Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

foot vibration

Not sure where to post this. A few days ago I had a sensation of the floor vibrating under one foot. Since then I have realized it is my foot. It is felt in bloth feet, one at a time. Never both at the same time. I feel it when I am standing r walking. It is like an intermittent buzzing sensation. It comes in short bursts on after the other then stops. It will happen when walking and I will feel it with every third or fourth step. What could be the cause? I am taking no medications, only slightly over weight and am a 47 yr. old female in good health.


This discussion is related to faint vibration or 'humming' sensation.
311 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I've had the buzzing for 46 days it's finally going away it's not MS or  diabetes it's a inflamed or pinched nerve between the toes.( morton's neuroma ) Due from to tight of shoes and not proper support. An injured nerve can take up to 3 months to heal, so take it easy on your foot. They say ice the foot but I found applying heat worked much better. If after 3 months you can go in to get Cortizone shot or  ethanol shots to ease the nerves and in extreme cases surgery to take out the nerve. 80% get better on own. I've done days of research and 2 doctors appointments. First just a blood test to eliminate  diabetes or infection. I know it's difficult to deal with but it will get better, body just needs time to heal just R-E-L-A-X;)
Helpful - 3
1 Comments
❤️. Had MRI in November and diagnosed with 2 neuromas. Been going to PT and I believe I  aggravated it. Foot has been buzzing for 7 days.
Avatar universal
After a month of this 2 doctors visits I believe it's  morton's neuroma research that for help:) good luck
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
Hello everyone, I have had the exact same symptoms as most everyone here.  Read every post and after a week and half of the "vibrating"  I finally said enough and went to doctors, the doctor said its just to much stress put on my feet(which makes sense, I'm a mason worker always on my feet and lifting heavy objects)and that I need better shoes and insoles. Seems all the stressing out was  unwarranted , but I do have to say just going into the doctors office really eased my mind. Specially when I asked if this was forever, answer is no!! So in most cases we are just overworking ourselves. So take it easy and relax it will go away;)) good luck everyone!
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
It's not ms:) I know how your feeling been there!! Mine is almost gone now but took almost 2 months it's just a irritated nerve in between your toes. You can't stop it when your standing cause your putting pressure  on your     metatarsals And that pinches the inflamed nerve
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
I have 1-2 neuromas in my left foot and have this same buzzing for 7 days. Rhythmic too. Had cortisone shot so hopefully that will help inflammation. Yours ever come back?
Avatar universal
Had almost forgot, but as a final update:

My vibrations completely disappeared by day 13. Since then I haven't experienced anything similar to that sensation, so I'm confident its gone.

Good luck everybody!
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
(continuing on)

It's probably none of the above. Most likely, you have irritated a nerve in your foot somehow. This could have been through wearing bad shoes, changing shoes as of late, or just twisting your foot in the wrong way or stepping on a pebble. Like me, there may be no reasonable explanation, it just happened. If you have pain directly in the region of the vibration it could be a Neuroma.

3. Book an appoint with your doctor - Let's be realistic, it's probably nothing. The vast majority of people who have posted on this forum experienced the symptoms for a week, then it went away without ever coming back. This being said, it is also highly irregular and your doctor should know about it. Be safe guys.

4. Be pro-active - Chances are you won't be able to get into to see your doctor for a day or two. In the mean time its time to start taking measures of your own. Start taking ibuprofen, as much as is safe. If you have irritated a nerve, it will be inflamed and you need to get that swelling down. The same is true if you have an inflamed sciatic nerve. The doctor will give you something stronger, but this is good in the mean time. Also go to the shops and get a B-complex vitamin, Magnesium vitamin, and a standard multi-vitamin. Take these as advised. It may also help to start applying ice to the foot.

5. (From my experience) external vibration applied to the foot helps ease the sensation - I'm serious about this. Find something that vibrates. I have a portable, fold-up massage chair that has a vibrate feature. All I did was lay it out flat and rest my foot on there for 15 mins. This TEMPORARILY stops the buzzing. It's good for when you are about to go to sleep. If you don't believe me on this take off your shoes when you go for a 20 minute drive or something. The vibration from the engine will give a similar effect.

6. Ask your doctor if he/she thinks it is wise to see podiatrist/neurologist/chiropractor or someone who can conduct an ultrasound on your foot - these guys may be able to help you further.

