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Numb Feet Aren’t Just Annoying
What Causes Numbness in Feet: Numbness in the Bottom of Feet & Legs
Do you have numbness in the bottom of your feet? Numbness in the legs and feet or toes? We show the BEST treatment for numbness in the feet!
What Causes Numbness in the Feet? Understanding the Warning Signs
Numbness in the feet can feel like tingling, pins and needles, or complete loss of sensation. It often indicates a problem with nerve function and can stem from a range of conditions—from poor circulation to peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, nerve compression, or even vitamin deficiencies. In some cases, numbness may be temporary due to sitting awkwardly or wearing tight shoes, but chronic or recurring numbness should never be ignored. Proper diagnosis by a podiatrist or neurologist is key to identifying the root cause and beginning effective treatment before complications arise.
Nerve Pain Treatment
Concerned About Numb Feet? Let a Specialist Help.
If you’re experiencing numbness in your feet, don’t wait to find out why. At Balance Foot & Ankle Specialists in Michigan, our expert podiatrists use advanced diagnostics to get to the root of your symptoms and provide relief. Schedule your appointment today and start walking with confidence again.
Numbness in Bottom of Feet, Balls of Feet & Toes Treatment Video
Treatment for Numbness in Legs, Feet & Toes Video Summary
Do you have nerve pain or neuropathic pain that WON’T GET BETTER? We go over the BEST peripheral neuropathy treatment for nerve damage in the feet!
How bad can peripheral neuropathy get? It can get pretty bad, but eventually, it does level off with good peripheral neuropathy treatment.
If you have tingling in the feet, numbness in the feet, or nerve damage in the feet, this may be something called peripheral neuropathy.
NOTE: To be clear peripheral neuropathy has many different causes & can be not curable.
0:00 Foot neuropathy and nerve damage in the foot is called peripheral neuropathy
0:59 What is neuropathy in feet and hands & Peripheral neuropathy causes
2:05 See a podiatrist for peripheral neuropathy
3:37 Back injury is called radiculopathy
5:55 Tarsal tunnel syndrome nerve damage
6:32 Morton’s neuroma peripheral neuropathy in the toes and foot
7:24 Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms
7:40 Diabetic peripheral neuropathy foot pain
8:25 Alcoholic neuropathy pain in feet
11:05 Peripheral nerve damage due to overpronation of the foot
11:47 Best Shoes for peripheral neuropathy
12:03 Best insoles for peripheral neuropathy
12:40 Best ankle and foot braces for peripheral neuropathy
13:41 Causes of neuropathy in feet
14:12 Home remedies for neuropathy in feet
14:46 Peripheral neuropathy in feet massage and stretches
15:31 Best creams for peripheral neuropathy in feet
15:46 Injections for nerve damage and peripheral neuropathy
17:13 Peripheral neuropathy and blood flow problems
18:40 Compression devices of nerve pain
19:32 Nerve damage from sitting
20:00 Neuropathy and burning pain in feet at night
22:36 Best vitamins for peripheral neuropathy in feet
25:02 Peripheral neuropathy medications
27:16 Acupuncture for peripheral neuropathy
27:40 Surgery for peripheral neuropathy
29:30 Exercises for peripheral neuropathy
30:11 Stretches for peripheral neuropathy
30:54 Best products for peripheral neuropathy
Podiatrist Care in Michigan for Numbness in the Feet:
If you are in Michigan, come see us for your foot numbness, podiatrists can help!
What Causes Numbness in the Feet?
Foot numbness, also known as peripheral neuropathy, is a problem that we frequently see as podiatrists.
- Numbness may occur in the hands, the bottom of the feet, the top, balls, toes, or legs.
- There are many causes for numbness in the legs, the bottom of the feet, balls of the feet, and toes.
- Foot numbness may be painful, but it may present only as an annoying sensation or absence of feeling in some cases.
Numbness and Tingling in Feet Symptoms:
Patients with peripheral neuropathy, or foot & toe numbness, may describe the sensation as a feeling of leather or cardboard on the bottom of their feet.
Some compare the foot numbness to the tingling and swollen sensation we feel after a Lidocaine or Novocaine injection during a dentist procedure.
Some patients may also experience
- Burning
- Numbness.
