Why are the fingers of the left or right arm numb and what should I do in this case?

The feeling of numbness and loss of finger sensitivity in the morning is familiar to many. What to do if your fingers become numb and is this a symptom so harmless? Many simply do not attach importance to it, writing off a malaise on an uncomfortable pose during sleep. However, paresthesia( numbness) of the fingers can indicate a violation of blood circulation and pathologies of the cardiovascular and nervous system. If you constantly note the loss of sensitivity in the fingers - this should be the reason for contacting a doctor.

Why do your fingers become numb?

Numbness( paresthesia) of the fingers is not an independent pathology, but an initial symptom of many diseases. It is in the fingers of the hands that a lot of nerve endings are concentrated, which are associated with different zones of the body, responsible for its normal functioning. When the physiological processes are disturbed, impulses through the nerve plexuses are transmitted to the fingertips and cause tingling, numbness, or a feeling of crawling. Unpleasant symptoms usually appear at night or in the morning after awakening.

The most harmless reason for this condition is considered to be an incorrect and uncomfortable posture in a dream. In this case, it is enough to press your fingers into your fist several times, so that your hand regains its functions. Often, fingers become numb with total hypothermia, intoxication of the body with alcohol or drugs, regular contact with harmful chemicals.

Numbness of the hand often occurs after injuries to the limbs or is a consequence of professional activity. For example, finger tips often get dumb at daily typing on a computer, knitting, embroidering and doing other painstaking and monotonous work. In women, paresthesia is caused by tightly fitting ornaments on the hands( bracelets, rings).At pregnancy the sensation of a numbness appears iz-for fluctuations of a hormonal background, edemas and other pathologies accompanying this status.

If numbness occurs continuously and covers the same finger( pinkie, anonymous), ignore the anxiety symptom is not worth it. It can indicate the development of serious pathologies that require timely treatment. Since each finger on the arm is associated with a certain zone, it can be assumed in which organ the pathological changes occur.

What does numbness mean?

Given how paresthesia manifests, and what fingers it affects, one can judge possible diseases and pathological conditions.

So, if your fingers become numb in sleep and this syndrome manifests itself permanently, the cause may be osteochondrosis and other pathological processes in the spine. This same symptom arising at night, accompanies other dangerous ailments and can be a sign of polyneuropathy, thrombosis and developing stroke, so you can not ignore it.

When pinching of nerves and developing cervical osteochondrosis, the pinky on the hand often loses sensitivity and this sensation can persist throughout the day. If the middle finger of the right hand suffers, most likely the osteochondrosis affects the cervical vertebrae in the collar zone.

If the fingers of the left hand become dumb, the cause should be sought in violation of the functions of the heart and blood vessels. Most often, with the risk of a heart attack or a stroke, two fingers are finger-numb: the little finger and the ring finger of the left hand. At occurrence of this sign it is necessary to hurry on reception to the cardiologist and to pass or take place inspection.

An untrained finger of the right hand can be dumb with a constant wearing of a tight ring or a prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position, accompanied by a numbing muscle. When the numb fingers on both hands grow numb, the reason is most likely a prolonged muscle strain.

If the finger tips are dumb, the reasons should be sought in the diet. This symptom often accompanies beriberi, when the body acutely feels a lack of vitamins. The same sign can be noted in persons who for a long time, without interrupting rest, work at the computer.

For the same reason, the thumb on the arm suffers, as the constant muscle tension when using a computer mouse provokes the tunnel syndrome, causes pain and loss of sensitivity.

When the index and thumb are numb at the same time, this indicates a pathological change in the nervous system caused by chronic stress. When the arm is numb from the shoulder to the fingers, the cause is considered to be traumas, lesions of the elbow joint or infringement of the nerve endings in the forearm area.

Diseases that cause numbness in fingers

Paresthesia of the fingers of the upper limbs is a frequent companion of various diseases. Consider the most common of them:

Osteochondrosis of the spine

Disease, accompanied by degenerative-dystrophic changes in the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral discs. In neglected cases, the defeat of the cervical spine can cause numbness in the fingers. This is due to the fact that the cartilaginous tissue is destroyed, and bone formations( osteophytes) squeeze the nerve endings, disrupting the circulatory processes and provoking loss of sensitivity of the upper limbs.

