sore toes
by kerry
I often get woke up at night with the tips of my big toes being very painful. After 5 or 10 minutes the pain will pass. The pain is like a very extreme tingling but always just in the tips of my big toes. RESPONSE Hi Kerry, It would help if I knew more about you, your age, medical history , etc. but since I do not let me just point out a couple of conditions that might be causing your pain in your toes. My first thought would be a radiculopathy, meaning an irritation of the nerves that come out of the spinal column. Depending on the position you sleep in and depending on whether or not you have any back issues to begin with, the nerves that innervate your big toes, may be irritated as they come out of the spinal column. This certainly could cause tingling or numbness or pain in each of your big toes. If you find that the abnormal sensations subside in a few minutes than that is one plausible explanation. You do not mention what you do to stop the tingling; do you get out of bed, or do you change positions in bed? The second possibility would be vascular compromise or poor circulation going into the toes. It would help if I knew your age, whether or not you smoke, are you diabetic, etc. When the feet are elevated, such as in sleeping there is diminished circulation into the feet. If you have poor circulation in your feet to begin with, the elevation of your feet will further exacerbate the problem and you could end up with abnormal sensations including tingling. Most people with poor circulation into their feet will end up sleeping, sitting in a chair. or let their feet dangle over the bed for a few minutes, so that gravity can help force more blood into the feet and reduce the abnormal sensations that they are experiencing. So, that is the two most common causes for your complaint. My advice to you would be to see your doctor and explain your symptoms and let he or she determine the source of your tingling. Marc Mitnick DPM DISCLAIMER
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