Anyone have any experience with numbness in hands?!
Question: For the past few nights, my left hand has started feeling numb. I'm young 26 and relatively healthy. I don't feel it in my entire arm, just my hand. Anyone familiar with this? Thanks.
Answers: For the past few nights, my left hand has started feeling numb. I'm young 26 and relatively healthy. I don't feel it in my entire arm, just my hand. Anyone familiar with this? Thanks.
i suspect cts also. i suspect you're also right handed. at any event, what you can try to do is wear a wrist splint at night. what happens is, while you're sleeping, your wrist gets into a position (usually flexed or extended) and because of that movement, synovial fluid in the wrist joint is building up - compressing the "tunnel" that holds the nerve (usually the median nerve). it's not so much your thumb, but the other fingers usually take the brunt of it. this can also happen when you're reading the paper/magazine, doing your hair, etc. so what happens is, you go see an orthopaedic surgeon (if they have a hand/wrist specialist, good, if not, that's okay also). they'll do clinical tests (they're called phalen's test and tinel's test - google it if you wanna try it on your own). usually they can tell if it's severe or not. if they can't, they'll send you to get an EMG (nerve conduction test) also where they check your nerves. there's usually no need for an xray unless you may have had a wrist injury in the past. there's a bone in your wrist called the hamate and if that's been injured in the past, they'll get that xray view to see. also, they'll talk options. if it's severe, they may suggest giving you a cortisone injection to help w/ inflammation. only problem is, it's short term. you may need 2 or 3. another option is carpal tunnel release, a quick (30 min) procedure (if your surgeon's that good). this is done in outpatient surgery center and 2 ways of doing it. one is endoscopically where the incision is a lot smaller at the palm side of your wrist (while it's a newer procedure, ortho docs are trying it, but the hand/wrist specialists say the older version is better - less riskier). they go in through soft tissue structure, adipose, etc, and get to the retinaculum. it's a sheath in your wrist that goes from side to side. they go in and cut that sheath, relieving your nerve that's causing the numbing sensation in your hand. after the surgery you'll still have a little symptom (depending on severity) but not to the point where you end up waking in the middle of the night. that's the procedure. i wont tell you post-operatively what happens because i'm getting CTS just typing this for you. anyway, at this point, wear a wrist splint at night (and day only if you need it for comfort) and that should help mask the symptoms, but won't solve it entirely. at some point, you will need to see a hand surgeon, and they'll take your history, see if you've had injuries to the wrist in the past, yada yada yada. you can also try ibuprofen if you please, sometimes these anti-inflammatories can help.
It depends where on your hand it is. You may notice it only on a few fingers, or just on your thumb, or in other places.
A common cause of numb hands is carpal tunnel syndrome. If you do a lot of work with your hands such as typing, carpentry, or anything that requires repetitive movements, this could be an issue for you.
It's best to see a doctor to properly diagnose it.
This has been happening to me over a 2 month period, they also fall asleep/go numb at work using the computer,driving,holding the phone, I work at a hospital and everyone I have spoken two seems to think its carpal tunnel, I need to make an appt with the orthopedic surgeon. My cousin let me borrow her wrist brace that seems to help a bit. Good luck I hope it goes away soon.