Numbness in the Foot
Reviewed by Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPod, October 2026
Numbness in the foot means losing some or all feeling there. It happens when something affects the nerves that send signals to your brain, and it often comes with tingling. It is a main symptom of peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage in the hands, feet and arms). Diabetes is the leading cause. Others include heavy drinking over many years, low vitamin B12, injury or surgery, some medicines and an underactive thyroid. Sometimes no cause is found. How well feeling recovers depends on the cause, and a numb foot can be hurt without you noticing, so looking after it matters.
What is it?
Numbness means you lose some or all feeling in part of your body. In your foot, it happens because of a problem with the nerves that send signals up to your brain. You may also notice tingling, prickling or pins and needles.
Numbness in the feet is one of the main symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. This is damage to the nerves in the hands, feet and arms. When the nerves that carry feeling are affected, you may also be less able to feel pain or changes in temperature. Some people get burning or sharp pain, and some feel unsteady because it is harder to tell where their feet are. The symptoms are usually constant, but they can come and go.
Numbness is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Your doctor or podiatrist will want to find out what is behind it.
The figures we have are for nerve damage, not for foot numbness itself. About 1 per cent of people have polyneuropathy (damage to several nerves at once), and this rises to up to 7 per cent of older people. Among people with diabetes, about 36 per cent have diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Estimates run as high as 50 per cent after more than 10 years of diabetes, and 10 to 30 per cent at the time diabetes is diagnosed.
What can cause it?
Most often, foot numbness comes from nerve damage in both feet. Diabetes is the leading cause, behind 32 to 53 per cent of cases of this kind of nerve damage. Nerve changes have also been noted in people with pre-diabetes. After diabetes, the next most common cause is drinking too much alcohol over a long time.
Low vitamin B12 is another common cause, and other low vitamin levels can do it too. An underactive thyroid, long-term kidney or liver disease, and an abnormal protein in the blood (called MGUS) can also damage nerves. Some medicines can cause it, and chemotherapy is a common cause.
Nerves can be damaged by an injury or during surgery. Some infections can affect nerves, including shingles, Lyme disease, diphtheria, botulism and HIV. So can conditions where the immune system is overactive, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Sjögren's syndrome and coeliac disease. A few cancers, such as lymphoma and multiple myeloma, can do it too. Some people inherit a condition that damages nerves, especially in the feet. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is one example.
In 20 to 30 per cent of cases of this kind of nerve damage, no cause is found. This is called chronic idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy. It usually starts slowly from the sixth decade of life (the 50s) or later, and seems to affect men more than women.
Ordinary pins and needles are different. They happen when you sit or sleep on a limb and the blood supply to the nerves is briefly cut off.
Who gets it?
People with diabetes are the most affected. In people with diabetes, long-term kidney disease is linked with a higher chance of nerve damage. Older age raises the chance too, and so do certain medicines. Having had chemotherapy, drinking heavily for many years, or having a family history of nerve problems also matter.
How is the cause found?
Your doctor will start by asking about your symptoms and examining you. They may then arrange tests to look for the cause. Your podiatrist may also check the feeling in your feet as part of an assessment.
The examination may include testing how well you feel vibration and light pressure, and checking your ankle reflexes. Pressure is often tested with a thin nylon thread (a monofilament) touched to different spots on your foot. Tests may include blood tests, nerve conduction studies (which measure how well your nerves carry signals), ultrasound and MRI.
Telling the causes apart relies on your history, the examination and these tests. Some causes need specific tests, and sometimes no cause is found. That is why long-lasting numbness is best checked by a doctor rather than guessed at. Your GP may refer you to a neurologist (a specialist in conditions affecting the nerves).
Treatment
The aim is to find and treat the cause, and to protect your feet while the feeling is reduced. Early treatment gives you a better chance of controlling symptoms and preventing further problems.
Looking after it at home
When you can't feel your feet well, you may not notice stepping on something sharp, or a small blister or sore. Skin damage can then become a deep injury, an infection or an ulcer (an open sore) without any pain.
Look at your feet regularly for cuts, blisters, sores, redness or swelling. Take extra care around heat, because you may not feel a burn. Reduced feeling also raises the chance of falls.
If you have diabetes, learn the warning signs of heat, pain, redness and swelling in your foot. Even a minor foot problem can become serious if it isn't treated properly.
