I am a 19 year old female that needs some help... This past Thursday, I was taking a rather long test when I found that the tip of the ring finger on my left hand was numb. I didn't think much of this until the next morning, when I found that both the pinky and the ring fingers were numb at the tips... I've done some research, so I found a few questions that need some answers...

1. With the symptoms that I do have, is it remotely possible that I have cubital tunnel syndrome?

2. Since this has only occured for roughly a week, is there any way to relieve the numbness other than to stop the activity involving the pinched nerve?

3. I have a pinched nerve on the back of my left shoulder. Would this and my numb fingers have been related somehow?

4. And lastly, I type very often, and I was wondering if it's possibly of getting both carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome at the same time?

I appreciate any and all answers.

I would also like to add that my wrist on the same arm is now becoming a little stiff. It has been difficult to type lately and I would like to know what's going on. I haven't gone to the doctor's yet because I'm scared that it'll be worse than what I first thought.<br><br>Any and all answers are appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I do have a question? What is cubital tunnel syndrome?

I was just at my Dr.today, and he had me do a simple test for carpal tunnel. Put the backs of your hands together from the wrists down (It's kind of an upside down, inside out praying position of the hands.) Then, push together hard with both hands for a few minutes and see if your fingers become numb. He excluded the pinky & ring finger, only said the other 3 would be effected. I've known that I've had carpal tunnel for a bout 20 yrs, but was never checked for it by a Dr. till today. It's become really severe lately for no apparant reason. It'll wake me up some mornings at about 4 or 5 a.m. and its not just numbness, but severe pain in both my hands and wrists. He told me to take a prescription anti-inflamatory (600mg. 2/day) for 2 weeks and to wear wrist splint/braces on both hands every night for the same amount of time. If that doesn't help, he said he would give me cortizone shots in each wrist. Yikes!!! Hope this helps some, and maybe some people who have more knowledge will respond too. Ann S.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is pressure on the ulnar nerve behind the "funny bone" causing numbness and tingling in the ring and small fingers of the hand.<br><br>I hope this makes sense.

I suffered with a bout of Cubitol TS, and there are exercises that you can do to help cubitol tunnel syndrome. The ones that I can remember from my PT are to sit at a table and put your forearms under the lip of the table and pretend that you are lifting. Count for 10 seconds and then release and then do again. I worked my way up to 15 times over a 4 week period. Another one is to stand up at the same table and put the palms of your hands down on the table and push like you want to squash the table. Once again work up to 15 reps. I was also told to use weights and lift them. Don't start with heavy weights though. You might find more on the internet. I am sure there must be a site for exercises for CTS. I was also given some sort of stimulation and other electrical things for it. It did help, although it feels as if it is coming back again.
For the carpal tunnel, when mine starts to flare up, I grab a tennis ball and try to squeeze it as often as possible. It also helps to a certain amount. I had surgery on both wrists and don't want to have to go through this all over again.

Hey, thanks a lot for the tip. I'll be sure to start the table thing!! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Have any of you with carpal tunnel experienced a problem with blood circulation to your hands? My skin, cuticles, & nails are just horrid the last few months. It coincides with the carpal tunnel flaring up. Also, my fingertips freeze almost instantly when I go outside (MN). My Doc says it's not related, but I just want some other opinions as I've often known doctors to be wrong.

Ann S.

Consider Raynaud's phenomenon. It is a vasospastic disorder manifested by intermittent attacks of extreme pallor, then cyanosis of the fingers brought on by cold exposure. You should be able to find a lot on this on the internet. Go to www.google.com (http://www.google.com) and type in Raynaud's.
You are right, not all doctors are correct, or knowledgable about everything. You have to do your own homework nowadays.
Needless to say,wear gloves, even when getting into the freezer, and I hope you don't smoke. You would only be making this worse leading to ulceration, etc.
Go to another doctor who is a specialist in Internal Medicine. Let us know what happens.
Good luck.

Originally posted by Ann S:
Have any of you with carpal tunnel experienced a problem with blood circulation to your hands? My skin, cuticles, & nails are just horrid the last few months. It coincides with the carpal tunnel flaring up. Also, my fingertips freeze almost instantly when I go outside (MN). My Doc says it's not related, but I just want some other opinions as I've often known doctors to be wrong.

Ann S.

Ann, yup, sounds familiar, but my doctor is calling it RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) apparently it is a direct result of carpal tunnel. The fingernail thing is a sign, as are unusual sweating of the extremity, mottling of the skin (discoloration) sensitivity to cold, and tempature changes in the hand (in relation to the other hand) There are some sites on the net that describe it better than I do maybe you could check it out and possibly rule it out or see your doc about it. A good site is www.rsds.org (http://www.rsds.org)

Ann, I don't know what your problems are with your hands, but yesterday when my husband and I were out putting a tarp over our green house that got some broken windows, we were out for about 25 minutes and I had gloves on. When I came back into the house, the four fingers on my right hand felt like they were on fire. And the tips of them were completely numb. I put them in warm water and after about 20 minutes they were fine, but today the tall finger is still kind of sore in the first joint area. I have FMS, along with CFS, and have always had a problem with numbness and tingling, but this was the first time my hands felt this bad. I wanted to cry they hurt so bad.