In daily life, we often find our hands numb after waking up, which can be caused by various reasons. Generally, it might be due to pressure on blood vessels or nerves, but persistent hand numbness should be taken seriously. So, what causes hand numbness during sleep? What are the symptoms of hand numbness? What should you do about hand numbness?
What causes numbness in the hands while sleeping?
Normally, numbness in the hands is related to blood circulation. When blood flow is obstructed, causing poor circulation within the body, numbness in the hands can occur. Additionally, improper sleeping posture, such as sleeping with your hand pressed against the floor or maintaining the same position for a long time, can also lead to numbness. In summer, people often use air conditioning, frequently keeping their arms in a cold environment, which can also impede blood flow and cause numbness.
However, it's worth noting that if none of the above applies, it could be cervical spondylosis. This mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. Besides numbness in the hands, cervical spondylosis is also accompanied by neck and shoulder muscle pain, and upper limb pain.
Numbness in the hands during sleep may be caused by some of the following conditions:
1. Cervical radiculopathy
Differential diagnosis: In addition to numbness and pain in the fingers, patients may experience pain in the neck, shoulders, back, head, and upper limbs, manifesting as numbness and swelling on the radial or ulnar side, or in all five fingers simultaneously. Decreased grip strength may also be present. The pain is often dull, aching, burning, or throbbing, or like an electric shock. Numbness often occurs in the same location as the pain, and the two are frequently present together, but numbness is more common in the fingers and forearms. Decreased sensation in the fingers and forearms, and in a few cases, hyperesthesia, is often observed, usually caused by stimulation of the affected segment.
2. Carpal tunnel syndrome
Symptom differentiation: The patient experiences numbness or tingling in three and a half fingers on the radial side, which worsens at night, causing the patient to wake up from sleep due to pain. The pain is aggravated by high temperatures and can be relieved by activity or shaking the hand. In cold seasons, the affected fingers feel cold, cyanotic, and have poor finger dexterity, with weak thumb abductor muscles. In severe cases, the thenar and hypothenar muscles on the affected side atrophy.
Carpal tunnel syndrome, also known as carpal tunnel stenosis, refers to a condition caused by wrist injuries, fractures, dislocations, sprains, or overuse, leading to thickening of the transverse carpal ligament, swelling of the tendons within the tunnel, tissue degeneration due to hematoma organization, or degenerative hyperplasia of the carpal bones. This narrowing of the carpal tunnel's circumference compresses the median nerve, resulting in a condition primarily characterized by numbness and weakness in the fingers. This condition is common among people whose occupations involve heavy lifting, carrying, twisting, or grasping. Numbness and swelling in the fingers are one symptom, but it is usually accompanied by numbness in the arm and other parts of the body.
3. Heart and kidney diseases
Differential diagnosis: Swelling of the fingers caused by heart or kidney disease is usually accompanied by facial or leg swelling. Numbness in the hands upon waking should raise suspicion of disease, as finger numbness and swelling are one of its early symptoms. This is even more likely if accompanied by joint swelling and pain. If accompanied by hardening of the skin on the face and fingers, it may be scleroderma.
What to do if your hands go numb while sleeping
1. Adjust your sleeping position: Occasional numbness in your hands while sleeping is nothing to worry about. It is probably due to pressure on your arm, which causes poor blood circulation. In this case, you can massage your arm more at night, or find a comfortable position before going to bed and not fall asleep immediately, otherwise your hand will still be numb when you wake up.
2. Change your pillow: In addition, we can choose a pillow of suitable height. The pillow should be flat so that the head and neck can rest on it to allow blood to flow smoothly.
3. Go to the hospital for examination: If the numbness in the hands is caused by cervical spondylosis, it is recommended to have an X-ray taken at the hospital for examination. If you cannot go to the hospital in time, you can use the following method for examination: One person supports the patient's head on the side, holds the patient's upper limb on the side with one hand, extends it to 90 degrees, and stretches both hands in opposite directions. If there is radiating pain and numbness, it can be preliminarily confirmed as cervical spondylosis. Patients with numbness in their hands due to cervical spondylosis need to do more outdoor exercise and walk around and move their limbs more often after working for a long time. Moreover, people with cervical spondylosis are most afraid of cold. Therefore, pay attention to keeping warm and protecting the neck and back.
4. Traditional Chinese Medicine Massage:
(1) Comb and wash your arms to regulate your meridians and dispel evil.
Use your right hand to pinch the Jiquan acupoint in your left armpit (located at the apex of the armpit, where the axillary artery pulsates), and then comb the inner and outer sides of your arm from top to bottom and from bottom to top.
Then press the Hegu acupoint (place the interphalangeal joint crease of one thumb against the web edge between the index and index fingers of the other hand, where the tip of the thumb points) and the Laogong acupoint (located in the palm of the hand, between the 2nd and 3rd metacarpal bones, near the palmar crease of the metacarpal bones, where the tip of the middle finger points when the fist is clenched) 64 times each. It is best to massage the other hand in the same way.
(2) Stretch the neck to relax muscles and relieve spasms.
Raise your hands to your waist, inhale, and then slowly press down, gripping the ground firmly with your feet, straightening your chest and pulling in your abdomen, and consciously stretching your neck upward to absorb the essence of heaven and earth.
