Question
My mom (88)has had a numbness/tingly feeling on the bottom of her right foot for over a year.  Now, it is both feet.  Not completely numb but more tingly.   She just had a diabetes test done and will get the results on Monday.  Is there a chance that this is spine related?

Answer
Cindy,

Yes, it could be from her spine.  If she has arthritic bones, they will compromise the diameters of the nerve canals.  Any compromise to the central canal (the portion that the spinal cord sits in) or the lateral canals (the opening where the spinal nerve emerges that goes down the leg to the foot) can cause numbness, tingling, or pain.  If the nerve is compressed by the boney compromise, then there will often be other findings such as loss of reflexes or loss of strength to the ankle muscles or muscle that lifts the big toe.  Google "lumbar spinal stenosis."  It makes sense that her doctors are checking for diabetes since diabetes will cause nerve damage, also leading to symptoms like numbness and tingling in the feet.   Not everyone with arthritis to the spine gets symptoms.   So if she's diabetic, that must be addressed first.   If she is not diabetic, then they will look more closely at her spine as a cause for the symptoms.  

'Hope this helps.

Dr. G