- Freezing sensations.
- Tingling.
- Extreme tightness.
- Itching.
- Ants are crawling on the skin.
- Weakness
- Muscle cramping (especially of the arch or calf muscles) combined with numbness in the legs, feet, and toes.
All of these complaints may suggest peripheral neuropathy and warrant further evaluation by your podiatrist.
Diagnosis of Numb Tingling Feet:
Your podiatrist may pursue diagnoses such as:
- Sensation testing in the physical exam.
- Laboratory studies.
- Detailed history and physical.
- Nerve conduction studies.
- Nerve fiber density testing.
- Quantitative sensory testing.
- Consultation with a neurologist if warranted.
What Can Cause Numbness In The Feet?
The most common cause of peripheral neuropathy or foot numbness in the United States is diabetes mellitus.
Secondary causes of numbness in the feet or legs may include:
- Alcoholism.
- Poor overall health.
- Cancer & chemotherapy.
- Older age.
- Agent orange.
- Certain medications.
- Nerve compression.
- Traumatic injury may mimic nerve pain.
- Nerve compression entrapment at the spinal cord level may result in numbness in the legs, feet, or toes.
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome can cause numbness.
- Chronic exertional compartment syndrome.
- Sitting for long periods.
- Pregnancy can cause nerve compression.
- Vascular disease can be a major cause of weakness and numbness.
- Low blood pressure and heart problems can really contribute to numbness in the leg and feet.
Compression or Trauma-induced Nerve Damage:
Trauma or entrapment to the peripheral nerves beyond the spine level may also result in foot numbness.
Plantar calcaneus nerve compression: this can cause the bottom of the heel pain while standing all day. This is also known as Baxter’s nerve compression or Baxter’s nerve entrapment.
Tarsal tunnel syndrome, or posterior tibial nerve entrapment, causes numbness or pain in the bottom of the foot. Biomechanical causes usually induce this.
Common peroneal nerve entrapment results in numbness, pain or weakness on the leg or ankle, or numbness in the top of the foot. We frequently see this in people who rest their legs against the side of a car door or truck driver.
Superficial peroneal nerve entrapment causes numbness only on the top of the foot and toes. This can be associated with tight shoes and tight shoelaces to the top of the foot.
Deep peroneal nerve entrapment causes numbness only in the toes. This can result in not only leg numbness and foot numbness but also a condition called foot drop. This can lead to difficulty walking and moving around.
Treatment for Numbness in Feet
Numbness in the feet, whether in the legs, top or bottom of the foot, or the toes, may be treated with certain types of exercises, stretching.
We see excellent results in people using good supportive shoes to keep their legs and feet straight.
Getting a good supportive pair of orthotics and insoles can also make a big difference in improving foot & ankle biomechanics. This means less pressure on the important large nerves in your foot. This can greatly relieve foot pain.
Addressing a condition called overpronation can help relieve nerve pressure through the foot. This works well for conditions such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, Baxter’s nerve entrapment, heel pain, and chronic exertional compartment syndrome.
In people with diabetes, working to improve their medication control and getting into better shape can genuinely help in the short term.
Controlling your vascular disease and heart disease can be critical in improving foot numbness.
Supplementation of B6 vitamins & B12 vitamins can be beneficial and may also improve foot numbness.
Alpha-lipoic acid has also shown some benefits to assist with peripheral neuropathy.
If nerve entrapment is known to cause numbness in the foot, legs, or toes, then surgical decompression of the nerve either at the spinal cord level or in the leg or foot itself may provide relief. This can be in tarsal tunnel surgery, Baxter’s nerve entrapment surgery & common peroneal nerve surgery.
What Causes Numbness In The Legs and Feet?
- The most common cause of numbness in the legs and feet is called peripheral neuropathy.
- Peripheral neuropathy is most common in older people with numerous health diseases.
- It is widespread in diabetes, arterial disease, heart issues, and other systemic issues.
- It is widespread in younger, healthier people to have compression problems such as tarsal tunnel, sciatica, or chronic is exertional compartment syndrome from swelling.
- This is most common in people who sit for long periods of time, stand for long periods of time, or are long-distance runners.
How Do You Get Rid of Numbness In Your Feet?
- We frequently hear the question of how to get rid of numbness in your feet?
