PregnancyĪs your baby grows, pressure from your uterus can compress nerves in your legs and lead to pins and needles all the way down to your toes. In this case, it’s important to have a discussion with your doctor about whether you should try a different medication with fewer side effects or if the benefits of your treatment outweigh the costs, he says. Other common culprits include medicine for managing high blood pressure, infections, autoimmune diseases, seizures and alcohol use disorder, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Library of Medicine. Thompson adds that drugs designed to treat cancer, namely chemotherapy, as well as HIV and AIDS, could lead to this reaction. Since the majority of prescription medications come with side effects, your medication may be to blame for your tingling feet. Managing your blood sugar with lifestyle changes and medication may help reduce your symptoms and prevent further nerve damage, per the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Type 2 diabetes can be treated with either oral medicine, insulin and/or dietary changes, while type 1 diabetes is managed with insulin. A blood test ordered by your physician can determine blood glucose levels. In fact, according to the NIH, up to half of people living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes also have peripheral neuropathy.Ĭommon symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes include numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, as well as increased thirst, hunger, urination and fatigue, states the NIH. Whether you’re at risk of developing diabetes or have had your diagnosis for years, as your blood sugar levels get higher, nerve damage could cause tingling in your feet, explains Dr. “The number one reason for tingling in the feet in this country is diabetes,” says Oluwatosin Thompson, M.D., a neurologist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Here, we offer reasons as to why your feet might be buzzing, along with typical ways these certain health conditions are diagnosed and treated. But while neuropathy explains what’s physically happening in your feet, it doesn’t explain the reason behind it. One common diagnosis for that tingling sensation is peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that affects more than 20 million people in the U.S., reports the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

However, if you’re still tingling after you untwist your legs, the feeling persists for a long time, or is accompanied by other symptoms like balance problems, weakness, pain, or a change in your vision, something else may be going on. As a result, that painful, burning and/or pins-and-needle sensation tends to indicate that the nerves are “waking up.” Related Stories

Once the obstruction is removed (like standing up or uncrossing your legs), tiny electrical impulses in the nerve structures that normally travel around the body (from the spine, arms, legs and brain) start working overtime. This prickly feeling is known as paresthesia, which is usually a temporary condition caused by a blood flow blockage within the nervous system, according to University of Rochester Medical Center. Meet the experts: William Buxton, M.D., neurologist and director of Neuromuscular and Neurodiagnostic Medicine and Fall Prevention at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California Oluwatosin Thompson, M.D., a neurologist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center Kiran Rajneesh, M.D., a neurologist and pain specialist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Here’s what you need to know about this phenomenon, plus when to seek medical care. If tingling in your feet comes on and sticks around, you’re bound to have questions. Still, this probably isn’t a symptom you’re used to experiencing. “Tingling in the feet is a very common symptom and usually does not indicate a serious problem,” says William Buxton, M.D., neurologist and director of Neuromuscular and Neurodiagnostic Medicine and Fall Prevention at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. And when you get that familiar pins-and-needles feeling in your feet or numbness in your toes, typically it’s easy to fix: Reposition yourself to take the pressure off of your nerves, and you’re good to go. Tingling in your feet is not usually cause for concern.

Tingling in my feet