Have you ever felt numbness in your hands, arms or fingers? This phenomenon is a common problem that many people have encountered at least once in their life. While not life-threatening, hand numbness can cause discomfort and limitation in daily activities. In this article, we will learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this condition.
What is hand numbness?
Hand numbness is an irregular sensation that can be a symptom of many different conditions. It is also called a feeling of numbness. This feeling occurs because our nerve roots are being affected, pinched.
Hand numbness can have many causes, from mild and temporary to serious medical conditions. The most common cause is damage or pressure on the nerves in the hand.
Symptoms of hand numbness
Numbness in the limbs can cause different sensations in different parts of the arms and legs, or over the entire limb. This may include:
- Burning sensation in hand.
- Loss of sensation.
- Pain from normal impact exposure.
- Feeling sore hands often.
Causes of hand numbness
Hand numbness can be caused by damage, irritation, or pressure on one of the nerves or branches of nerves in your arm and wrist.
Diseases that affect the peripheral nerves, such as diabetes, can also cause hand numbness, although with diabetes similar symptoms often appear first in the legs.
Common causes include
- Nerve damage in the hand, arm, or neck
- Disc herniation put pressure on spinal nerves
- Nerve pressure from a tumor, infection, or constricted blood vessels
- Wrist syndrome, a common condition when a nerve becomes pressurized in the wrist. Usually occurs in people who use their hands and wrists a lot in tasks, such as typing.
- Hardening of the arteries causes ischemia in the arm
- Poor circulation due to diabetes
Some other reasons like
- Raynaud's syndrome, which causes constriction of the arteries that reduces blood flow to the hands
- Migraine
- Decreased thyroid function
- …
When should you see a doctor?
You should make an appointment with your doctor if your symptoms include the following:
- Affects only part of the limb, such as a toe or finger.
- Symptoms get progressively worse with no apparent cause.
- Symptoms worsen with repetitive movements, such as heavy computer use.
How to improve hand numbness?
- Exercise regularly.
- Eat healthy, avoid foods that contribute to hand numbness.
- Make a habit for a good night, right and enough sleep.
- Avoid performing vigorous activities often with your hands and shoulders.
How to treat hand numbness?
The treatment for numbness in the limbs depends on the cause as determined by the specialist. If you have mild hand numbness then:
- Rest the affected hand and wrist for at least 2 weeks.
- Therapy trigger point.
- Dry needle and electric pulse therapy
- Wear a wrist band to rest the nerve.
- Do gentle hand, finger, and wrist stretching exercises.
- Take part in subjects like Yoga therapy, physical therapy, regular massage.
- Massage the wrists, palms, and back of the hands.
- Wear work gloves to protect hands and wrists.
- Use heat to relieve pain in the wrist.
- Place a cold compress, which can help reduce swelling.
- Using an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, such as ibuprofen or naproxen (recommended by a specialist)
Nguyen hopes that the above sharing will be effective and useful for your numbness. Besides, there are also many articles on health and yoga therapy at Nguyen's blog, especially Youtube channel Nguyen has many other useful exercises and movements, please follow and look forward to Nguyen!
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