tumors are also among the causes of foot numbness.
leg numbness
Reasons such as nutritional disorders, poor blood flow, and smoking are the sources of leg numbness. Exposure to extreme cold that weakens blood flow, peripheral artery disease, artery and vein knotting, and deep vein thrombosis are other factors that cause leg numbness.
Osteoporosis, herniated disc, sitting position that impairs blood flow, degenerative disc disease, hip injuries can also cause numbness in the legs. In addition, diabetic neuropathies, MS disease, heavy metal poisoning, thyroid diseases and stroke are also common causes of leg numbness.
numbness in hands
Hand numbness, which usually occurs as a result of damage to the nerves in the arms and wrists, occurs due to a disease known as carpal tunnel syndrome. Nerve compression in a small canal in the wrist area can also occur due to diseases such as infection, diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, or occupational diseases such as manual labor, desk work, or being a musician.
brain numbness
Brain numbness, which may be of physical or psychological origin, is experienced in situations such as extreme stress, anger and anxiety, and neurological problems. Reasons such as a hard blow to the head, blockage in the vessels, brain hemorrhage and insufficient oxygen supply to the brain cause brain numbness.
facial numbness
The simplest cause of facial numbness is constantly lying on the left or right side. In this case, numbness is observed due to the obstruction of blood circulation. However, it passes after a short time. Unilateral facial numbness is usually observed in cases such as nerve compression in the neck area or facial paralysis. The most common cause of facial numbness in children is vitamin deficiency. Facial numbness is often observed due to psychological reasons such as stress, panic attack, depression, and migraine.
Numbness treatment is performed according to the cause, regardless of the area. Even in case of even the simplest feeling of numbness, an opinion should be sought from a specialist doctor and treatment should be started without delay.
