Cause of numbness in fingers: What could be the cause of one having numbness of the fingers especially when you wake up from sleep. Also joint pains,ankle,under the sole of one’s feet.
The nervous system is used in the human body to transmit signals to and from various parts of the body. This system uses electrical impulses that are passed through the nerves to the brain where they can be processed. Numbness is a condition where sensation is lost from some part or the whole body. Numbness is usually associated with damage to the nerves in the area when there is local numbness.Localized numbness may also be temporary, if the nerves or blood vessels in the area are blocked for some reason. Generalized numbness could indicate damage to the spinal cord and to major nerves. The condition of numbness can be quite disconcerting. Numbness that occurs in the legs affects the individual’s ability to stand, walk or balance the body. Numbness also raises the risk of inadvertent injury. In many cases, the human body naturally recoils from situations where injury may occur including sharp objects and particularly hot objects. Numbness will result in no passage of pain to the brain and the individual may therefore leave the affected part of the body in harm’s way without even realizing this.
Causes Of Numbness In Fingers
Depending on your age, the numbnessthat you are suffering is probably a simple case of pins and needles or probably symptomatic of a bigger problem. Numbness that you have described is caused by a nerve in your fingers that might have got depressed in some way in your sleep. This combined with the joint pains could indicate that the position you sleep in might not be a comfortable one or that your hand probably gets twisted into a position that is depressing a nerve. A person with a bad sleeping posture will find that blood circulation to the affected area is constricted. Poor circulation causes numbness in fingers when sleeping. This is one of the leading causes of numbness in the body and applies to numbness in the extremities more often than not. The limbs receive blood through the blood vessels and return this blood back along a similar parallel path. Therefore, a physical block due to excessive pressure may result in both channels being blocked which completely starves the area of blood. The problem of blood circulation may exacerbate other conditions that cause numbness in fingers while sleeping.
Certain occupations are considered as risk factors for conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. This is a condition where there is damage that occurs to the nerve passage in the wrist due to repeated exposure to improper working conditions. Typing is a common cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. Other activities that cause this problem include racket sports, the use of heavy equipment and the use of equipment in a repetitive manner which repeatedly puts the same pressure on the same part of the wrist joint. Any of these conditions along with a bad sleeping posture can make an individual to wake up with numb fingers.
People who wake up with numb fingers are most likely to be suffering from bad sleeping posture and nothing else. Such individuals may benefit from trying to keep their arms spread out while they are sleeping so that the palm does not get bent over and constricted. Numb fingers when sleeping is related to this problem.
Individuals who experience numbness in fingers throughout the day or experience waves of sensation followed by numbness may be experiencing some more complicated medical condition. Nerve damage is a symptom of many debilitating conditions. It is often noted that conditions which cause nerve damage tend to affect the lower part of the body first before affecting the upper body. However, this does not rule out the possibility of individuals experiencing numbness in fingers due to medical conditions. Therefore, patients who experience numbness in fingers, in hands as also in feet should visit a doctor for a consultation. In many cases, the condition may be associated with a pinch or compression of the nerve in some part of the affected limb or back. Usually, this is accompanied with pain which is a factor that is considered during the diagnosis phase. Numbness in fingers and for that matter in any part of the body without accompanying pain is a symptom of nerve damage or bad circulation in fingers.
Poor Blood Circulation May Cause Numbness
Some people may experience poor blood circulation. Poor circulation causing numbness could be related to a host of other conditions. Poor blood circulation causes include bad health, lack of exercise, obesity and an improper diet. There are, of course, several medical conditions that can cause poor blood circulation. However, within the limitations of the individual’s body, these factors mentioned above are all important when it comes to the efficiency of blood circulation or lack thereof. Individuals with these health problems should also visit a doctor as there could be underlying conditions that affect the circulation of blood. Generally poor circulation of blood causes numbness in the extremities. The reason why this may happen in the morning is that the blood circulates at its slowest speed during the night when the body is at complete rest. In this condition, an already compromised blood circulation system will slow down to the point where the amount of blood reaching the extremities is not enough to sustain the sense of touch. Most individuals will not experience complete numbness in fingers and numbness in feet. It is more common for them to experience partial numbness accompanied by a tingling sensation.
Numbness In Fingers And Toes
In rare cases, numbness in fingers and toes may be caused by exposure to toxic substances. Over a period of time, low grade toxic exposure can cause damage that is slow enough to not be noticed. An individual will, in such a situation, suffer from the long term consequences of toxic exposure that may include respiratory problems and nerve damage. Other rarer causes of numbness in fingers and toes include brain tumors. If the tumor can affect the area that processes the sensory information from these parts of the body, then the sensation may be lost partially or completely.
Many people who experience such conditions may have periods where they experience normal sensation in the affected area. During other times, the individuals may experience shooting pains or sudden gain and loss of sensation. This is a symptom of misfiring neurons which may be struggling to pass through damaged nerve cells or constricted nerve cells. It is therefore best to visit a doctor if one is suffering from chronic or repeat attacks of numbness anywhere in the body.
Numbness In Fingers When Sleeping
If this condition does not happen while you are awake and you do not feel this during the course of the day, then you do not have much to worry about. However, if the symptoms persist thought the day, there might a bigger problem at hand, for example poor circulation to the extremities. Try and located telltale signs of this by pale or blue areas of skin or nails that is indicative of poor circulation. This condition calls for a visit to the doctor. The joint pains that you are suffering could be caused by the onset of arthritis but this also can only be confirmed with an x-ray of the affected area. This is why the question of your age comes up as most arthritis only manifests itself after the age of 40. Of special concern is rheumatoid arthritis which can seriously disfigure a person’s limbs and one the symptoms is numbness though not a determining factor. To try and eliminate any of these possibilities, try and sleep in a slightly different position and also try and limit your movement during sleep by boxing yourself into a position in bed with pillows. It is also worth trying out whether the problem is created by being in a lying-down position by lying down in your typical sleeping pose for a period of time and then checking if the symptoms occur again.
Curiously, the neck and spine can also be a source of the problem that you are facing. This is because of a bunching up of nerves in the spinal region of the neck and in the event of a bad sleeping posture where there is a gap between your neck and a supportive surface, or even when your head is thrown back in sleep, the nerves could be depressed causing numbness. To eliminate this as a probable cause sway your head from side to side and check of the sensation returns to your fingers.