Treatment from your podiatrist
If you have diabetes, your podiatrist can check for loss of protective sensation (the loss of feeling that normally warns you something is hurting your foot). They can also check for peripheral artery disease (poor blood flow in the arteries of the legs). People at very low risk of foot ulcers are advised to be checked once a year. People at higher risk need checks more often.
If you have diabetes and have had an ulcer on the sole of your foot before, two things have the strongest backing for stopping it coming back. One is therapeutic footwear that takes pressure off the sole and that you actually wear. The other is checking the skin temperature of your feet every day and acting on what you find. For stopping a first ulcer, or an ulcer anywhere other than the sole, it isn't yet clear how well these steps work.
Other options
If the cause isn't clear, or things aren't improving, ask your GP about seeing a specialist. When a nerve has been injured, getting the right diagnosis and the right treatment early matters. Delayed or wrong treatment can lead to severe problems, and the best results come from specialists working together. If it isn't clear how a nerve was injured, an MRI and ultrasound may show damage that needs surgery.
When symptoms are only getting worse very slowly, your GP may choose to manage things in the clinic and review you for changes. If your symptoms get worse or start to affect your walking, go back to your GP rather than waiting.
Will it get better?
It depends on the cause. Nerve injuries often heal incompletely, which can leave lasting problems. Finding the cause earlier gives you a better chance of limiting the damage. It isn't yet known whether any treatment brings lost feeling back, so protecting your feet matters a great deal.
If you have diabetes and have had a foot ulcer, some things make it more likely to come back. These are nerve damage, poor blood flow in the legs, poorly controlled blood glucose (sugar), an ulcer on the sole of the foot, a bone infection (osteomyelitis) and smoking.
Preventing it
If you have diabetes, keep up regular foot checks and check-ups at the pace your clinician recommends. Checking your feet every day, wearing the footwear your podiatrist advises, and keeping your blood glucose well managed all help protect them. Smoking is linked with ulcers coming back, so it is worth talking to your GP about it.
People at highest risk of nerve damage, such as people with diabetes, are advised to have regular check-ups. See your GP early if you notice new tingling or loss of feeling, so the cause can be found and treated.
When to see a podiatrist
Book an appointment if
You have new tingling or loss of feeling in your feet, or numbness that lasts a long time and isn't explained by how you were sitting or lying. Also book if you feel unsteady or weak, if your leg numbness is worse when you walk, if you have had a recent injury to your back, neck or head, or if a cut or sore on your foot isn't getting better. See your GP soon for any of these. If you have diabetes, keep up regular foot check-ups with your podiatrist or GP. A child with numb feet should be assessed by a health professional.
Seek prompt assessment if
Call your local emergency number if your numbness comes with sudden weakness or paralysis, confusion, difficulty talking, dizziness, a sudden severe headache, or loss of control of your bladder or bowels. If you have a foot wound or infection and you also feel very unwell, with confusion or slurred speech, severe shivering or muscle pain, severe breathlessness, mottled or discoloured skin, or little or no urine, this could be sepsis: call your local emergency number.
See your GP, podiatrist or another doctor today if your numb foot is red, warm or swollen, has broken skin or oozing, or you feel unwell, even if it doesn't hurt. A numb foot can be badly hurt without any pain, and an infected sore that isn't treated can become very serious. If you have diabetes and you have severe pain in your foot that doesn't ease at rest, or toes that look very pale, dusky or black, see your GP or another doctor today. If your GP can't see you today, go to an urgent care clinic or an after-hours GP.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between numbness and pins and needles?
Numbness is losing some or all feeling. Pins and needles is a tingling or prickling feeling. The everyday kind comes from sitting or sleeping on a limb, and it usually stops within a few minutes once the pressure is off. Numbness that lasts or keeps coming back is different, and it is worth getting checked.
My monofilament test was normal. Does that mean my nerves are fine?
Not necessarily. The thin-thread test can miss nerve damage, so a normal result doesn't rule it out. If your numbness or other symptoms carry on, tell your doctor or podiatrist and ask about further assessment.
What should I bring to my appointment?
Note when the numbness started, whether it is constant or comes and goes, and whether it affects one foot or both. Bring a list of your medicines, how much alcohol you drink, any diabetes or thyroid problems, recent injuries or surgery, and any family history of nerve problems. You can also ask which tests might look for the cause.
Can I have numb feet without having diabetes?
Yes. Diabetes is the leading cause, but many other things can be behind it, and some people never find a cause. Because of this, it is worth having numbness checked by a doctor rather than assuming what it is.