For most people, tingling of the fingers other than the discomfort does not cause any concern. Everyone knows that temporary numbness and “needles” at the fingertips will disappear in a few minutes, you just need to change the uncomfortable posture or make “kneading” movements with stiff limbs. The occurrence of this condition is explained by insufficient blood flow to the extremities arising from partial short-term compression of nerve fibers. Tingling fingers from a medical point of view refers to neuralgic disorders or diseases.
If a temporary loss of finger sensitivity is rare and passes soon after a change in posture – there is nothing wrong with that. But if numbness of the fingers is an ongoing phenomenon, it makes sense to talk about neuralgic diseases associated with certain disorders of the nervous system.
So, common causes of tingling and numbness of the fingers are called pinching of the cervical nerve, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, displacement of the vertebrae, spinal hernia. In addition, a frequent loss of sensitivity in the fingers and toes is characteristic of patients with tuberculosis and osteomyelitis.
Specialists also distinguish neuralgic deviations into separate groups, such as tunnel and cubital syndrome – pathological compression of the median nerve of the wrist and elbow joint, respectively.
Tunnel syndrome
Tunnel syndrome is a professional disease. Tingling of fingers is a frequent occurrence among pianists, computer technicians, packers, sorters, etc. It occurs due to the performance of manual mechanical work for a long time.
Monotonous hand movements cause partial compression of the median nerves in the wrists, which leads to temporary numbness of the hands, loss of sensitivity of the fingertips. Sometimes, swelling of the upper extremities is added to these sensations.
Tunnel syndrome, in addition, is often observed in patients with diabetes mellitus, with impaired thyroid function, as well as with any kind of benign and malignant tumors.
Special medication and physiotherapy for the treatment of “tunnel” syndrome should be carried out necessarily and as soon as possible. Otherwise, the roots of the nerve fibers die off, circulatory disorders become irreversible, as a result of which the muscles of the thumb fingers completely atrophy.
Cubital syndrome
Symptoms of the cubital syndrome are frequent numbness and tingling of the ring fingers and little fingers, general weakness in the upper limbs. The reason for the occurrence of a neuralgic disorder of this type is regular strong physical exertion, for example, when a person has to lift weights that are unacceptable for his body.
Especially acute cubital syndrome manifests itself during sleep, when a person is not able to control his own sensations. So, an uncomfortable posture, improper position of the hands (most often with arms raised up) often lead to a complete loss of sensitivity of the hands. Moreover, numbness of the hands disappears only after waking up – after the complete restoration of blood flow.
Unlike tunnel syndrome, which is a disorder exclusively acquired, cubital syndrome can develop due to the individual characteristics of a person. In this case, we are talking about naturally thickened nerve fibers, which is why they barely fit in the space between the bone and ligaments. Such a physiological feature becomes a frequent cause of compression of the nerves, loss of sensitivity, leakage of the upper and lower extremities, tingling of the fingers and the temporary death of their upper phalanges.
If a cubital syndrome is detected, it is necessary to immediately contact a neurologist and begin appropriate treatment. If you do not do this on time, atrophy of the limbs may develop and a person will lose the ability to move independently.