Help!! numbness in finger

[batt]

anyone else experience the following:

In the last week ive developed a numbness /Tingling in my left hand little finger. It seems like it come from my funny bone in my elbow? Its worrying as it feels weak too. I looked on the web and read things about carpel tunnell syndrom, trapped nerves etc

Is there anything I can do to stop this tingling?

[Music_Analyst]

anyone else experience the following:

In the last week ive developed a numbness /Tingling in my left hand little finger. It seems like it come from my funny bone in my elbow? Its worrying as it feels weak too. I looked on the web and read things about carpel tunnell syndrom, trapped nerves etc

Is there anything I can do to stop this tingling?

Numbness, weakness, lack of feeling and tingling are symptoms of carpal tunnel. This happens when the nerve that controls the stuff in your hand gets pinched because the tissue around it swells up, so you have trouble gripping things strongly and sometimes have numbness. To test for carpal tunnel, there's a place the doctor taps on your wrist and if they tap you there and you have it you'll have a shooting electrical sensation in your hands.

Tendonitis is different carpal tunnel, and it's symptoms are basically lots and lots of pain, because the tendons are worn out (ask DinoDave about this one).

Are you the same batty that runs all the UFO forums? 'Cause I heard batty had a stroke or something like that, and that can definitely cause numbness.

Other things that could cause random numbness is if something is pinched or dislocated or tense in your neck, shoulders of back (ask superchicks about this one- he's had problems with it). Go see a chiropractor if you don't have carpal tunnel because it could be problems with the nerves and vertebrae in your spine that's causing it.

Anyway, hope you get better.

[batt]

thanks for the info and the well wishes, no im not the same batt, thankfully ive not had a stroke but i do have an arthritic condition called anklosing spondylitis same as mick mars from the crue, it may be to do with that, must get t looked at soon,

would still be interested to know about other trapped nerve tingly fingers if anyone has experienced it

[Queen Of The Dinos]

I wouldn't wait to get this checked out, carpal tunnel can really halt your career on guitar.  And treatment, if done quickly, can really help you.  This sounds either like a pinched nerve, or carpal tunnel.  If you were having a stroke, you'd have much more than tingly fingers.

And I'm sorry you have anklosing spondylitis.  I hope you're rehabilitating?

[Soulstealer]

A few months back I woke up with tingling and numbness in my left hand pinky,ring finger and edge of palm.I had spent the previous day on the computer for hours.It pretty much stayed that way for about a month,and then would lessen but never totally go away.I didn't lose any strength or sensation,but it definitely felt different than my right hand.

I researched what it could be,and my conclusion was a pinched nerve.I really should get it checked out,because I would like it to go away,but I really don't want surgery or anything.It is more of a nuisance than anything,and it doesn't seem as bad or noticeable,but I don't want any problems.

[batt]

cheers queen, im ok with it not that severe,

ill see physio the week after next and suss it out,

soulstealer seems we have the exact same problem. i have a feeling it could be from the computer too as i tend to rest my left elbow on the desk as im working on it and i spent too much time on the fecking thing!

some of the stuff like muscle wasting etc that happens with trapped nerves etc is a scary prospect for any musician

[Soulstealer]

cheers queen, im ok with it not that severe,

ill see physio the week after next and suss it out,

soulstealer seems we have the exact same problem. i have a feeling it could be from the computer too as i tend to rest my left elbow on the desk as im working on it and i spent too much time on the fecking thing!

some of the stuff like muscle wasting etc that happens with trapped nerves etc is a scary prospect for any musician

That's exactly what I do...rest my elbow on the desk or have my forearms resting against the edge of the desk,cutting off circulation.It is so hard to use proper technique,especially at work.Just today I rearranged things so that I was sitting straight forward,and not sideways like I had been.

[batt]

is by any chance your desk very high compared to the chair?

ive a normal office chair but the desk is very high. think this may be the reason for the way im resting the elbow on the desk

[Dinosaur David B]

batt, carpral tunnel was running rampant in the business world here because too many people were sending too much time with the keyboard and mouse. Consequently, there are TONS of products out there for resting your wrists in a better position while using the PC.  When you see the doctor, ask him if you should be using one of them.

[batt]

cheers david, ill do that, typing with one finger now on right hand hence no capitals!  :D

[Music_Analyst]

thanks for the info and the well wishes, no im not the same batt, thankfully ive not had a stroke but i do have an arthritic condition called anklosing spondylitis same as mick mars from the crue, it may be to do with that, must get t looked at soon,

would still be interested to know about other trapped nerve tingly fingers if anyone has experienced it

If you have the same medical condition that mick mars from motley crue has you should definitely go and see a chiropracter after you've seen a regular doctor to make sure that it's not carpal tunnel. I remember reading some guitar mag interview with Mick a long time ago where he was complaining about the bones in his back fusing together making him walk around like Frankenstein. If Mick had seen a chiropractor for regular once-a-week back adjustments, there's a good chance that the chiropractor could have done something to keep the bones in his back moving.

Seeing a chiropractor also helped one of our forum members, Superchicks, when he got one of the nerves in his neck pinched off (causing numbness in his fingertips) because he had an unhealthy posture when he was practicing guitar.

Numbness in your fingertips and other extremities can also be a sign of leprosy, but I won't go there.

[Superchiks]

Batt

I had a something similar & lost feeling in my left thumhb; go see an ostheopath or a chiropractor

It turned out a nerve was inflamed in my shoulder from bad posture whilst practicing...

Don't worry too much, you should be ok

All the best

[batt]

Cheers Superchicks, has eased off a bit, taking it easy not too much playing,

Bat

[Lagomortis]

Um, people are blaming this on CTS, when another very common cause may to be to blame. Numbness and a tingle in the hand, and down the back of the arm, are very often the sign of a pinched nerve, as Soul said, in your neck. The feeling that it is coming from your hand, when this happens, is fake, as in the actual damage is due to a disk in your neck, between the vertebrae, that has balloned out and caused pressure on a dorsal sensory nerve ganglion. The nerves that control your arm down to your fingers, and pick up sensory information there, come from a region near the base of your skull at the top of your neck (The cervical plexus).

As we get older, the tissue of these intervertebral disks thins out a bit allowing for things like this to happen. Poor posture, again, can cause these problems, or at least aggravate the situation. The act of simply turning your head too fast to say high to someone can bring about such an event like this as well....

In short, not all finger numbness is CTS. A lot is actually due to neck problems, but we blame the region where we feel the problem...