Crawling feeling on underside of feet and sometimes in right hand

by Phil
(London, UK)

Hello,

For about 6 months I have had on and off symptoms that vary in intensity.
It started with shooting pains down the back of both legs (this is why I went to the doctor) and a numb feeling in the big toe of my right foot. Eventually I was referred for physio (thinking sciatica related problems). This seemed to help but seemed to move the problem around (i.e it went from a numb toe to the outside of the foot to the shin etc). At the time my symptoms were a tingling foot, warmness in the foot / leg and a "tugging" / tingling of on the underside of my right hand (extending to little finger). I also had a period of muscle cramps in the forearms which I paid little attention too and has subsequently gone.

As the weeks progressed these symptoms came and went. It wasn't coupled with any back pain (although in the 6 months I did have two episodes where a muscle spasm (mid left back and right lower back - both on different occasions) meant I had two days off work for each. Both resulted from heavy physical labour!

Now, I am left with the generalised symptoms of on occasion (once or twice a week) it will flare up in the underside of my feet, where they feel tingling / painful, to the point where sometimes it can be painful to stand. Again to a lesser extent my right hand gets a tugging feeling on the underside (extending to my little finger) and it seems to tire if raised above my head (almost as if the blood struggles to circulate there!). NO loss of strength in any limb. If I extend both arms out to my side and open my hand back to my forearm (i.e. knuckles facing forearm) i feel a pulsing tingling in the wrist of both hands. I have also had a random pulsing in the heel of the right foot which only lasted a week or so (you may notice that as symptoms come and go I am becoming more tuned to them and stressed with it all...looking for a pattern and assuming the worst!)

Apart from that I have no other associated symptoms.

The symptoms do seem to coincide with during the working week and not happen as often on weekends. I wonder (as did my doctor) whether its posture or stress related (since I sit for 8 hours a day at work) and on weekends I am more active, or stress related (again, would tie in with work and weekends/holiday not much).

I do have a dull ache in the middle of my back (if for example I do a work out) but not sure if that is related.

Generally the pain/symptoms (when present) are more obvious as the day progresses (i.e. first thing in the morning its generally ok).

I am male, 29 years old, 5'10 tall and 77kg in weight (generally healthy!).

Any thoughts? The more I scour the internet, the more afraid I get!
Also worth noting I have a pending appointment with a neurologist. But until then, I was wondering if you have any thoughts.

Hello Phil,

Don't get unduly anxious. Bad stuff only happens to other people!

Seriously though, it's good you are seeing a neurologist, to establish a diagnosis. It would seem to me that there are different things going on here.

It's highly likely that the symptoms in your lower leg(s) are related to the episodes of lower back pain that you had. To test that:

Bend forwards slowly. Is the pull in the legs the same? Now bend backwards and to the side. Does that do anything in the leg.

Punch "Slump test" into the Search this site facility at C-H. When you do this test, does that right lower leg hurt, feel much tighter than the other leg?

The chair is the lower back's worst enemy. It's no surprise that when you sit all day, you have more pain. Get up regularly and walk around during your working day, and sit much less in the evening. Lie on your back when watching TV.

The pain under your foot could be from your back, but it could also be a plantar myofascitis, or other. If you press under your foot does it hurt?

When you see the neurologist, ask him if he would mind doing Adson's test. Quite a tricky test to determine if there is a rib affecting the artery and nerves to the arm. Meantime you could do the "hands up" test.

http://www.chiropractic-books.com/Thoracic-Outlet-Syndrome.html

Phil, start looking for a local chiropractor. I'm sure there is someone who can help you with them. They are typical of what I see every day. The neurologist will probably do some Xrays, maybe a scan which would be helpful. A peripheral neuropathy is a possibility but I think unlikely, considering you've had episodes of back pain. The Slump test will tell you. Negative in a peripheral neuropathy.

Still, a couple B12 injections wouldn't do any harm. Keep in touch.