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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Like a pin being stuck between toes

Occasionally (usually at night) I get the intermittent pain sensation of a pin being stuck into my foot between my toes. When it is occurring it is one location per event. It has been on the left foot, last night for the first time it happened in my right foot. The on and off sensation lasts about 15 minutes. A severe "prick" can be felt all the way up to behind my knee.

ANSWER

Hi,

The fact that the pin prick sensation occurs primarily at night, compounded by the fact that it is generally in the same location, (in the toes area) and that the pain at times seems to travel to the knee all lead me to believe that you may be suffering from what we call a radiculopathy.
This is a condition where the nerves that come out of the spinal column are being irritated. This does occur quite frequently in people who sleep in a certain position.
It is not a specific position, eg: side, back, stomach, but rather a specific position for you that is putting excess pressure on the nerve that brings sensation to your toes. When you are in this position the nerve gets irritated and you get a neuritis (inflammation of a nerve), down in your toes.
In your case it is occurring primarily on the left foot.
I would suggest when this neuritis occurs make a mental note of what sleeping position you are in and see if you are constantly in a similar position every time you have an incidence.
A lesser possibility can occur when there is a nerve irritation where the nerve passes by the head of the fibula bone. This is the enlarged part of bone on the outside of the leg just below the knee. In this case I would think you would be constantly sleeping on your side; your left side.
This may not be the only causes of a neuritis into your toes but this is where I would look first.
If you find that this condition bothers you enough then I would suggest you see a doctor in your area who can do a thorough examination to actually determine what is causing your neuritis.
Additionally, if you find that the incidents are becoming more frequent, then I would definately suggest a medical consultation as this may be a sign of a more pressing problem that might require medical attention.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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Mayo Clinic

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Drugs.com

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Penn State Medical Center

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Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation

ScienceDirect

Stanford Health Care

Illinois Bone and Joint Institute

Mount Sinai Hospital

Institute for Chronic Pain

University of Florida Health

American Family Physician

Cedars-Sinai

University of Maryland Medical Center

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