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We confront the world
neither directly or precisely, but from a brain linked to what is “out
there” by a few million fragile sensory nerve fibers, our only information
channels, and our lifelines to reality. Many people experience numbness or
a lack of sensation at some point in their life. It may be an “arm going
to sleep” or a “pins and needles” sensation. This occurs when a sensory
nerve becomes impinged leading to a decrease in input from that nerve to
the brain. The impingement must be removed for normal sensation to return.
If the impingement has been longstanding or severe it can cut, tear or
damage the nerve which leads to ongoing or even permanent numbness. A
peripheral sensory nerve (one that supplies the periphery of the body,
i.e. not part of the brain or spinal cord) will go through a repair
process when the insult is removed. This process is slow at first (about 4
mm/day). The spine is one of the most common places for an irritated nerve
to occur due to subluxation or a herniated disc. One can experience
numbness in the shoulder, arm, or fingers (commonly diagnosed as carpal
tunnel syndrome) because of nerve pressure in the cervical spine (see also
neck pain), or the ribcage or middle back due to the thoracic spine (see
also mid back pain), or in the buttock, leg or foot due to the lumbar
spine (see also low back pain). It is important to note that one can have
numbness originating from the spine but not have spinal pain because some
fibers perceive pain (nociceptors) while others perceive sensation
(mechanoreceptors). One can have mechanoreceptor irritation without
nociceptor irritation and vise versa.
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Numbness
and Tingling