What is the Difference Between Paresthesia and Paralysis

The key difference between paresthesia and paralysis is that paresthesia refers to a burning or prickling sensation that is normally felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet, while paralysis refers to the loss of the ability to move some or all parts of the body.

Paresthesia and paralysis are two conditions caused due to nerve damage. Abnormal sensations like prickling, tingling, burning or cold, skin crawling, or impaired sensations are normally called paresthesia. Paresthesia is due to nerve damage. The continued nerve damage can lead to numbness or paralysis.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Paresthesia
3. What is Paralysis
4. Similarities – Paresthesia and Paralysis
5. Paresthesia vs Paralysis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Paresthesia vs Paralysis

What is Paresthesia?

Paresthesia is a condition characterized by burning, or prickling sensations usually felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. Paresthesia is the pins and needles feeling that people may probably have had at some point in their life. People feel this sensation when their arms or legs fall asleep. This is because people inadvertently put pressure on a nerve. It gets resolved once people change their position to remove the pressure from the affected nerve. However, if there is persistent paresthesia, there might be an underlying medical disorder that needs medical assistance. The symptoms of paresthesia are numbness, weakness, tingling, burning, cold, stabbing pain, clumsiness of the affected nerve, and difficulty in walking. The causes of temporary paresthesia may include pressure on a nerve or a brief period of poor circulation. On the other hand, the causes of chronic paresthesia may include radiculopathy and neuropathy.

Paresthesia can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, neurological examination, and imaging tests (X-ray, CT scans, and MRI). Furthermore, treatment options for paresthesia include over-the-counter pain medication, cold compress, lifestyle adjustment, physical therapy, and managing underlying conditions.

What is Paralysis?

Paralysis is a condition that refers to the loss of the ability to move some or all parts of the body. The causes of paralysis include strokes, car accidents, sports injuries, demyelinating diseases, motor neuron diseases, changes in genes, Bell’s palsy, epilepsy or seizure, tick neurotoxins, and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy. Paralysis can be divided into two main categories: partial (paresis) and complete.

The symptoms of paralysis are partial or complete inability to move the affected parts of the body, a loss of sensation depending on the location of the injury, a steady loss of feeling and muscle control, muscle cramps, and tingling or numbness in the limbs. Moreover, paralysis can be diagnosed through X-rays and imaging testing such as CT scan, MRI, myelogram, electromyogram (EMG), and spinal tap. Furthermore, treatments for paralysis include physical, occupational and speech therapy, rehabilitation services, adaptive equipment, assistive equipment, orthotic/ prosthetic devices, and voice-activated technology.

What are the Similarities Between Paresthesia and Paralysis?

Paresthesia and paralysis are two conditions due to nerve damage.
Both are due to peripheral neuropathy.
They are related to medical conditions that may show similar symptoms.
They can be diagnosed through physical examination and imaging testing.
They are mainly treated through supportive therapy.

What is the Difference Between Paresthesia and Paralysis?

Paresthesia refers to a burning or prickling sensation that is typically felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet, while paralysis refers to the loss of the ability to move some or all parts of the body. Thus, this is the key difference between paresthesia and paralysis. Furthermore, the causes of paresthesia include pressure on a nerve or a brief period of poor circulation, radiculopathy, and neuropathy. On the other hand, the causes of paralysis include strokes, car accidents, sports injuries, demyelinating diseases, motor neuron diseases, changes in genes, Bell’s palsy, epilepsy or seizure, tick neurotoxins, and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy.

The below infographic presents the differences between paresthesia and paralysis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Paresthesia vs Paralysis

Paresthesia and paralysis are two conditions occurring due to nerve damage. Paresthesia refers to a burning or prickling sensation that is usually felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet while paralysis refers to the loss of the ability to move some or all parts of the body. So, this summarizes the difference between paresthesia and paralysis. The continued nerve damage in paresthesia can lead to numbness or paralysis.

Reference:

1. “Paralysis: What Is It, Diagnosis, Management & Prevention.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. Pietrangelo, Ann. “Parethesia: Causes, Treatment, and More.” Healthline, Healthline Media.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Conditions Fibro” By NCBI – (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “International Aid to Morocco Paralysis Victims” By United Nations Photo (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr