Little finger going numb.........

[GizzaJob]

Hi guys, of late I've been waking up at night finding that the little finger of my left hand (I'm a right handed golfer) has been going dead. It seems to happen after I've played golf the previous day. I've got two thoughts on what it might be (gulps)
1- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (But it seems very strong when it not gone dead)
2- Trapped nerve
I may go see my doctor.

If anyone else has experienced anything similar, and recovered. Please post

[ReefBoy]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

G'day mate.

No it is not carpal tunnel syndrome. That is compression of the median nerve. The symptom of numbing in the little finger is related to the ulna nerve.

I would recommend consulting your doctor, you should be looking for a CT scan of the neck, if that rules out a bulging/herniated disc then the entrapment is in the front of the shoulder or in the arm. You really want to get on top of this asap and get it treated before it festers into something that is a lot more serious and harder to treat.

Christopher

[GizzaJob]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

Thanks for the reply Reefboy. I did a little digging and with a little analysis of the problem I surmised that it may be cubital tunnel syndrome. Having trolled the internet I found an exercise which went like this .

Hold your arm stretched out to the side with your hand bent upwards (like leaning against a wall at arms length) then bend the arm at the elbow as if you are holding a shell to your ear (except your hand is cupped outwards instead of inwards). I have been doing this exercise, and it seems to have done the trick. I no longer have a dead little finger etc.

I also tried creating a splint from cardboard but that was even worse.

Anyway I haven't thought about the problem for a while so it seems to have relieved itself.


http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw007.htm


Onwards !!!!

[ReefBoy]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

Thanks for the reply Reefboy. I did a little digging and with a little analysis of the problem I surmised that it may be cubital tunnel syndrome. Having trolled the internet I found an exercise which went like this .

Hold your arm stretched out to the side with your hand bent upwards (like leaning against a wall at arms length) then bend the arm at the elbow as if you are holding a shell to your ear (except your hand is cupped outwards instead of inwards). I have been doing this exercise, and it seems to have done the trick. I no longer have a dead little finger etc.

I also tried creating a splint from cardboard but that was even worse.

Anyway I haven't thought about the problem for a while so it seems to have relieved itself.


http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw007.htm


Onwards !!!!

Hey that is great news!

The stretch you are doing actually puts tension onto the Ulna nerve. The one thing I have found in my clinic is that people either stop doing their exercises or they get lazy on their form while doing it. The form point in that exercise is the hand position, it is really important to keep the fingers pointing straight down to the feet when placing your hand to your ear.

A couple of variations

1 - Curl you index finger and thumb so they meet. Then do the same stretch, placing the finger ring over your eye(no I am not trying to make you look silly). It moves the hand a little closer to the mid line of the body and increases the stretch a little.

2 - Using the original exercise, once the left hand is in place on your ear, sidebend your neck leaving the hand in position. You want to move your right ear towards your shoulder, then rotate your head to the right. This increases the stretch at the neck end of the ulna nerve.

****** MAJOR POINT ********

Nerve stretching is not like stretching muscles. Nerves can get very irritated by stretching(when it happens it is not fun, and the only way of recovering is to rest it providing you haven't done any damage). A muscle stretch is sustained for 15-20 seconds usually, a nerve stretch should be held for 1-2 seconds at the point in which you start to feel the stretch, and then released. A nerve stretch is then repeatedly performed for approx. 30 seconds 2-3 times per day.

Keep up the exercise just to maintain the mobility of the nerve. Also look at integrating the stretch into your warmup routine before you play golf as well.

Best of luck.

Christopher

[GizzaJob]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

Hey Christopher, it's good to know that I'm not doing anything to damage my arm. Thanks for the heads-up on the Nerve-Stretching. If I want to look silly I'll do both arms at the same time!!

[ReefBoy]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

Hey Christopher, it's good to know that I'm not doing anything to damage my arm. Thanks for the heads-up on the Nerve-Stretching. If I want to look silly I'll do both arms at the same time!!

Don't think I haven't done that already with my clients that have problems in both arms. You should see the expression on their faces when I ask them to do it as home care

Christopher

[ReefBoy]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

Most of the time the ulnar nerve is damaged at your elbow, where the nerve sits in a small bony groove (the funny bone). Over time this bony groove wears away and the nerve is more exposed (under the skin of the elbow) to various things such as leaning on your elbow, which crushes the nerve. Or it could have been damaged by repeatedly bending the elbow, e.g. too much practice hitting golf balls... As the ulnar nerve becomes damaged it becomes inflamed and each time you bend your arm it damages the nerve further by stripping away the nerve's protective sheath.

