How does pins and needles occur

This might mean uncrossing your legs or avoiding leaning on one arm. As blood flow starts to improve, it may feel a little warmer and fairly prickly for a few minutes. If the pins and needles sensation is affecting your hands, try clenching and then unclenching your fists.

This motion can quickly get blood flowing and ease the nerves. If the pins and needles sensation is affecting your feet, try wiggling your toes. This can get your blood moving and help improve circulation, which could stop the uncomfortable sensations. If the pins and needles sensation is affecting your arms, gently rocking your head may help relieve compression around the nerves in your neck. This could help sensations in your arms subside.

The following approaches may help prevent pins and needles sensations from happening before they start:. A massage can lessen muscle tension and encourage better blood flow. Some people report improvement in paresthesia symptoms after receiving a massage. Deep breathing exercises, which are performed during yoga or meditation sessions, can help you relax and focus less on painful sensations. Improving your flexibility might also prevent your limbs from falling asleep in certain positions.

Heat can sometimes boost sensations and worsen pain. Try to avoid taking very hot showers or baths. If you go out in hot weather, consider wearing a hat or cooling vest. If you experience numbness or tingling in your foot, it could be caused by poorly-fitted shoes. Stuffing your foot into a narrow or small shoe can affect circulation and nerve flow.

Make sure you have enough room to wiggle your toes, and pick a shoe that supports your arches, especially if you stand or walk a lot. Pressure stockings or gloves could trick your brain into interpreting the sensation as pressure rather than pain.

Most drugstores sell these accessories. Page last reviewed: 18 January Next review due: 18 January Pins and needles. What is pins and needles? Pins and needles feels like pricking, tingling or numbness on the skin. You often get pins and needles in your: arms hands legs feet It usually stops when the weight is taken off the body part and your blood supply returns to the nerves.

The nerve structures, as they recover, tend to be irritable for a period of time. Most of the time, the pins and needles feeling is a good sign.

It's a short-term phase that means nerves are coming back to life. Paresthesia can be felt in people who have an implanted spinal cord or peripheral nerve stimulator. Most often, pins and needles is just an odd but harmless feeling that we have from time to time.

But it can also be more serious. In some cases, a nerve may be seriously injured, perhaps in an accident. Then the nerve may get stuck in a pins-and-needles stage. And you may have constant pain.

A good example is carpal tunnel syndrome or diabetic neuropathy. In these instances, the pins and needles feeling can be a danger signal. Paresthesia that happens with other symptoms may also mean there is an underlying condition.