Numb Fingers Any Suggestions?

A.,
Are there any color changes in your hands or do they stay normal? I had a pinched nerve in my neck for about 6 months, and it drove be nuts because my neck hurt, and I could not feel half of my head. They tried injections, but they did not help. What made it finally stop was to not answer the phones with my neck holding the phone instead of my hands. The nerve finally went back to normal.
I hope this helps you.
W.

Dear Althea,
I understand your anguish. Understand I speak from the experience of over 10 years as a bodyworker and has suffered similarly. I had numbness going to the pinky then later excruciating nerve pain from my neck down my left arm to the pinky. For me it turned out to be a herniated cervical disc that was impinging my nerve and spinal cord. After a year, I finally am out of pain and off meds completely!

Nerve ailments don't respond well to muscle relaxants and pain killers, in my humble opinion. But it will respond to nerve relaxers. I took Neurontin (only 300mg which I was told many times was a baby dose, but it worked well enough for me) for about 10 months while I worked to restructure my musculo-skeletal system which was causing this to occur.

What I found worked best was a combo of massage, chiropractic and yoga. The yoga is very specific to my structural problems and was taught to me in one $85 private session. IT HAS BEEN A LIFE SAVER!!! I am starting to have my 12 year old do it with me to correct her forward head posture before she starts having problems like her old ma... I had done physical therapy and it helped to a certain extent (I had a great physical therapist), but not to the point where I could be off meds completely. The yoga took me over the edge to complete health. In fact my yoga teacher told me the story of when she had to have knee surgery after a terrible accident and she went to physical therapy as prescribed by her doctor. She wasn't getting the results she wanted, so she started rehabbing herself with yoga at home while still seeing the PT. The PT asked her what she was doing, and when she told them, they sent her away saying she was wasting their time, because she knew better how to heal herself than they did!

I am curious about what kind of chiropractor you are seeing. Do they do the fast 5 minute adjustments and see you 2-3 times a week or do they spend 30 minutes with you once a week with a fair amount of soft tissue (muscle) work as part of the treatment? If they are the 5 minute variety, find a new chiropractor. I have worked with and for many over the years. There are some that leave something to be desired and can even do more harm than good.

You will also want to check your ergonomics at work. You say you're in pain there, so talk to your manager and healthcare providers to have an assessment done. In fact this may be (if it isn't already) a Worker's Compensation case. Not that they're any great shakes, but they would be obliged to do an ergonomic assessment and give you breaks from the computer as is deemed appropriate.

One last thing, make sure the massage therapist releases your front neck muscles and chest cavity muscles (including the muscles on the sides of your ribcage and between the armpit and the shoulder blade.) Often these ailments are caused by the front of our bodies being in constant contraction (doing office work!) The back muscles in the neck and upper back get weak and over stretched (but feel tight) and the next thing you know you're having headaches or nerve tingling, numbness or pain. So the idea will probably be to relax the front of the body and strengthen the back of the body. This is just an educated guess and of course should be verified with your healthcare providers.

I hope all this info helps. Please feel free to email me for more info. I'm glad you're getting an MRI. That should be helpful. Just make sure your chiropractor sees the report from it too.

Be Well,
A.

Good chiropractor in Santa Rosa......Dr. Jake at Chiropractic Care at top of 4 th Street.
P..

Hi there,

I don't know what is causing your very disturbing problem, but I believe that you do need to get a real reliable diagnosis from a doctor you think is competent. I am glad you are getting the tests! I had tingling and numbness which was not diagnosed properly and which led very quickly to serious loss of strength and muscle wasting in my left hand. It turns out to have been caused by nerve damage in my neck due to a cervical spine arthritic growth.. I could not move my left hand much, it felt paralyzed. At that point I was advised (by doctors other than the ones who had dismissed me to beging with)to do NOTHING (no lifting of any kind) and moved out of that initial paralyzed stage but have never gained normal strength or appearance of my hand...I really advise you to limit all activities (especially any that exacerbate the symptoms), to really give the area a chance to get out of spasm and to heal...it can't hurt and could save you some loss.. Good luck, and trust your own awareness of your body. GO slow with anything that doctors/pt's advise.

Hi A.-
I would stick with the deep tissue massage. It is not a quick process by any means. ALso, some really good yoga stretches. The biggest thing (my husband also has this) is stress. YOU MUST LEARN TO RELAX. I swear every time I hear that it makes my cranky, because it is easier said than done. But taking half an hour to stretch (very carefully) those muscles each day will help. ANother thought- have you checked your diet? I am a caffeine junky and had to give it up. I have noticed that months away from my coffee, as much as I loved it, has made a difference. The same with my husband. Percolgesic is a good muscle relaxer and doesn't make us sleepy. I know it is frustrating, and I agree it's a little scary. If you are at work and feeling like you are just cramping up and in pain, take a 5 minute break, a few deep breaths, rub your hands between all the fingers, stretch our your arms, and take a percolgesic. They are over the counter.
I really hope this helps.
-E. M.