Nervous Condition

When a foot, or finger, or other part of our body falls asleep, and then annoys us with a tingling that feels like a million tiny pin pricks, we're getting a helpful warning signal from our body that it's time to move.

While we may blame a loss of blood to the affected area for this sensation, most of the time we're suffering from a "nervous condition." The "falling asleep" feeling is caused by a compressed, stretched or pinched nerve that can no longer transmit signals between the brain and the affected body part. When that communication is cut off, the brain isn't getting the word about sensations in the limb, so it feels numb.

By shifting our position, we remove the squeeze on the nerve and let the communications resume, but it may take a little time for the nerves to get back to normal operation, leading to a short session of tingling and, for some people, episode of foot stomping.

June 23, 2001

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