What could cause a zapping sensation in my index finger?
November 26, 2021 4:02 PM Subscribe
For the past week or so, I've experienced an unusual symptom. Periodically, when I stretch out my right arm (like when I need to pick up something off the floor), I experience a strange sensation in my index finger. It feels like a brief, mild electric shock.
The sensation is a bit unpleasant, but I wouldn't call it painful. It occurs only on the top surface and the inside surface of the finger (by "inside", I mean the area that's adjacent to my middle finger).
This happens unexpectedly three or four times per day – I'm unable to reproduce it reliably at will.
I can't think of anything that might have caused this condition. I haven't had any injuries, done anything strenuous, or altered my exercise regimen. I don't have any other symptoms. And this is definitely not static electricity.
If this continues for another week or so, I'll make an appointment with my doctor.
The sensation is a bit unpleasant, but I wouldn't call it painful. It occurs only on the top surface and the inside surface of the finger (by "inside", I mean the area that's adjacent to my middle finger).
This happens unexpectedly three or four times per day – I'm unable to reproduce it reliably at will.
I can't think of anything that might have caused this condition. I haven't had any injuries, done anything strenuous, or altered my exercise regimen. I don't have any other symptoms. And this is definitely not static electricity.
If this continues for another week or so, I'll make an appointment with my doctor.
Probably a trapped/pinched nerve as already suggested. I get similar feelings when I sit for too long with my elbows locked. If I sleep like that half my hand goes completely numb.
Do you do a lot of typing or writing with your elbows bent? Or do you sit in the same position for a long time during the day? Do you sleep with your elbows bent and hands underneath you or on top of you?
I would say make your appointment with the doctor and in the meantime invest in an elbow brace for your right arm and see if it helps.
posted by fight or flight at 4:50 PM on November 26, 2021
Do you do a lot of typing or writing with your elbows bent? Or do you sit in the same position for a long time during the day? Do you sleep with your elbows bent and hands underneath you or on top of you?
I would say make your appointment with the doctor and in the meantime invest in an elbow brace for your right arm and see if it helps.
posted by fight or flight at 4:50 PM on November 26, 2021
If it's a sciatica there doesn't need to be a behavioral cause, you could just be old enough for something along the path of a nerve to have grown to the point where it impinges on it. I'm going through this right now for a leg pain, and it all starts with an x-ray. Also: mine just felt like I needed to crack my back for six months, until it became more, which is to say catching these things sooner is better than later.
posted by rhizome at 6:34 PM on November 26, 2021
posted by rhizome at 6:34 PM on November 26, 2021
IANYD, but I am typing with one hand because I had surgery this past Wednesday for carpal tunnel issues. My two symptoms were numbness and tingling in my thumb, index and middle fingers, and electric shocks in my hand when I extended my arm.
Your median nerve is the one implicated if the shocks are between your index and middle finger, and there are a number of ways it can be affected, pressure on the carpal tunnel being one, thoracic outlet syndrome being another. The reason I got shocks was that stretching my arm and moving my hand just so, like reaching for a coffee cup, put extra pressure on the carpal tunnel.
In my case, I didn't have an injury, stress, etc. And several doctors missed it, because the initial traditional exams for CT (tapping, stretching, etc) were negative. I only got a correct diagnosis when a) a massage therapist noticed a very subtle lump in my hand and b) I finally went to a specialist and had testing/imaging done, and we found a mass that was impinging on my carpal tunnel.
I can only speak for my issue, but I had similar symptoms and no obvious injuries (nor more classic CT symptoms).
posted by Gorgik at 6:40 AM on November 27, 2021
Your median nerve is the one implicated if the shocks are between your index and middle finger, and there are a number of ways it can be affected, pressure on the carpal tunnel being one, thoracic outlet syndrome being another. The reason I got shocks was that stretching my arm and moving my hand just so, like reaching for a coffee cup, put extra pressure on the carpal tunnel.
In my case, I didn't have an injury, stress, etc. And several doctors missed it, because the initial traditional exams for CT (tapping, stretching, etc) were negative. I only got a correct diagnosis when a) a massage therapist noticed a very subtle lump in my hand and b) I finally went to a specialist and had testing/imaging done, and we found a mass that was impinging on my carpal tunnel.
I can only speak for my issue, but I had similar symptoms and no obvious injuries (nor more classic CT symptoms).
posted by Gorgik at 6:40 AM on November 27, 2021
This is a very familiar symptom of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome although without an injury or predecessor pain its hard to tell.
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 8:10 AM on November 27, 2021
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 8:10 AM on November 27, 2021
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Maybe your ulnar nerve is pinched or something from the way you sleep?
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 4:14 PM on November 26, 2021