You can even determine which vertebrae have suffered and are subject to destruction if you pay attention to fingers losing sensitivity. So, numbness of the little finger, ring finger and middle finger indicates the defeat of 7 and 8 cervical vertebra. If the pathological process involved large, index and middle fingers - dystrophic changes affect 6 vertebrae.

In osteochondrosis numbness of the fingers occurs periodically and usually affects only one arm( left or right).When there are typical symptoms and clarification of the diagnosis, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination, including x-rays of the cervical spine, CT or MRI.

Anemia

A common disease, accompanied by a drop in hemoglobin levels below the established rate. The cause of this condition may be compliance with rigid diets, unbalanced diet, a lack of vitamins or concomitant diseases that provoke a deficiency of iron in the body.

Anemia is accompanied by pallor of the skin, weakness, skin itching, brittle hair and nails, as well as numbness in the fingers and toes.

Tunnel syndromes( carpal, ulnar)

In carpal syndrome, the nerve passing through the wrist is infringed. Characteristic signs are most often diagnosed in persons whose professional activity is related to the constant bending of hands in the wrist( musicians, operators, packers).Carpal tunnel syndrome is accompanied by a sensation of tingling, burning and numbness in the fingers( middle, index) or the entire hand. Sometimes the characteristic symptoms develop after trauma, surgery, or during pregnancy.

Nerve infringement on all extent from an elbow to a wrist is accompanied by an ulnar syndrome. The cause of this condition are injuries, arthritis, arthrosis, joint deformity, loss of muscle and fat mass, the habit of leaning on the elbows. The disease is manifested by burning and numbness of the little finger and ring finger, painful sensations giving away to the elbow.

The phenomenon of Reynaud

The disease develops against the background of autoimmune diseases or harmful occupational factors( production vibration).Pathology is accompanied by numbness of fingers and toes, changes in the color of fingertips in response to cold exposure or stress factors.

With vibration, loss of sensitivity is usually observed on the thumbs. In severe forms of the disease, there is a risk of complications associated with thrombosis and the limitation of nerve conduction.

Scleroderma

Severe autoimmune disease, the causes of which are still unknown. It develops mainly at the age of 30-50 years and is accompanied by a violation of the functions of internal organs, skin and vessels, which gradually lose elasticity and become denser.

The development of the disease is accompanied by joint and muscle pains, hemorrhages, digestive disorders, heart failure. A characteristic symptom is the sensation of tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes.

Diabetic Neuropathy

The course of diabetes, in addition to specific manifestations, is often accompanied by loss of sensitivity in the hands and feet. These are neurological syndromes, which are caused by a violation of medical recommendations, irregular medication and insufficient control of blood sugar levels.

This gives a feeling of tingling and numbness on both hands, which increases at night. Sometimes, only the index finger on one arm is numb.

Alcoholic neuropathy

Excessive alcoholic libations, in addition to affecting the internal organs( liver, kidneys, heart), cause a violation of the functions of the nervous system. Toxic substances, formed during the splitting of ethanol, inhibit the work of the brain and destroy the nerve cells.

As a result, in addition to the symptoms of alcohol poisoning, there are pain in the hands, swelling, a violation of sensitivity and numbness of the fingers.

Myocardial infarction

Photo: Heart attack

A heart attack is usually accompanied by a sharp pain behind the sternum, giving back to the left arm. In this case, the hand grows numb from the shoulder to the fingers. Therefore, loss of sensitivity of the fingers of the left arm is an alarming symptom, indicative of heart problems and indicating a possible development of a heart attack.

Stroke

Disturbance of blood circulation in the vessels of the brain is accompanied by a sudden, acute headache, impaired coordination of movements, loss of sensation and a sharp muscle weakness in the arms and legs. This is a dangerous condition that threatens life, which, like myocardial infarction, requires urgent medical care and hospitalization of the patient.

To provoke numbness of the fingers, there may be a lack of vitamin B. In this case, loss of sensitivity of the fingers on both hands and feet is noted, accompanied by muscle cramps, weakness, pressure loss, insomnia and other symptoms. Foaming can accompany intoxication of the body with salts of heavy metals or chemicals, as well as any neurological diseases and other pathologies that manifest paresthesia.