7. Don't be concerned - Yes, it's an annoying sensation. Yes it is scary, but only because it is a sensation that we haven't really felt before. A nerve is misfiring and that is definitely not normal. But just because you have a vibrating foot doesn't mean you have MS or Parkinsons. For the vast majority of people this will disappear within a fortnight.

Don't stress about it too much. Try to ignore it if possible (its hard I know). This will go away.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
I am a healthy 53yr old woman with a 35yr old leg injury/issue, but don't believe this to be a factor since the vibration occurs mainly in my "good-leg's" foot.  
I have been having the same symptoms in my right and sometimes left foot, Not specifically toward the heel or toes, but more generally in the middle of the bottom of my foot, around toward the outer-right side.  
Like everyone else, thought I was going crazy.  Then, thought perhaps my foot fell asleep and was trying to awaken, even though I was not sitting in a position for this to occur.  
After reading everyone's comments, for me, I'm leaning toward the dehydration/mineral/vitamin deficiency.
I live in Southern AZ and the temps have been into the 100's day after day.  I also perform some work in the field (outside) in these temps, for extended periods of time.  Although I drink plenty of water, I don't consume enough nutritional vitamin packed foods to compensate for the fluid loss from sweating profusely while out there each day.
Even though some have pin-pointed shoes/sneakers etc as the culprits, I don't believe this could really be the cause.
I hope everyone finds their own personal cure for this annoying symptom!
GOOD LUCK!
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Hi all. Just wanted to share my experience in case it may be helpful to someone. Just for the record I am 34, female and in great health. About two weeks ago I had an acute muscle twitch in my lower left lip that was visible if you looked at my face. Every few seconds or so my lip muscle would twitch outward as if there was a little poltergeist trying to kick his way out. As I had no other symptoms I went to bed hoping it would be gone in the morning, and so when I woke up at 5am and realised it was still there I started to panic. I went to the emergency room a few hours later and of course the twitching stopped the minute I sat down to register. The doctor ruled out any signs of a stroke and sent me to a neurologist who also didn't know what to say, as I passed all his muscle and reflex tests. We ran some blood tests to check my electrolytes and he said to come back in 2 weeks if no other symptoms appeared. Meanwhile, that same week, I noticed that my left heel started to buzz/vibrate while I was lying on the couch. Like many on this forum the vibrations would come and go in intervals. No pain, very localised, but I was so aware of them happening that I couldn't help but lose sleep over it. Doctor Google seemed to point to paresthesia, among other scarier prognoses.

I was already taking B12 but upped my supplementation of other B Vitamins after reading the various comments in this forum. I also gave myself a warm foot bath, massaged my foot with tiger balm, propped by legs up for 30 mns... but nothing seemed to work. Then two days later, just when I changed my appointment with the neurologist to see him the very next day, I got a new symptom. I started what felt like a wave of tightness and tingles from my left jaw all the way up to my left cheekbone, left temple and down the left side of my neck. I wasn't numb but just very tight and stiff. More googling seemed to point to TMJ, but by this point I was a nervous wreak, with all these symptoms appearing in such a short amount of time. The next day I explain everything to the neurologist but as my blood tests returned within range, and since my foot vibrations were so localised and were just a "feeling" and not visible, he didn't think my new symptoms were anything to worry about and dismissed me. He just told me to relax, which did make me feel better (in the meantime my self-assessed TMJ symptoms were improving slowly) but I still wanted the foot buzzing to stop. The next morning I woke up to my right thigh muscle twitching and to some random headaches that came and went in waves on both sides of the temples and head. The right edge of my tongue also started to tingle and I was getting some small twitches just below my left eye. That was it, I knew something was still wrong.

This entire time magnesium deficiency kept popping up as a possible diagnosis but since my blood test came back "within range" I didn't consider it. Turns out...that was exactly my problem! I've been supplementing since 2 days with magnesium tablets and I'm happy to say that ALL my symptoms have disappeared as well as my chronic anxiety. After much research I discovered that Serum Magnesium Levels (or Serum Total Magnesium) is the most common biomarker tested for but also the least accurate as less then 1% of total body magnesium is found in serum. So even though my Serum Magnesium came back within the range I could still be deficient in magnesium, as most magnesium exists in our bones and cells.

Moral of the story is try supplementing with magnesium if you are experiencing twitching, tingling, anxiety, headaches and other muscular/nerve related symptoms! If you want to test your levels first you will want to get a RBC Magnesium Test (not Serum) and look for an optimal range of 6.0-6.5 mg/dL, according to Dr. Carolyn Dean. When you are low in magnesium your body takes it from cells for use elsewhere. So if these red blood cells are lacking magnesium then you have an early indicator of deficiency.

Good luck everyone and thanks for reading this far :-)
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Errata Corrige: the buzzing was in my right heel (not left).
Avatar universal
Been having something similar to this since August last year. Visited doctors, which don't pay too much attention to the details, mostly shrug it off. Neurologist did an EMG test which came out as OK.

Been taking a stronger dosage of B12 10000 microgram (Adenosylcobalamine & Methylcobalamine) along with 2400 microgram folatic acid for 2 months, notice no difference.

Can sense vibrations really strongly in left foot, thigh and pounding (heart ?) in the chest. If there's music somewhere and I'm sitting or laying down I can clearly feel it, heartbeat also but that's a lot less bad. Once I'm completely motionless the vibration goes away (not for vibration from music).
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too had the exact same symptoms of regular vibrating of my left ankle only.  Figured I had slept wrong on the couch the other night.  Here is what worked for me.  While laying in bed reading through all of these posts, I decided to do some back stretches.  I laid flat on my back, crossed my legs at the ankle and then pulled my knees to my chest wrapping my arms around them and gently pulling for several minutes.  I repeated this exercise several times and the vibrations are completely gone.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yeah, putting my foot on something that vibrates actually works.  I plugged in a nebulizer, put my foot on it and found relief for my consistently vibrating nerve on my left foot, and it stopped the vibrating for a while (that was on July 5th, the second day I had vibrating nerve on my foot).   I stopped drinking caffeine for two days, and I also started using blue emu oil (got it at Wal-mart).  Not sure which of those things helped, if they even helped.  But, the buzzing in my foot went away by the end of the third day.  It does look like most people have been averaging this condition 3-14 days.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
A+ reply, thank you for easing my concern (:
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry typo what I meant to say was that it is predictable within 25 to 30 seconds
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
oh and it has never missed  and interval. It is not random. It is predictable up to a minute an it is predictable  with in 25-30 seconds
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Did this ever go away? If so, after how long?
Avatar universal
I'm experiencing something like that as well. It happens every minute and roughly 10 seconds to every minute and 30 seconds. I'm timing it with my phone right now. I'm on lap 25 and it has never started happing less than a minute and eight seconds to a minute and 38 seconds.every time that my foot buzzes it only does it 2-3 short buzzes and stops.  It's always in the exact same spot on my foot and feels a lot like the vibration of a cell phone. Anybody know what this is? Super weird!
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Did this ever resolve for you?
Avatar universal
Hi I have a burning and dizzling feeling in my both foot heels which started like 8 months ago! Last night the vibration feeling is added to the burning feeling as well! I have done MRI from whole back and foot, which came normal. I have done also blood test which came again normal (which is good news). But do you know why I have these two annoying feelings on my foot heels? doctors say everything is fine!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi I have a burning and dizzling feeling in my both foot heels which started like 8 months ago! Last night the vibration feeling is added to the burning feeling as well! I have done MRI from whole back and foot, which came normal. I have done also blood test which came again normal (which is good news). But do you know why I have these two annoying feelings on my foot heels? doctors say everything is fine!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You need to see a Dr. Don't come up with your own conclusion then ask a chiropractor. You already know the answer if you ask him or her. The chiropractor will say its nerve damage or you need to get more work done by him. I have bubbling in my head and vibrations in my foot every 6 seconds when it occurs. This could be a blood clot somewhere in your body going to your brain feeling it in your foot, you don't know. Please take my advice. Get the right advice from a primary doctor and go to wherever he or she tells you to. Chiropractors are not doctors in the sense of something so particular
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal

I have not had this until today, 3 months I had surgery. I have a titanium screw in my ankle. This morning I thought my exercise bracelet was left on the bed or something because it has a silent alarm to wake you up. This actually woke me up. I even started to try to see if there was a pattern, (like morse code lol)...anyway, I thought maybe the screw in my bone was receiving signals or something lol. Anyone else?

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
For the past year or so, I have had the same buzzing feeling in the bottoms of my feet as others have described on numerous medical websites. It feels like a tiny vibrator on the inside of the foot. The buzzing is in both of my feet and on rare occasions my groin and left pinky. I can also feel the buzzing when I touch it with my fingers.

