Wondering what hand stiffness / tingling is

February 7, 2006 3:15 PM

Wondering what hand stiffness / tingling is

I'm 26 y.o. male, moderate computer user. About 3 weeks ago my hands (all fingers and thumbs, both front and backs) started tingling off and on throughout the day. Went to a doctor, told me it wasn't carpal tunnel syndrome (after doing the tests), but could be tendinitis. Began doing some exercises, and saw an acupuncturist / acupressurist on the recommendation from a friend. She said the problem was in my neck, and that the hands were a symptom of this. When she pressed on certain points of my neck / upper back they were EXTREMELY tense. The treatment helped a little.

I saw an orthopedist hand-specialist just for a second (or third) opinion, and again he did a few tests and said it wasn't carpal tunnel syndrome, just watch your egonomics. I'm confused, however, because I've been waking up in the morning with overall hand stiffness and pins and needles. Not quite sure what to do besides some stretching exercises and maybe wearing a splint at night..Anyone else have any suggestions? Will this stuff go away (whatever it is?

posted by dvjtj to health & fitness (20 comments total)

Not entirely answering your question but... Would continuing going to the acupressurist help? What did your doctor say when you asked if it would go away?

It sure sounds like the carpal tunnel I had, but tingling is such a tricky thing and can be symptomatic of a multitude of things, which I'm sure they mentioned to you when testing you.

If you're still having issues regarding the tingling, talk to one of the doctors and tell them that. They can either re-evaluate you or perhaps refer you to an ergonomist.
posted by jerseygirl at 4:17 PM on February 7, 2006

Not to scare you, but a friend's husband had tingling in his hands and it ended up being MS. So, my advice is to see a neurologist.
posted by elisabeth r at 4:17 PM on February 7, 2006

it wasn't carpal tunnel syndrome

You rarely start out with CTS, but sometimes with something that can develop into it if you aren't careful. What was the diagnosis? If it was just "not carpal tunnel syndrome" then you should find a doctor who will actually bother to figure out what it is.

just watch your egonomics

Have you improved your work setting and habits? Does it help? Is that the only thing the specialist suggested as treatment? If so, then find another one.

wearing a splint at night

Did a physician suggest this? If not, then DON'T DO IT. All the literature I've read and almost every medical professional I have spoken to think that splints are contraindicated for most repetitive-stress-injury-related wrist problems, and can make things worse.
posted by grouse at 4:18 PM on February 7, 2006

I have some experience with neck problems, and they can and do manifest themselves this way. The neck tension may be caused by an injury (something like a whiplash), or just by sleeping wrong,and the same injury could be pinching a nerve, where it exits the spinal column via some pretty narrow points between vertabrae. Anything out of alignment in your spine can be causing this.

Either an orthopaedist should prescribe physical therapy, or you could try a good chiropractor who will not only manipulate but get you on a regime of stretches and exercises. Don't let this go, because over time you'll have nerve damage as a result.
posted by beagle at 4:19 PM on February 7, 2006

The acupuncturist said that she has seen cases of carpal tunnel, and cases like mine (which are different), and that it is from a 'scissor effect' from a pinched nerve. I'm not quite sure exactly what that means, tough.

The orthapedist, who is a specialist in treating hand disorders, couldn't find anything from the tests he gave me.
posted by dvjtj at 4:20 PM on February 7, 2006

The other interesting thing is that it is most 'tingly' in my non-dominant hand. And since I don't do much regular typing/ data-entry/etc., I would think something that was going to show up would do so in the hand that is used the most in tasks (mousing, tennis, etc..)
posted by dvjtj at 4:25 PM on February 7, 2006

It's frustrating when doctors and specialists can't find out why you're hurting.

I think perhaps your best bet might be going back to your primary care doctor, mentioning the possibility of a pinched nerve and see where it goes from there. Whomever you talk to though, if you don't understand a term, stop them and ask them. Don't back down. You need to know what they are observing and you want it in layman's terms. They tend to rush you through appointments nowadays, if bringing a piece of paper with questions helps, do it.

Definitely persue it though, and definitely not to scare you, but as elisabeth r mentioned tingling can be symptomatic of neurological issues. Just out of curiousity, you haven't been sick lately, have you? Virus or anything? Has the tingling spread?
posted by jerseygirl at 4:30 PM on February 7, 2006

I have had very similar problems - although mine involve a lot of aching through the wrists and elbows. After much research, and frustration with conventional approaches/diagnoses, I finally went to an acupuncturist and, at her recommendation, a chiropractor. Say what you will about spine doctors, it's done the trick - even I could see in the x-ray where my spine was all weird and pressing on my nerves.

I still have symptoms if I work too hard (I'm a potter, so lots and lots of handwork), but nowhere near as bad as it used to be, and progressively getting better. I'm only a few weeks into treatment, so I'm guessing that things will only get better. Good luck!
posted by dirtmonster at 4:33 PM on February 7, 2006

When I had a similar problem my doc thought it might be Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Turns out it was a buldging disc in my upper back that presses on my ulnar nerve.

that said... my cousin had a similar problem and it turned out to be ALS.

It might not be in you hands and hand specialists won't help. Get checked out by a neurologist.
posted by nimsey lou at 4:37 PM on February 7, 2006

I'd also suggest seeing a chiropractor. The other docs have told you that it's not your wrists. It's obviously some kind of neural problem, and the acupuncturist has showed you roughly where the problem seems to be.

For me, the next logical step would be a chiropractor. If that doesn't help, then a neurologist would be next on my list.

I tend to think it's probably not neurological, because of what the acupuncturist showed you.
posted by Malor at 5:10 PM on February 7, 2006

I get bad tendonitis flareups and it's nothing like that- it's more painful than anything and if you're thinner you can actually see the swelling in your forearm, running from the medial wrist by your thumb up and over towards your elbow. It hurts to bend your wrist and you get relief when you straighten it out.