The characteristic symptoms affecting both arms often cause psychosomatic causes or circulatory disorders in the limbs associated with degenerative spinal lesions. Often numb fingers in the morning is a companion of patients suffering from high blood pressure, metabolic disorders, obesity.

The swelling of the limbs, in which the sensitivity of not only the fingers but also the hands is lost, can accompany many diseases of the endocrine system or hidden inflammatory processes. Therefore, it is not necessary to write off the alarming symptoms for malaise and try to see a doctor as soon as possible for examination and further treatment.

Diagnosis

At the doctor's appointment, it is necessary to describe all the manifestations associated with numbness of the fingers, to note the nature and duration of the symptom, the time( morning or evening) when it most often occurs, and which fingers undergo paresthesia. The doctor will take into account all the nuances when making a diagnosis. In order to pinpoint the cause of the problem, the patient will be referred to a series of medical examinations that include:

• blood test( general and biochemistry);
• urine analysis;
• determination of blood sugar;
• ECG and ultrasound of the heart;
• X-ray of the spine;
• MRI or CT of the spine;
• dopplerography of vessels.

If necessary, additional diagnostic tests may be prescribed. After specifying the diagnosis, the therapist will refer the patient to a narrow specialist. Depending on the cause of the disease, a further course of treatment will be selected by a cardiologist, rheumatologist, neurologist or endocrinologist.

What to do - the basic methods of treatment

If numbness of the fingers is caused by concomitant diseases, the treatment regimen is selected taking into account a specific problem. The basis of therapeutic measures is medication, physiotherapy, massage, curative gymnastics or manual therapy, lifestyle adjustment.

Medication treatment

If the cause of swelling of the fingers is osteochondrosis, spondylosis and other degenerative lesions of the spine, the doctor will prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs for ingestion and local preparations( in the form of ointments or creams) designed to relieve pain and swelling in the problem area. In severe cases( for example, when forming a vertebral hernia), the problem is eliminated by surgical intervention.

For cardiac pathologies, disorders of the nervous system, joint damage( arthritis, arthrosis) and other pathologies, only an expert can choose an effective treatment. The patient's task is to strictly follow the doctor's recommendations and take medications in accordance with the instructions.

In vitamin deficiencies, vitamin-mineral complexes are prescribed to the patient, they are used for general strengthening therapy, they give recommendations on proper nutrition. A beneficial effect on the nervous and muscular system is provided by the intake of B, A, E vitamins, micro- and macroelements. All the necessary vitamins can be obtained with food, but it is better to take the optimal vitamin preparations that completely provide the body with all the necessary substances.

Massage therapies, exercise therapy

Therapeutic massage and special exercises for squeezing and unclenching fingers will help speed up blood circulation and quickly eliminate the numbing and numbness of fingers in the mornings, provoked by uncomfortable posture during sleep.

For osteochondrosis, a professional massage of the neck and collar zone gives an excellent result. It must be performed by an experienced masseur, with a medical degree. In diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular system, too, certain types of massage are used, which allow to eliminate unpleasant symptoms and improve the general condition of the patient.

Methods of physiotherapy

To eliminate the numbness of the fingers, hands use a variety of physiotherapy methods. For example, magnetotherapy sessions help restore broken blood circulation, relieve pain in joints, relieve swelling and restore sensation in the fingers.

Compresses from ozocerite and paraffin treatment are effective for osteochondrosis. Warming the affected area of ​​the spine removes morning stiffness, improves mobility and relieves sensation of numbness in the morning.

Electrophoresis sessions help to deliver a medicine with an anti-inflammatory effect directly to the lesion focus and thus eliminate pain syndrome, swelling, finger paresthesia and other unpleasant symptoms of the disease.

Folk remedies for numb fingertips include massage with the use of essential oils or contrasting water procedures, when the hands are alternately lowered first into the cold, then into hot water( for a few seconds).For grindings, natural esters of eucalyptus, rosemary, grapefruit, basil are used which, in the amount of 2-3 drops, are added to the vegetable oil and then this mixture is used for massage procedures.