Mayo Clinic Minute: What may be causing your hands and feet to tingle

If you experience tingling, weakness or stabbing pain in your hands or feet, you may be among the 2%–3% of the population with peripheral neuropathy.

Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. Michelle Mauermann says those are the nerves that exit from the spinal cord and go to the rest of the body. Peripheral neuropathy happens when those nerves are damaged. Some patients experience decreased sensation or numbness in their hands and feet.

Muscle weakness, balance issues, and abnormalities in blood pressure or pulse also can be symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, which can be brought on by a number of reasons ― the most common being diabetes.

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