The medical term for the “pins and needles” sensation is paresthesia.
Paresthesia describes abnormal skin sensations such as tingling, prickling, burning, itching, or numbness. The familiar feeling that occurs when an arm or leg “falls asleep” is a temporary form, often caused by pressure on a nerve or reduced circulation while a limb remains in one position.
The sensation can also result from nerve irritation, injury, diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, medication effects, or disorders affecting the nervous system. It may be brief and harmless, but persistent, spreading, or severe paresthesia can warrant medical evaluation because the underlying cause matters.
Paresthesia is not identical to every unusual sensation. Hyperesthesia means increased sensitivity, neuralgia refers to nerve pain, and neuropathy describes nerve damage or dysfunction rather than one specific sensation. “Formication,” the feeling of insects crawling on the skin, is a particular type of paresthesia.