Numbness, tingling, or pins-and-needles sensations in your arms, hands, legs, or feet are your nervous system telling you that something is interfering with normal nerve function. While these sensations are sometimes temporary and harmless, when they are persistent, recurring, or accompanied by weakness or pain, they warrant investigation. Identifying the source is critical to effective treatment.
At Waterloo Chiropractic, we conduct a thorough neurological and orthopaedic examination to determine where the nerve is being affected and why, before putting together a targeted treatment plan. Read about what to expect at your first visit.
How Nerves Get Compressed
- Radiculopathy at the cervical spine: when a disc bulge, bone spur, or inflamed facet joint narrows the opening through which a nerve root exits. Cervical radiculopathy can refer numbness and tingling into the arms, hands, and fingers.
- Radiculopathy at the lumbar spine: lumbar nerve root compression can affect the legs and feet, sometimes presenting similarly to sciatica.
- Thoracic outlet syndrome: compression of nerves and blood vessels between the collarbone and first rib, causing arm, hand, and finger symptoms.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: compression of the median nerve at the wrist, causing numbness, tingling, and weakness in the thumb, index, and middle finger.
- Cubital tunnel syndrome: compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow, causing tingling and numbness in the ring and little finger.
- Piriformis syndrome: irritation of the sciatic nerve by a tight piriformis muscle in the buttock, causing buttock, hip, and leg symptoms.
Symptoms We Commonly Assess
- Tingling, pins-and-needles, or burning sensations in the arms, forearms, hands, legs, or feet.
- Numbness: partial or complete loss of sensation in a limb or region.
- Weakness in the hand grip or difficulty with fine motor tasks.
- Symptoms that worsen with prolonged sitting, standing, or specific postures.
- Neck or back pain accompanying the nerve symptoms.
- Symptoms that radiate in a specific pattern down an arm or leg.
Neurological and Orthopaedic Assessment
During your assessment, your chiropractor will perform dermatomal sensory testing to map exactly where the numbness occurs, reflex testing and strength testing to identify nerve root involvement, orthopaedic provocation tests to reproduce and localise symptoms, and postural and biomechanical assessment to identify contributing structural factors.
Where nerve compromise is significant or the clinical picture is complex, we may refer for imaging (MRI, CT, or nerve conduction studies) or co-manage with a neurologist or spinal surgeon.
Treatment
Where the cause falls within our scope, treatment may include spinal manipulation or mobilisation to decompress nerve roots, soft tissue therapy to release structures compressing peripheral nerves, dry needling, postural and ergonomic advice, and prescribed rehabilitative exercises.
How Waterloo Chiropractic Can Help
Numbness and tingling can have multiple potential sources, and treatment is only effective when the correct source has been identified. At Waterloo Chiropractic, our practitioners conduct a comprehensive neurological and orthopaedic assessment on your first visit to establish exactly where the nerve is being compromised and why.
We look at the cervical and lumbar spine, the peripheral nerve pathways, and the surrounding soft tissue structures that may be contributing to compression or irritation. This diagnostic rigour is what allows us to direct treatment accurately rather than broadly.
Where the cause falls within our scope of practice, treatment typically combines spinal mobilisation or manipulation, soft tissue therapy, and dry needling. We are also experienced in recognising presentations that require imaging, specialist referral, or co-management with a neurologist or spinal surgeon, and we will always refer when that is the right course of action. Find out what to expect on your first visit.
Persistent numbness or tingling should not be left uninvestigated. Call (02) 9690 0911 or book online. Shop 265, 8 Lachlan St, Waterloo NSW 2017.