Why do my hands or feet keep going numb and tingly?
Numbness and tingling are nerve symptoms, and where you feel them tells us where the nerve is being pinched, often in the spine. Usually we can help. At Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, one show-and-tell visit maps the dermatomes, tests the reflexes, runs a surface EMG, and takes X-rays at the level of suspicion, so we find which nerve and where.
One unhurried visit tells you what is going on and whether Dr. Foudy can help. Thursday is afternoons only, 3:00 to 6:00 pm.
Patient receiving AccuSpina spinal decompression therapy in Mission Viejo
In your own words
Does one of these sound like you?
Most patients arrive describing how they feel, not naming a diagnosis. If one of these is yours, you are in the right place. One visit tells you where you stand.
My fingers keep falling asleep, more at night, and I am waking up from itI get pins-and-needles in my toes or my feetThe numbness follows a pattern, like the thumb and index, or the pinkyMy grip feels weak, or my foot feels weak pushing offIt is like part of my hand or foot is half asleep all the time
What is actually going on
What is actually going on, in plain terms.
Numbness and tingling are the nervous system telling you a wire is getting pinched somewhere. The trick is that you feel it at the end of the wire, in the hand or the foot, but the pinch is usually further up. Think of the circuit breakers in the back of your house again: when the breaker trips, the room goes dark, but you fix it at the panel, not in the dark room. Numbness in the hands and arms usually traces to the neck, the cervical spine. Numbness in the legs and feet usually traces to the low back, the lumbar spine. Some of it is pinched further out, like carpal tunnel at the wrist or tarsal tunnel at the ankle, and some of it, like diabetic neuropathy, is its own thing. Where you feel it, the pattern, and the exam tell us which wire and where.
Patient receiving AccuSpina spinal decompression therapy in Mission Viejo
Can you help me, what is it, how long, and how much.
These are the four questions I hear on every first call, so here they are answered in order. The honest version of each, with real numbers, not a sales pitch.
Can you help me?
Yes, here is the honest answer.
Usually, yes, when the pinch is in the spine or an entrapment we can reach. I am honest about the cases that are not mine, peripheral neuropathy from diabetes, and numbness with progressive weakness or a bladder or bowel change, which is a red flag that needs evaluation right away. One visit tells us which one you are.
What is it?
What is actually going on.
It is a pinched or irritated nerve, and the location of the symptom points to the source. Upper-body numbness points to the neck, lower-body numbness to the low back, and some lives further out at the wrist or ankle. The dermatome map, the reflex testing, the Wartenberg pinwheel, and the surface EMG locate it, and the X-rays show the structure.
How long?
How long it usually takes.
Milder, nerve-irritation numbness often calms down inside a few weeks of care. Long-standing numbness with weakness takes longer and may not fully reverse, and I am straight about that, the goal is to stop the progression and recover what we can. Your exact plan is set after your exam.
How much?
What it costs, plainly.
The show-and-tell consultation that locates the nerve is $90 and about 75 minutes. A standard adjustment visit is $90. If a disc is the driver and decompression is the right tool, the standard 20-visit program is $3,000 and a single session is $160. We go over your plan in person.
Who this helps, and who it does not
Are you a candidate for care here?
You are a good fit if the numbness is coming from a pinched nerve in the spine or an entrapment we can treat, which is a lot of cases. When I refer out: numbness with rapidly progressing weakness, numbness in the saddle area, or any loss of bladder or bowel control needs urgent evaluation, not a treatment plan. Numbness from a metabolic cause like diabetes is managed with your physician, and we address only the spinal part. If what I find is not mine to fix, I will tell you straight and send you to the right person.
Dr. Foudy reviewing a patient's own X-rays before recommending a plan.
When the disc is the problem
Where spinal decompression fits.
When the numbness traces to a disc pinching a nerve root, spinal decompression with added oscillation on the AccuSpina can take the pressure off it. It gently separates the bones, and at the peak of each pull it oscillates, like a gentle pump. Laboratory and imaging studies suggest that easing the bones apart lowers the pressure inside the disc so it can draw in fluid and nutrients. When the pinch is an entrapment further out, like carpal tunnel, the adjustment and stretch work do the job instead. The first visit tells us which one you are.
The AccuSpina is an FDA-cleared Class II device for non-surgical spinal decompression, and its oscillation is genuinely patented technology (USPTO US 7,717,870). Those are facts about the machine, not a promise about your case. Whether it fits you is exactly what the first visit screens for.
A patient set up for a decompression cycle on the AccuSpina table.
Straight talk
One visit tells you what is going on, and I will tell you straight.
The show-and-tell consultation is the full picture in one visit: the postural scales, the surface EMG (an EKG of your nervous system), the digital X-rays, and the hands-on exam, all in about 75 minutes. You will see your own scan and your own films, and you will leave with a straight answer about your numbness & tingling.
If this is mine to fix, I will tell you the plan. If it is not, I will tell you that too, and point you to what actually helps. I would rather send you down the street than put you on a plan that was never going to help your case. The first visit is $90 and runs about 75 minutes.
Dr. Foudy reviewing a computerized nervous-system scan with a patient, like an EKG of the nervous system.
Good questions, asked often
Questions patients ask about numbness & tingling
It can be. New numbness paired with progressive weakness or a bladder or bowel change is a red flag and you should be evaluated quickly. Most numbness, though, is chronic nerve irritation and very treatable.
Yes, and we screen for it on every case because it is so often missed. Some carpal tunnel responds well to conservative care, and some needs a surgical opinion. We are honest about which is which.
The dermatome pattern, the Phalen and Tinel tests, and the surface EMG sort it out. Dr. Foudy walks you through what each one shows.
Diabetic neuropathy is its own condition. We work with diabetic patients to address the spinal component while their primary physician manages the metabolic side.
The show-and-tell consultation in Mission Viejo includes the exam, the surface EMG, and the X-rays, about $90 and 75 minutes. You will see your own scan and your own films, and you will leave with a straight answer. Patients come to us from Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, and across Mission Viejo. Call Call (949) 365-0403 and ask for Carmen.