I'd follow up on the pinched nerve angle.
posted by fshgrl at 5:28 PM on February 7, 2006

Ditto on the chiropractor. Chiropractors are only quacks if they're trying to cure something kooky (like the flu) with spinal manipulation. Curing spinal things with spinal manipulation actually makes a lot of sense. Your insurance might even pay for it.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:31 PM on February 7, 2006

I recently had tingling in my non-dominant hand along with some other symptoms (even the bottom of my foot was tingling). I went to a neurologist. Turns out I have a slightly bulging disk in my neck. anyway, paying better attention to my posture and fixing the height of my chair at work helped a lot. I also started using one of those fancy foam neck pillows, which actually wasn't suggested by my doctor, and I think it has really helped. I had been a lifelong "tummy sleeper" and the neckroll forces me to sleep on my side or back so my neck isn't wrenched in a weird way, plus it gives a lot of support. Anyway, I'd recommend a trip to the neurologist. He or she will probably do a few tests to make sure it's nothing serious, which is important, and hopefully you'll find a simple solution to the problem.
posted by katie at 6:06 PM on February 7, 2006

See a neurologist, please. Don't go near a chiropracter until you have ruled out several specific issues, all of which a neurologist will be aware of.
posted by docpops at 8:15 PM on February 7, 2006

Wow...a ton of answers...I will definately pursue seeing a neurologist and/or chiropracter. Doing an internet search for 'tingling hands' or 'stiff hands' basically turns up products like wrist braces and quick-cure sites..I wish more of the net was like this site!
posted by dvjtj at 8:29 PM on February 7, 2006

dvjtj, docpops' answer is Real Medical Advice, and I'm just an Internet quack. I would suggest unmarking my answer as 'best' and doing what docpops suggests, instead.
posted by Malor at 9:34 PM on February 7, 2006

*Do* fix your ergonomics. That might not be all you need to do, but it should definitely be part of it.

If you're working at a computer for any length of time, it should be set up so that when you're sitting upright in your chair with your feet flat on the floor,

(a) your thighs are horizontal
(b) your forearms are horizontal as you type

and, most importantly for you if you've got weird shit going on in your neck and upper back,

(c) your screen is *directly in front of you*
(d) your screen is at a comfortable distance for focussing on
(e) your font sizes are set such that you don't find yourself leaning forward to read
(f) the top of the screen is at your eye level

If you're using a laptop as a desktop replacement, then either your screen will be way too low or your keyboard will be way too high, and your spine will complain if you use it for more than about 20 minutes a day. You can fix that by sitting the whole thing up on blocks to put the screen at the right height, then plugging in a separate mouse and keyboard.

We have a 14 year old kid who gets weird stuff going on in his left arm (numb patches, stiffness, tingling, non-working fingers and/or thumbs, sleep-preventing pains) if he's allowed unrestricted access to his computer. It all gets better by about day 4 of being locked out.

Needless to say, his habitual postures are *all horrible*.
posted by flabdablet at 5:09 AM on February 8, 2006

Go see your doctor. A routine set of blood work would rule out anything more serious, especially if you are busy like most of us and haven't had a check up in a while. When my thyroid is low my hands tingle and my neck gets stiff. Rubbing does help the symptoms, but fixing the problem works better.
posted by kgn2507 at 6:48 AM on February 8, 2006

A routine set of blood work would rule out anything more serious

No, it won't.

Look, dvjtj, this is why AskMe can be such a potentially disastrous clusterfuck when people pose queries as simple as "What is this [insert symptom] I'm having?" This could, in fact, be median nerve entrapment, i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome, but without enough "entrapment" to cause abnormal nerve conduction studies. It could be something called Transverse Myelitis, which is an inflammatory condition of the spinal cord and is often difficult to separate from an initial manifestation of multiple sclerosis. It may be a result of very mild cervical disc herniation pressing on the cord or nerve roots and further chiro manipulation could worsen your condition dramatically. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease does not usually cause sensory abnormalities - I would say never, but ikkyu2 could tell you with more authority, and I suspect he's staying on the sidelines for other reasons.

Please, again, before resorting to less conventional treatments, consider a neurology consultation.
posted by docpops at 7:13 AM on February 8, 2006

It does sound like some form of repetitive stress injury. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one very rare, very serious kind of RSI in which tendons are so swollen, they're compressing the nerve running through the Carpal Tunnel in your wrist; if left untreated, it can kill the nerve and leave your thumb, index and middle fingers paralyzed. If the tingling is even throughout your fingers and thumbs, it's no surprise the doctors verified it wasn't CTS. (CTS fell into misuse as a general term for RSIs, so everyone has heard a lot of misinformation about it.)

If it is an RSI, it won't just go away on its own without changes in your life. Please take this seriously. I was in non-stop pain in both arms for months, and impaired long thereafter, by continuing to work despite an RSI. This is your body's little way of saying you have to change something. Here's an article I wrote on it.

Ergonomics is all well and good, but the best ergonomics in the world won't save you if you work too long without stretch breaks and don't get enough rest.

If it is an RSI, consider getting cortisone shots -- they can have a very fast, very dramatic effect. But that doesn't mean they're a free pass to continue all your existing behaviors. In a study of some years ago, few RSI patients had lasting relief from cortisone. My speculation is that it's because they took advantage of the pain-relief to continue bad habits.

I could go on, but I won't. Get a correct diagnosis, and, like I said, if it's RSI, change your life. Or it'll be changed for you due to chronic pain.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 11:19 AM on February 8, 2006