- The answer to this question is to get a proper diagnosis.
- At the beginning of this video, we go into great depth about taking care of numbness in the feet and legs, especially in people with health issues or athletes with compression syndromes.
How To Get Rid of Numbness In Your Feet?
- The #1 option to get rid of numbness in the feet is to get the proper diagnosis.
- The most common problem we see is people that do not get a proper diagnosis of their disorder.
- Even with peripheral neuropathy, it is possible to take precautions to relieve the pressure on her feet.
- This means wearing good shoes, good orthotics, good ankle braces, and controlling your health as much as possible.
How To Treat Numbness In Feet?
- And another question we hear is “how to treat numbness in feet?”
- The answer to this question is to get the proper diagnosis of your foot problem and then take pressure off her feet.
- In younger patients, this is usually a combination of compression of the nerves and swelling.
- This can be improved through exercises, stretches, good orthotics, good shoes, and good orthotics.
- In older, less healthy people, the key is to understand health conditions that can cause numbness and then work very hard on controlling these health problems.
- Specifically thyroid problems, alcoholism, diabetes, cancer chemotherapy, and vascular disease caused by high cholesterol and smoking.
Does Low Blood Pressure Cause Numbness in Hands and Feet?
We hear the question, “Does low blood pressure cause numbness in hands and feet?”
The answer is yes.
This can cause numbness in the hands and feet. This can be related to a weak heart or low blood pressure.
A common cause is an orthostatic hypotension, which is the body not adjusting quickly from getting out of bed or out of a chair or couch.
This means that it takes the body a few minutes to get used to standing up and moving around.
This means that there is not enough blood flow to the feet and legs, leading to temporary numbness.
How To Cure Numbness In Your Feet and Toes?
Another question is, “How to cure numbness in your feet and toes?”
We answer this question in the video above detailing how to cure numbness in the feet and toes.
In most young and healthy people, it is possible almost completely to resolve numbness in the feet.
This may be a more difficult process for older people with health conditions as the numbness is related more to overall health than just compression or irritation of the nerves.
What Is Numbness In Feet Called?
Numbness in the feet is generally called peripheral neuropathy.
Technically it is important to remember that this is not always peripheral neuropathy.
We believe that peripheral neuropathy gets too much credit for numbness in the feet, although it is likely the #1 overall cause.
Compression of nerves usually does contribute and can help out in many cases of resistant peripheral neuropathy.
We explain this in further detail in the videos above.
Can Being Overweight Cause Numbness in the Feet?
Another question is, “Can be overweight cause numbness in feet?”
The answer is yes.
Generally, we see people with lighter feet have less numbness in their feet, balls of the feet, the bottom of the feet, and legs.
This means that more weight can cause more pressure on your nerves.
This pressure can nerve compression and potentially contribute to the chronic exertional syndrome.
On the other hand, skinny people have less fat pad cushion and can develop foot pain from fat pad atrophy.
Can Stress Cause Numbness and Tingling in Hands and Feet?
Yes, stress can cause numbness and tingle in the hands and feet.
Stress can also your blood pressure as well as release chronic adrenal and stress hormones.
These hormones can alter your body weight, your blood sugars and may be related to your thyroid.
Some people with stress may even drink more alcohol or perform substance abuse.
These factors can all increase the risk of numbness in the feet and legs.
Can Toenail Fungus Cause Numbness in Feet?
We occasionally hear, “Can toenail fungus cause numbness in feet?”
Yes, there is a large correlation between diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and toenail fungus.
While not a direct cause, both numbness, peripheral neuropathy, and numerous health conditions are related.
How To Get Rid of Numbness in Your Hands and Feet?
Another question is, “How to get rid of numbness in hands and feet?”
It is possible in some cases where there is not a severe underlying health problem.
We go into specific detail in the video above about getting rid of numbness in hands and feet!
How To Treat Numbness In Legs And Feet?
We also hear, “How to treat numbness in legs and feet?”
The best way to do this is to watch the numbness in the feet and legs treatment video above!
What Causes Numbness and Tingling In The Lower Legs and Feet?
For the questions “What causes numbness and tingling in lower legs and feet?”
In the video above, we detail all the specific causes! The real causes are peripheral neuropathy, compression, exertional compartment syndrome, and more.
