tingling & numbness in right hand (elbow down)

by Becky Carman
(San Antonio, TX ,USA)



I have tingling (like when you hit your funny bone) in my right hand (especially my forefinger , thumb & middle finger) goes up to my elbow>


I have seen an Hand Doctor... had 3 Cordisone shots in my elbow (1st thought was "tennis elbow") then 2 shots in my wrists (2nd thought "carpal tunnel") ... not helping. It does not wake me up or really bother me at night. REALLY bad when I am at work...sitting..and trying to type... sometimes it hurts just sitting...not typing or writing...????

not sure back or neck / shoulder problems can contribute to the problem...?

Hello Becky,
Five cortisone shots is definitely more than advised, so you are wise to be thinking of treating the cause, rather than the symptoms.

It certainly seems to have to do with the Median nerve which passes through the forearm between the two bellies of the Pronator teres muscle, and through the carpal tunnel.

And certainly the origin of the problem can be in the neck, more specifically often the first rib where the brachial plexus passes through the Scalane Triangle. Enter these terms in the "search this site" function at C-H.

Start by placing a small table, the same height as your workstation, at your right elbow. Just taking the stretch off the brachial plexus often helps. Let me know if it works.

Dr B

Comments for
tingling & numbness in right hand (elbow down)

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Oct 29, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Results
by: Becky

Thank you so much for your advise. When I sat at my computer earlier... my arm & hand started to tingle.... I lowered my chin to my chest... and the tingling stopped...???

Since then, every time I start to get that "tingly" feeling (sounds like a bad country song) I lower my chin ( I have even had a co-worker rub my neck with her thunbs...kinda at a center to outward motion & that really helps.

At home I try to do this myself. I am able to type this whole conversation without having to stop because of the uncomfortable tingling in my arm... I guess I need to see someone about my neck....The only trauma I can think of is 13 years ago I had a head-on collision...severe wipe-lash... I had to do a contraption over the door/neck in harness thingy for about 6 weeks due to severe headaches. Then, 4 years later I was rear-ended by a drunk driver... wipe-lash again... maybe scar tissue..??? not sure.

Hello again Becky,
That confirms that this tingling comes from your neck. One bad whiplash is quite enough, and you've had two.

Have you still got the traction device? Start using it again.

I agree. It's time to start looking for a careful thorough chiropractor. Talk to friends and even your GP. I'd get some X-rays if I was you, including "obliques".

Dr B

Bernie's May 2013 blog:

Whilst shopping in Maastricht, I was accosted... read on for some light fun. The importance of being ernest ... not by Oscar Wilde!

SMOKING KILLS

  • 1 in 5 deaths - half a million Americans per year



Just one cigarette per day ...

"Even brief exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate harm to the body."

Surgeon General



"Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others."

Fyodor Dostoevsky


$193 billion per year

Health care costs + lost productivity


"Occasional smoking or just second-hand smoke damages DNA causing cancer."



"Most smokers are already well aware of their increased risk of acquiring lung cancer. Fewer people know about the patients I see every day, those with cancer of the lips, mouth, nose, throat, sinuses or larynx (where the voice box is located).

These cancers account for about 6 percent of all cancer diagnosed annually in the U.S. Ninety percent of these cancer victims can blame their illness directly on tobacco use."

Paul Donald, M.D.



Over 1,000 Americans per day die directly from smoking.


EMPHYSEMA

 - worse than cancer

 LIVING DEATH

"Tobacco smoke damages every organ in your body - not just your lungs"

Surgeon General


CAUSES OF OSTEOPOROSIS


OBESITY

Obesity + smoking = disaster


CHIROPRACTIC

Chiropractic manipulation + smoking?

Will Tweety have a stroke?