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- What Are Pins and Needles? đ
What Are Pins and Needles? đ
Morning pins and needles!
You know that weird tingling, stabbing sensation you get sometimes?
That feels a bit like this:
Itâs commonly known as âpins and needlesâ, but scientifically known as Paresthesia.
But why does it happen?
Let's say you're just sitting cross-legged⊠for whatever reason.
This will be putting a lot of pressure on the back of your thigh right here:
Where youâve got these 3 hamstrings.
But in between these hamstrings, you will find this little guy:
The sciatic nerve.
Think of nerves like the highways from your brain to the rest of your body.
And the traffic down these highways are nerve signals, or instructions from the brain telling you to walk, wiggle your toes, breathe, or do anything!
But if you put a bit of pressure on this nerve by sitting cross-legged for long enoughâŠ
This nerve kinda gets a traffic jam.
The brain signals can no longer be sent, so the nerve starts to shut downâŠ
And THIS is why your leg starts going numb.
That's Paresthesia.
So you feel your leg going numb, and youâre like:
And then what do you do?
You get up!
But then⊠all of a sudden, as the pressure is released, and the blood is able to flowâŠ
The nerve highway starts moving again!
Sending signal after signal after signal.
It's suddenly rush hour!
And because your brain is kinda stupid, it sees all these signals and interprets them as pain.
So you start getting these weird stabby feelings running all down your leg.
Aka pins and needles!!
Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan đ
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