I'm sorry mate but I had to comment after I stopped ROTFL. Bone is very solid and therefore, under normal circumstances, is not subject to wearing away. The nature of the cubital tunnel is that it has 3 boney sides (1 from the ulna and 2 from the humerus), the top is covered with a strong connective tissue layer which holds the nerve loosely in place. There is also padding on top of the nerve which is the fat tissue in the skin. One thing most people don't realize is this fat tissue thins out as you get older and is the reason why elderly people bruise so easily. So as you age there is less padding protecting the nerve from compression.

When the nerve is subjected to repetitive, short range movements through the tunnel or is compressed, it can become reactive (inflammatory cycle) and can swell a bit. This has the effect of decreasing the space in the tunnel and the nerve starts to become compressed and trapped which leads to damage(pain, pins and needles, numbness, weakness or atrophy).

The more common situation however, for this issue is where you have a repetitive loading of the flexor compartment in the forearm(all these muscles share a common attachment to the inside of the elbow), which causes fibrotic changes to the tissue in the area(Golfer's elbow). This tends to spread around the ulna nerve and the cubital tunnel as well, as they are neighbors, resulting in restriction to the ulna nerve. When the nerve is not free to slide in the tunnel as it stretches to accommodate movement in the arm it then generates symptoms. The best way to deal with this initially, is the Ulna nerve stretches discussed above.

Depending on how badly your ulnar nerve is damaged, which can be determined by electrical shock tests to your affected fingers, palm and thumb, the specialist (doctor) may want to operate to repair it. He will repair the damaged sheath and reconstruct the nerve if necessary. He will also likely move the nerve from its current position in the bony groove to a couple of inches up on the inside of your elbow, closer to the fold of your arm. He'll put the nerve under your muscles for protection. It relieves the nerve from being tightly stretched over the elbow and allows it plenty of room without being stretched. This procedure is called cubital (ulnar)decompression and transposition surgery.

If you require an operation, it is done under full anesthesia on an out-patient basis and takes about 2-4 hours of surgery. There is virtually no pain and recovery is pretty quick, but it depends on how long the nerve was damaged before it is repaired. The sooner you get it looked at (and operated on if it needs to be repaired) the better and faster the recovery...and the likelihood of full recovery. You will be able to hit golf balls in two weeks or so, but you will experience some tingling and loss of strength for many months at a decreasing level. Nerves heal at the rate of about one inch per month, therefore (even though the nerve is actually only damaged in just a one or two inch length) the entire length of the nerve from elbow to finger tips (about 18" or so) will require about a 18 months to fully heal.

How do I know so much about this? You guessed it? Mine was caused from years of propping my chin on my left hand with my left elbow pressing on a desktop. And I'm sure hitting golf balls didn't help any. I'm recovering nicely with no problems...

Glad to hear that you are recovering well from your surgery.

What a lot of doctors don't say(at least in australia) is that before you resort to surgery you should first explore more conservative options(and this does not mean leaving it for years before looking at doing something). I think the reason for this is that what they get paid to do, is to cut, so that is what they tend to recommend. Or another way to put it is "Hand a man a hammer and the whole world starts to resemble a nail".

Patients should be looking at the manual therapy options for 6 mths, and if the symptoms have not improved significantly, then resort to surgery, unless it is an extreme case where the hand is verging on useless or in great pain to begin with. The manual therapy should include work directed at the nerve for the best results possible.

Now the reason for this is that once the surgical knife slices the skin there is marked damage to the tissues in the area and the scaring from the surgery can lead to further complications down the track or in the recovery phase. In this particular surgery, it changes the position of the nerve, and while that may relieve the symptoms, it also makes it far more complicated to stretch the nerve if it is needed at a later date. This has implications for shoulder and neck problems as well as if there is further shortening of the ulna nerve. So if the issue can be resolved without the surgery, all the better for the patient.

I hope this is helpful for you.

Christopher

PS. On a side note, occupational health and safety guidelines do not recommend adopting the "thinker pose" while surfing the web, I think that might be more the trigger of your problem then the golf.

[paterick1]

Re: Little finger going numb.........

mine too. but started out with severe pain to the left ring finger knuckle. after striking the ball and turning my hands over the handle would push against my finger and excructiating pain would radiate down the back of my hand. my hand would let go. so i have had to quit. then days later my ring and pinky finger and the pad at the base of my hand have gone numb. just finished with the needle testand the doc says my ulner at both elbows and at my neck are pinched. says he cant tell what is going on with my hand due to the other impingingments. its making me crazy.
i have tried ice and heat and they help if the tingling is bad. in the morninggs its the best, but as the day passes it gets worse. i work on a pueter 12 hrs/day.