hands going numb

[honeebee]

does anyone else have this problem? i have been having some numbness in my hands and arms. not sure where to post this. my hands go numb and get a burning sensation in them and then my arms feel really heavy. it is very frustrating.

[olive]

I get some numbness if I overdo. My hands don't burn though. Usually if I stop crocheting and rub my hands and do some stretches they feel fine again.

[kimbo]

Oh man! I thlought it was just me! I don't know what it is, and it can be very uncomfortable. I think it might be a pinched of nerve. I'm sorry that you are uncomfortable, but I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only person with this ailment!

Kim

[OzRebel]

I get the numbness very often, but have had issues with that from bike riding etc also. Was tested after some major problems after a long bike ride (like 50 miles) years ago for carpal tunnel and it was negative... just pinched nerves. It's very frustrating, but I guess harmless enough. I just stop and rub my hands and wiggle them around until it subsides then start in again. I don't hold my hook tight at all which really makes me wonder why I have so much trouble.

[neicy crochets]

I am relieved that this happens to others as well...I was scared I was all alone! I actually haven't been crocheting as much lately, for this reason. My hands go numb when I am sleeping as well- I wake up and have to streach them out, until the tingling stops ( like when your leg falls asleep if you sit on it in a weird position),

[orangetulipgarden]

It happens to me, too. It's not carpal tunnel for me, but I do get the pinched nerve feeling at night all the time (I sleep with my arms over my head, or lay my head on an arm), and sometimes during the day. It happens when I hold my hands and arms up or have my elbows bended. It's also been happening in my left shoulder blade area, ever since a car accident in 2005. I think the accident tweaked something. Shaking it out helps, along with trying not to keep my elbows bent for too long at a time. I found something on WebMD once about a pinched nerve in the elbow, that's an actual condition.

[OzRebel]

Yes, I wake up a LOT with the numbness too! It's awful!

[lavenderwings]

Try supporting your arms with pillows I use the size that came with our couch seems to work for me.

[mysonsmommy]

Wow, I have the same thing. It started when I was preggo with my son, and my dr told me that it was carpel tunnel. I had no idea there was a test for it, he told me that it would go away. It hasnt yet...whats this test like.

[crochet_hen]

I have been having this lately too. THe tingling and numbness at night. I am going by wal-mart today to get the support gloves to wear. I have looked at them before, they are in the same section with the ace bandages and are recommended for carpal tunnel. It is worth a try. My husband said I should stop crocheting for a while, but I don't want to do that!

[rachelann]

so very glad i'm not the only one....i have been told that its pinched nerves so when my fingers start to go numb i immediately put the project down n shake it out....

when im sleeping n they go numb i usually have to roll over to my other side...

im a factory worker with a temp agency and the problem always gets worse if im doing a job that involves alot of upper body movement but im so thankful to learn that im not alone with this....

[goofy]

This is funny that I found this thread...I was thinking of asking this same question. I have just started to have my right hand go numb most mornings and sometimes at night. I usually can't crochet to much these mornings...my fingers just stay numb nomatter what I do. Other days they are just fine or are ok after I wiggle and strech them or just get going with the day. I was worried about carpal tunnel untill my dh told me that years ago he had a piched nerve and this sounded like that.

[ErinLindsey]

If the numbness does not go away, or if you get it fairly regularly, you really should go to a doctor, specifically a neurologist.

 

Not to scare anyone, but I had been waking with numb arms that would not completely un-numb themselves. That's been happening for years.

 

A year ago today I went to the zoo with my boyfriend, and my right hip went numb. Went to the doctor (actually a Physician's assistant) who said it was a pinched nerve. I believed her.

 

In august I developed Optic Neuritis, eye doctor made me get an MRI and had me see a neurologist. The neuro said that the hip numbness was something called Meralgia Paresthetica (latin for numb painful hip) and that the optic neuritis was probably caused by a virus.

 

In december, my feet had a numb/burning cold/burning hot/boot-full-of-thumbtacks feeling. Went to my regular doctor, he had me get another MRI to see if I had a slipped disk in my back. That MRI found lesions on my spine that are indicitive of Multiple Sclerosis.

 

In January I went back to the neuro and he diagnosed me with MS.

 

I'm not trying to scare anyone, but if you regularly have numbness, you really do need to have it checked out. And yes, I did have carpal tunnel surgery in 1990 on my right hand. (have it in both hands, just never did the surgery on the left) So, all those years that I would wake up with numb hands and arms, I thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome and wasnt that worried about it.

 

MS is one of the most common neurological diseases in the United States today, and it affects women more than men. (3 times more women than men) It's actually suspected of being more common than currently believed.

 

That numbness in my right hip that I got a year ago today. It's never gone away, and it's actually in both legs now. (thank goodness I can still walk!) If the PA I had seen last year had made me go to get an MRI, maybe I could have avoided the whole Optic Neuritis thing because maybe I would have been put on an MS treatment before then.

 

Just dont anyone screw around with any numbness that either doesnt go away, or keeps recurring.

[Feederofthepack]

Has anyone tried the curved hooks I saw in Crochet Today made out of Abanone shell? They are supposed to relieve stress. You can see them at

www.lacis.com Click on needlework techniques then crochet.

[lindamry]

Just curious, have any of you tried going to a chiropracter?

 

Linda Y

[needlesandpinza]

yup its carpel tunnel.

for quite awhile i dealt with it , then I started dropping everything in my hands. so i went to the doc. I have been forced to go in knit/crochet spurts when my hands are behaving.

and well right now they are not behaving, but thats probably because I was working with thread a few weeks ago.

like my doc said, rest is the best medicine, and even thu i did not want to hear that, it really is true.

She told me to give it 2 weeks (rest) and that seems to be the magic number for me

[missamorphosis]

I get it, too, but I've always blamed it on carpal tunnel, which I have. It varies how often or how severe it bothers me. I haven't really figured out a way to relieve it yet, other than some wrist and hand exercises. Working with tread seems to aggrevate it more than thicker materials, and spending a lot of time on the computer irritates it.

[nela42575]

I get it too, but only in my left hand (thumb area mostly) and only if I keep my arm in the wrong position. I've always thought it was just a pinched nerve kind of problem. It goes away if I change positions and stretch my hand out a bit.

 

Of course, the mention of MS just freaks me out a bit. My mom has it and she was probably a few years younger than me when she was diagnosed. I'm fairly sure its not hereditary, but it still scares me.

 

Nora

[rina]

Wow, everyone has RSI! The tingling might be carpal tunnel, but could be something else, like tendinitis or an impinged nerve in the shoulder or neck caused by muscle tension or adhesions. Whatever the case, if you have significant discomfort, go see a doctor or a really good chiropractor... before it gets really bad.

 

About 10 years ago I lost most of the use of my hands and arms because of RSI. Over the long term, it took sustained stretching, deep tissue massage, aerobic exercise, and weight strengthening exercise to get me almost back to normal. Women are more prone to these injuries because our upper body muscles often aren't well conditioned; the weakness combined with over-use leads to a lot of problems.

 

These days I see a really good chiropractor--someone who really understands the muscular system and soft tissue work, not just cracking your back--and exercise to make sure things don't ever get that far out of hand again. I personally don't tend to trust MD's so much, because they don't work holistically and tend to not know what to do when your symptoms don't fall neatly inside a particular diagnostic box.

[FlowerPower06]

This happens to me quite often but its due to a severe neck injury I suffered 5 years ago. For me, it's a sign I'm overdoing it and then I just have to stop for awhile and rest.

[honeebee]

well at least i'm not alone. i's not carpal tunnel. i was tested for that. had a cat scan on my head and neck and found a slight bugling of a disk in my neck. it was just my left hand and arm, mow it's my right also. plus i'm having difficulty with feet and legs going numb and other weird symptoms.

thanks for all the replys and suggestions. i see the dr again on friday and will see what is to be done next.

have a good day ladies.

[dwiggicb]

for "mysonsmommy"..i've never heard carpal tunnel really goes away! before i had my surgery, i had injections that helped for quite some time, then i got tired of doing that and just had the surgery (wasn't that bad) and it worked great!! but.....carpal tunnel can come back years later. i had it done in both wrists, but not at the same time.....now i deal with tendonitis in the elbow and that hurts like heck when ur crocheting!!!