Can Alcohol Cause Numbness In Hands And Feet?
Concerning alcoholic neuropathy, we hear the question, “Can alcohol cause numbness in hands and feet?”
Yes, alcohol is one of the most common causes of alcoholic neuropathy.
One or two beers at a party will likely not cause a problem, but regular alcoholism is strongly associated with numbness in the hands and feet.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Foot Numbness
The question “Can sciatic nerve pain cause numbness in feet?” is a YES. Sciatica is the compression and irritation of the sciatic nerve that runs down the back of the hip and hamstring. This can easily become compressed and cause foot and leg numbness.
Sciatica can cause numbness in the feet and legs, but not the hands. The sciatic nerve runs behind your butt, hips, and hamstrings. It is a leg nerve.
As mentioned above, anxiety can contribute to numbness in the feet and the legs by raising risk factors for other issues.
Yes, smoking can cause numbness in the hands and feet. Smoking can lead to numerous health issues, poor blood flow, and narrowing of the blood vessels. This can lead to vascular disease and decrease blood flow to the small nerves and blood vessels. In general, it is a good idea to decrease smoking for most of your body’s health problems.
There are many different causes for numbness in the feet and ankles. We detail the majority of them in-depth above!
The brain can focus more on numbness in the hands and feet at night. This means when there is less to focus on, people notice the numbness more. Another cause can be compression, depending on the sleeping position.
The answer to this question is detailed in the videos and the descriptions above!
Yes, arthritis can cause numbness in the legs and feet. Generally, arthritis can increase inflammation and swelling. This can lead to increased stress and pressure on the nerves. This can eventually lead to increased nerve damage and problems. Arthritis is usually associated with other health issues in older patients, and this means there is a higher likelihood of developing more health issues.
Yes, high blood pressure can cause numbness in the hands and feet. This means there is a high correlation between heart and blood flow problems and numbness. The more normally your heart and blood flow is working, the healthier your nerve function is. In general, there is a high correlation between blood pressure and numbness in the hands and feet.
In general low blood sugar and high blood, sugar changes are related to numbness in the hands and feet. Low blood sugar itself is less of a problem than high blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can make the body not work properly. This can cause the body to feel numbness and not work properly until the blood sugar can reset to a normal level.
Yes, Swelling in the feet can cause numbness in the feet and legs. This is a condition called a chronic exertional syndrome. This means that constant swelling in your toes, feet, and legs can pressure the nerves, causing them not to work properly.
Yes, sciatica can cause numbness in the feet and legs due to compressing the sciatic nerve in the gluteal region and hamstrings.
The difficult question is, “Can numbness in feet be cured?” The answer is sometimes.
The most important question to answer is, “what is the real cause of the numbness in the feet and legs?” The numbness can generally be cured if the answer is a temporary irritation such as compression or exertional compartment syndrome. On the other hand, it may be more difficult to cure the underlying health problems causing the numbness of very unhealthy people.
For example, if a patient has diabetes, heart problems, severe obesity, or severe damage to their back, this may be the true underlying problem that needs to be corrected.
With all that said, numbness in the feet can be significantly improved with biomechanical analysis and treatment by a podiatrist, custom orthotics, great shoes, ankle braces, and pain treatment.
Yes, prednisone can cause numbness in the feet, especially in people with diabetes with peripheral neuropathy.
Prednisone is a powerful medication that can raise blood sugars worsening diabetes.
This means that diabetic peripheral neuropathy may further cause peripheral neuropathy foot pain.
- The most common cause of numbness in the feet is peripheral neuropathy.
- It can also be caused by compression and health issues such as a weak heart or poor blood flow.
- Any unhealthy papal compression is the most common cause.
- In less healthy people, peripheral neuropathy is the most common cause.
Yes, sciatica can cause numbness in the feet.
This is especially common in people who sit on computer chairs for long periods of time.
The sciatic nerve comes through the back of your hip and hamstring region and, when compressed, can cause tenderness and numbness through your feet, numbness in the bottom of your feet, and numbness in the legs.
The most common cause of numbness in the hands and feet is called peripheral neuropathy. For everything you need to know about peripheral neuropathy, please watch the video at the beginning of this article.