NUMBNESS AND TINGLING

Have you ever hit your funny bone in your elbow before? Hate to break it to you, but it’s not actually a bone! When you hit the inside of your elbow on the edge of a counter, door, or whatever else you can ding it on, sometimes the nerve that passes through that area gets hit as well. And as as result, you get a slightly temporary fuzzy or stingy feeling going down into your pinky finger.

Similar things can happen where the nerves come out from between the bones in the spine. When the bones aren’t lined up on top of each other properly or when there’s a moderately(or severely) bulging disc, the nerve can get compressed, irritated, or pinched. It may even get worse in certain sleeping positions or sitting with legs crossed, for example, because the bones or soft tissue are brought closer to and irritate, stress, or “hit” the nerve. When this happens, your body lets you know that the nerve isn’t very happy and you may get a numb, tingly, weak, or fuzzy feeling. Chiropractic benefits people with numbness and tingling by addressing the underlying cause of nerve compression. By realigning the spine and restoring proper nerve function, chiropractic spinal adjustments can take stress off the nerve, alleviate the symptoms felt, and improve overall health and wellness.

A study found that Chiropractic Care was associated with significant improvements in patients with peripheral neuropathy, a condition characterized by numbness, tingling, and pain in the extremities (Krusen et al., 2013). This study found that Chiropractic adjustments led to improvements in pain scores, numbness, and motor function, suggesting that Chiropractic Care may be an effective treatment option for peripheral neuropathy.

Reference:
Krusen N, Leddy K, Beebe M. Efficacy of chiropractic care for treatment of primary peripheral neuropathy: a case series. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2013;36(2):101-9.