I’m a vegetarian and take B12 supplements, so it is not a B12 deficiency. I don’t sit on my wallet, so it is not my sciatic nerve. It is not my shoes, either. This happens whether I am in shoes or not in shoes. I also have not had any spinal issues, nerve damage, thyroid problems, MS, Celiac disease, Lyme disease, or Parkinson’s—as others have tried to label these physical sensations. Yes, this could be something wrong with the body, but for 50 years my body never buzzed mechanically before. I ask that you consider another possibility—an alien/MKUltra/secret government possibility. I am not saying this is what it is; I am saying that it is a strong possibility based on my current experiences.

I deal with attacks from the secret government, negative dimensional beings, and negative aliens on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, they are attacking me as I type this because they do not want this information in the mainstream.

From what I can gather, this could either be a physical implant, an etheric implant, a mental projection, or some other type of negative technology. It seems to draw in addictive behaviors and emotional stress—like anxiety. That is part of the plan that the secret government and aliens use to control the masses. The negative secret government wants you physically and emotionally stressed so they can control you. If you are calm and at peace, you cannot be controlled as easily. That is why they do all they can to stop someone from progressing spiritually. They prefer to keep the masses afraid and stressed so they can control you as puppets and slaves.

If you want to find out more information about alien and secret government implants, I suggest you research the following: “alien implants and gallbladder meridian”, “MKUltra mind control”, “etheric implants”, “chemtrails”, and “alien new world order agenda”.

I hope this provides you with some useful information. I will not be coming back to this post for any responses or conversations. I wish you the best of luck.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
This was great, coming here and seeing that I am not crazy.  My left foot started the cell-phone buzz about three days ago, for the first time.  Very much what others are talking about.  I am 66 a bit of a belly, but otherwise very healthy.  Mine were about 1 second long and every 5-6 seconds.  I am a big chiropractic fan, but I am living in central Mexico and haven't found a reliable one yet.  The gentlemen (above) back in 2012 who had a chiropractor who knew how to deal with it was great to hear.  Ultrasound and B12.  Also the folks who did eucalyptus oil, that I can do, too.

I have some VERY different ointment that seems to have done the trick.  NOT a common ointment.  It's called "Pomade de Peyote" - Ointment of Peyote. It's an indigenous product, no telling how many centuries old...  It's really good for local pain in general, and I thought maybe it would help and it definitely seems to have worked. I'd had the vibrating for about 3 days, and it's now been gone two days, after about 2 applications at bedtime.  So far, so good.

I DOUBT that it is available in the USA without a prescription.  Mine was OTC and VERY cheap - like $2.40 US for a jar the size of a Vaseline jar.

They DO have some interesting ointments and medicines down here.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Do any of you work with vibrating tools/on vibrating platforms etc. on a daily basis?  If so, you may have something called vibration white feet/foot.  It is best to go to your family doctor and have them refer you to an occupational health physician who can assess you for the condition.  If you are experiencing numbness, tingling, whitening of the feet and toes; please get checked out as soon as possible.  At this point, there is no known cure for the condition except prevention.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
After 3 days the sensation has stopped. Towards the end (ie the last half day or so) I noticed that the more I kept still, the longer between buzzes (generally, not always), and any slight movement or shift would sort of 'reset' the buzz intervals. I got a brain mri, which was clear, and the neurologist (who is a leading specialist in London in ms and other mnd's) conclusion following the mri ands physical exam was that it was a combination of inflamed nerve (probably in my back) and exacerbated by stress. The gp I saw prior to the neurologist had prescribed me some proponol, which the neurologist told me to stay on for a few weeks, and then to observe if it came back thereafter. Incidentally, he said ALS was not a risk as I was presenting sensory issues, which ALS does not present with (and I was having no weakness). He also recommended I stay on b12, although I didn't get my vitamins tested with my blood work (all other bloods were normal).
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm into my third day now with the intermittently buzzing foot. I have noticed that there are some positions that will shut off the buzzing temporarily, perhaps a few mins or more at a time. Generally these positions involve sitting down and either leaning forward or otherwise increasing pressure on my bum. I can't find any position that stops the buzzing while standing.

Even in these positions, the reprieve is temporary, either the buzzing comes back after a few minutes (without changing position), or even the slightest shift in position will bring the buzz back. I am seriously worried about MS or brain tumors.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community

Top Neurology Answerers
620923 tn?1452915648
Allentown, PA
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease