numbness and pain in hand

Due to extreme overuse in the past 4 weeks I now have numbness and vague pain in my right hand. My forearm and shoulder are also very weak. The fingertips of my last three fingers are numb, and the ‘pad’ of my thumb (the big part on my palm) is numb/ tingley. If I use my hand much the numbness turns to aching and pain, then eventually to sharp pain. Obviously this has pretty much stopped my training completely. I have been trying asprin therapy to hopefully reduce swelling that might be causing interference with nerves, but that only worked for a short time - it greatly improved the problems with my fingers - but I have noticed little improvement in the past few days. Any thoughts???

Sounds like you have a serious nerve impingement issue, potentially in the shoulder or elbow. GET IT CHECKED OUT RIGHT AWAY! This is not something to mess with.

by a doc, a chiropractor, ART? who?

Depending on how your insurance hand;es things, you may need to start with a GP doc, then get referred to a specialist (neurologist, Musculo-skeletal specialist, etc), or go straight to the specialist. I know some insurance co’s won’t cover unless you’ve been refered by your primary doc. A good chiro probably wouldn’t be a bad choice, if you already have a good one that you trust (again, some insurance won’t cover chiros, but it’s getting better). If you have an ART practitioner nearby, that might be a good option. I don’t really have a firm answer on who’s best, but I do know that nerve impingement can become chronic (basically this is what ended Alberto Salazar’srunning career), and thus loss of strength and eventually muscle tone. Not something to let slide.

This has all the symptoms of a severely pinched nerve of the shoulder or neck. I had these symptoms to a lesser degree last year and a doctor put me on pain pills/rest. That’s just my experience, you may have something more severe. I just realized I’ve been of no help…sorry.

There are about 37 possible areas of impingment from the cspine through the upper extremity. It sounds like a radial nerve distribution, but you get examined by a competent ART specialist. When I treat such conditions, they usually are resolving before we can get the tests scheduled. You do need a good exam, though. It could be a cspine problem to a radial nerve entrapment in various muscular areas.

thanks, i have an ART appointment tomorrow. the pain definately originates in my spine, as i have had a few dizzying bolts of pain that start there and run right to my fingertips. i’ll let you know what he finds

ahhh…ART. the pain is down about 50% and the numbness is better. it’ll take a few more visits, but he thinks i’ll be good to go in a week or so.

michelle, Please give us a progress report. Is
the pain totally gone yet?.. Has your strength
returned to normal? … Last of all, what do you
think caused it? P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!