Different health condition causes hand numbness
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By Lee Seung-hun
A couple of weeks ago, a female patient in her 40s visited my clinic for numbness in her hands and arms with tingling sensations.
She had self-diagnosed her symptoms as the results of bad circulation and asked for treatment that could improve blood circulation.
She was not my first patient who mistakenly believed that numbness in hands was caused by bad circulation.
Due to the modern lifestyle of working on computers at work for extended hours, and then constantly scrolling on smartphones during a commute, there is a noticeable increase of patients with hand numbness who visit the clinic to alleviate it.
Although the symptom of hand numbness is pretty general, the underlying causes can vary and treatments have to differ accordingly.
With the aforementioned female patient, the underlying cause was actually herniated cervical disk.
The patient described that on top of the hand numbness, she suffered chronic pains in her neck and shoulder regions and especially between her shoulder blades. Such pains suggested a herniated cervical disc.
Other symptoms that are associated with a herniated disc include numbing sensations in the arms when using a high pillow, or when stretching the arms back while pulling the chin in, or when turning the head sideways.
A herniated cervical disc occurs when the disc between the cervical vertebrae leaks and presses on the cervical nerve.
In most cases, it is caused by incorrect posture.
Overly lowering the head while reading, or extending the neck forward while sitting can drastically increase the load on the cervical vertebrae that can induce the disc to herniate.
A typical example of bad posture is what most people do when they look at their smartphones when their neck is stretched forward in a turtle-like manner.
Other than bad posture, physical trauma and neck injuries can also cause the cervical discs to herniate.
Oriental treatments for herniated cervical discs include Chuna-chiropracty, acupuncture, cupping and apitoxin therapies.
Chuna-chiropractic directly addresses the correction of the bent vertebrae.
As it alleviates pain and numbing sensations while correcting the patient’s posture, Chuna-chiropracty tackles the root cause of the herniated disc.
Acupuncture and cupping therapies are administered to lessen the symptoms by relaxing the muscles in and around the neck, shoulders and shoulder blades.
Apitoxin is excellent for alleviating pain and inflammation that occur in the cervical discs.
Another underlying cause for hand numbness is the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage located in the wrist through which nerves and tendons pass. The passage can be compressed to cause CTS after a wrist injury, or extended use of hands such as working on computers or long hours of household chores.
Typically, the numbness and tingling sensation occur in the thumb, index and middle fingers and in the palm.
The little finger and back of the hand are generally not affected.
In severe cases, the muscles in the thick part of the palm connecting to the thumb can contract. Symptoms progress slowly rather than suddenly, and can worsen during sleep.
CTS is more common in the female population between the ages 30 and 60.
The reason why CTS is more common among middle aged females is because the passage where the medial nerves pass through is narrower in females than in males and because household chores can involve a lot of movements and strain of the wrists.
Treatments for CTS involve acupuncture, apitoxin and moxibustion therapies in the area where the nerve is pressed.
As the root cause for CTS is extensive use of the wrist joint, patients are required to restrict wrist movements for effective recovery.
Another cause for hand numbness is a little-known condition called thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).
There is a cavity between the upper chest and lower neck where the blood vessels and nerves connect from the neck area to the upper extremities.
TOS is the condition where the blood vessels (veins and arteries) and nerves passing through this passage are abnormally pressed to result in various symptoms.
Various causes such as incorrect posture, sleep disorders and stress can cause the surrounding muscles to tense, leading to abnormal pressure.
Symptoms are various. Some patients wake up in the middle of the night because of numbness.
Others notice significant loss of strength in their arms after lifting something.
Also some patients can feel that their hands become cold when they let the arms hand loose for a while.
Hands and arms can become swollen or in severe cases, discolored as well.
The numbness and pain typically appear in the 4th and 5th fingers.
Chronic sufferers experience the symptoms during day time as well. Sometimes TOS can be accompanied with chest pains that are mistaken as an angina, but unlike an angina the symptoms do not worsen when walking.
Treatments for TOS call for Chuna-chiropractic, acupuncture and apitoxin therapies that address the incorrect postures and relax the muscles around the thoracic outlet.
Other than those mentioned, hand numbness can also be caused by diabetes, cubital tunnel syndrome, and strokes.
Rather than simply attributing it to simple bad circulation, it is recommended to seek professional advice to properly diagnose the underlying cause and be treated for it.
The writer practices oriental medicine at the UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam-dong, Seoul.