Every time I sit in an uncomfortable position, my foot goes to sleep. What causes this?
Dear Dr. Cory:Every time I sit in an uncomfortable position, my foot goes to sleep. What causes this?
Elizabeth Quigley
Montreal, Quebec, Canada Dear Elizabeth:
There are bundles of special cells in your body called nerves. Nerves are like telephone wires. They carry messages back and forth from your body to your brain. The brain decides what to do--walk, sit, smile, jump--and sends a message to your body.
When you sit in some positions for a long time, you squeeze the nerves. The messages can't go to and from the brain. Parts of your body seem to "fall asleep." Moving around will take the pressure off the nerves. Then they can get back to work. Rubbing or massaging the area that's "asleep" also seems to help.
As the nerves "wake up," you will get a tingling feeling. This is normal. Maybe nerves don't like waking up any more than some people do!
See you next issue! Your friend,
Cory SerVaas, M.D.
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| Title Annotation: | Ask Dr. Cory |
|---|---|
| Author: | SerVaas, Cory |
| Publication: | Jack & Jill |
| Date: | Jun 1, 1995 |
| Words: | 163 |
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