[ErinLindsey]

for "mysonsmommy"..i've never heard carpal tunnel really goes away! before i had my surgery, i had injections that helped for quite some time, then i got tired of doing that and just had the surgery (wasn't that bad) and it worked great!! but.....carpal tunnel can come back years later. i had it done in both wrists, but not at the same time.....now i deal with tendonitis in the elbow and that hurts like heck when ur crocheting!!!

 

You're right, carpal tunnel never goes away. My neuro reminded me of that when I saw him last week for my MS.

 

So, I'll never know if my arms going completely numb at night is carpal tunnel or MS (it's probably both), just that the quality of the numbness has changed in the last year. When my hands go numb when I'm sleeping now, they REALLY go numb. So far tho, they've been waking back up with just a couple of shakes of my arm.

 

I dont think I'll bother with another carpal tunnel surgery now tho. The one I had on my right hand in 1990 worked for the most part.

[yarn_monkey]

Wow, I have the same thing. It started when I was preggo with my son, and my dr told me that it was carpel tunnel. I had no idea there was a test for it, he told me that it would go away. It hasnt yet...whats this test like.

 

I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel about 4 years ago and no doctor ever told me it would go away (although I definitely wish it would!) The tests are just testing your grip because the inflammation affects it. The doctor just put out is pointer and middle finger and had me squeeze as hard as I could.

 

Carpal tunnel only affects the thumb, pointer, and middle finger and half of the ring finger (the middle finger side). This is because the nerves that go through the carpal tunnel in your wrist only goes up those fingers. It's basically a swelling in that little tunnel of bone that the nerve goes through and it puts pressure on the nerve (and I think maybe a vein), giving you the swelling in your fingers, and the numb, tingly sensation. Your general doctor should be able to diagnose it and they can send you to a specialist if they think you should go.

 

There's not much to do for it, except where a brace at night to keep your wrist from bending which puts more pressure on the effected nerves, and take breaks while crocheting or typing. There's also a surgery they can do (I think it widens the carpal tunnel), but that surgery only has about a 50% success rate.

 

Talk to another doctor. They should be able to help.

[ErinLindsey]

I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel about 4 years ago and no doctor ever told me it would go away (although I definitely wish it would!) The tests are just testing your grip because the inflammation affects it. The doctor just put out is pointer and middle finger and had me squeeze as hard as I could.

 

Carpal tunnel only affects the thumb, pointer, and middle finger and half of the ring finger (the middle finger side). This is because the nerves that go through the carpal tunnel in your wrist only goes up those fingers. It's basically a swelling in that little tunnel of bone that the nerve goes through and it puts pressure on the nerve (and I think maybe a vein), giving you the swelling in your fingers, and the numb, tingly sensation. Your general doctor should be able to diagnose it and they can send you to a specialist if they think you should go.

 

There's not much to do for it, except where a brace at night to keep your wrist from bending which puts more pressure on the effected nerves, and take breaks while crocheting or typing. There's also a surgery they can do (I think it widens the carpal tunnel), but that surgery only has about a 50% success rate.

 

Talk to another doctor. They should be able to help.

 

Yep, you're right about what fingers it affects. The carpal tunnel is like a tube made out of tendons that protects the median nerve. When the tendon gets inflammed, it swells and puts pressure on the median nerve. The surgery that they do when other treatments dont help is to cut the tendon to release the pressure on the nerve. The reason why it only has a 50% success rate is that a lot of people get scar tissue that puts pressure on the nerve again. Or at least that's what my neurosurgeon told me back in 1990 when I had the release surgery on my right hand.

 

You can also get another nerve problem in your hand in the fingers that the carpal tunnel doesnt affect. It's called Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome. it's from inflammation on the ulnar nerve...which controls the pinky side of the ring finger and your pinky. http://www.selfcare4rsi.com/ulnar-tunnel-syndrome-symptoms.html

 

 

It feels just like carpal tunnel, except that it only made my left ring and pinky fingers hurt. I've been wearing a brace on it since sunday and it actually feels like the brace is helping the ulnar nerve pain better than it ever did the carpal tunnel pain. I told my neuro about that pain last week. He thinks it's either being caused by the stupid MS that I have, or it's caused by my sitting at my computer with my elbows resting on the arm rests all the time. He actually thinks that it's separate from my MS. He told me to just use a brace on my wrists just like I did for the carpal tunnel, and to massage my elbows gently and to try not to sit on my butt at the computer (or crochet) so much.