Avoiding Pain In Pinkies...

[AnotherMuggle]

The last few months I have been suffering with my small fingers, particularly on my left hand, going numb and tingling. Loss of sensation in the tip of the small fingers and pain in the wrist are the worst of the symptoms. I am only 23 and hoping to work in computing as a profession, currently at University doing computer science.

I believe my problems stem from regularly using the Shift key with the weakest finger. The doctor is telling me the problem is Ulnar Nerve Entrapment but I am not convinced. I am sure it is just from pressing down on the finger all the time.

Can anyone offer me any good advise with regards to using the Shift key in order to type capital letters? I need to put a stop to the symptoms before it's too late.

[EzyStvy]

I'm sure you already know of of this, but for those of us that don't:

Ulnar nerve entrapment is a condition where the ulnar nerve becomes trapped or pinched due to some physiological abnormalities Symptoms Commonly, this causes pain, numbness, or paralysis of the ring and little fingers which may extend up the arm. This can be differentiated from carpal tunnel syndrome and radial nerve entrapment in that different fingers are involved. Causes The ulnar nerve passes through many tunnels and outlets which could cause the nerve to be pinched. Some causes or origins noted could be[1]: Problems originating at the neck (thoracic outlet syndrome, disease of the cervical spine) Brachial plexus abnormalities Elbow abnormalities (fractures, growth plate injuries, cubital tunnel problems, improper use) Wrist abnormalities (fractures, Guyon canal problems) Artery aneurysms or thrombosis Infections, tumors, diabetes, hypothyroidism, rheumatism, and alcoholism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulnar_nerve_entrapment

First question - why do you think the DR is wrong?

I have/had a similar issue with my thumb and first two fingers....Spent a fortune to find out I have bone spurs in my spinal cannel....When I flare up, I take massive amounts of Ibuprofen..

[HAL9000]

I dunno, sounds like it all makes sense to me. I ran a remote controlled overhead crane for 6 years that used horrible wrist positioning to operate... I used to have all sorts of issues like that. Getting proper computer equipment such as wrist pads and a mouse that better fits my hand has taken care of these issues.. but it took a long long time.

[AnotherMuggle]

Originally Posted by EzyStvy I'm sure you already know of of this, but for those of us that don't: First question - why do you think the DR is wrong? I have/had a similar issue with my thumb and first two fingers....Spent a fortune to find out I have bone spurs in my spinal cannel....When I flare up, I take massive amounts of Ibuprofen..

I don't think the doctor is wrong, I just have this feeling that it's not Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Maybe it is, but it's just confusing me that I have been fine for all this time, then suddly I run into problems.

I have not banged my arm/hand recently and the problem is most certainly agrevated though typing.

[HAL9000]

You never know what may have caused it... I had a severe case of tennis elbow last year.. and it hurt enough to get some pretty potent pain killers and the swelling in my arm made it a good three inches larger around than the other arm. I have NO idea how it happened, just that it fricking hurt and I never want it to happen again.. healing time was 6 weeks of physio + pain killers + anti inflamitory meds.. that made it feel better, but it took a good year to feel 100% again.

[EzyStvy]

As posted above:
Causes
The ulnar nerve passes through many tunnels and outlets which could cause the nerve to be pinched. Some causes or origins noted could be[1]:

Problems originating at the neck (thoracic outlet syndrome, disease of the cervical spine)
Brachial plexus abnormalities
Elbow abnormalities (fractures, growth plate injuries, cubital tunnel problems, improper use)
Wrist abnormalities (fractures, Guyon canal problems)
Artery aneurysms or thrombosis
Infections, tumors, diabetes, hypothyroidism, rheumatism, and alcoholism

Looks to be a wide varity of causes....
Does your family have a history of diabetes? Are you maybe hitting the "bottle" real hard...

Short version to my numbness and tingleing is/was due to a pinched nerve in my neck...It still happens every so often out of the clear blue.

[HAL9000]

Those may be the medical causes, but that leaves out the numerous physical action causes that there is the potential for... Unless a doctor can pinpoint one of the medical causes, there's no real way of knowing how it happened.

[mbossman2]

i would suggest that you have some swelling between the elbow and your fingers and that is pressing on your ulnar nerve.

Treatment:
lay off any activities that cause the pain (stop using your pinky when typing)
aspirin or other anti-inflammatory (ibuprofin or naproxen but not tylenol)
ice the affected area

swelling of the muscles and tendons usually take 4-6 weeks so you must follow the treatment for that period of time, even if you feel better, it is simple to re-injure in mid-healing. if you do, you get to start all over again.

[AnotherMuggle]

Originally Posted by mbossman2 i would suggest that you have some swelling between the elbow and your fingers and that is pressing on your ulnar nerve. Treatment: lay off any activities that cause the pain (stop using your pinky when typing) aspirin or other anti-inflammatory (ibuprofin or naproxen but not tylenol) ice the affected area swelling of the muscles and tendons usually take 4-6 weeks so you must follow the treatment for that period of time, even if you feel better, it is simple to re-injure in mid-healing. if you do, you get to start all over again.

Thanks for the advise, greatly appreciated, that goes to all that have input into this thread.

I bought a Power Ball today too as I am informed that it can assist with the healing process.

[mbossman2]

heal 1st, exercise once healed.

[lil Jimmie]

I have the same problem in my left and found that changing the way in which I use my hand has made the most improvement over anything. When it flares up I take ibuprofen and rest. I didn't allow to change the things I wanted to do I just changed the way I did things. I picked playing the guitar shortly after I found out what the problem was, I use it as a way to improve my finger strength as well as increase movement. I've very little problems with it in the last four years and in my profession my finger are my bread and butter so I got to take care of them.

Good info EzyStvy!

[barita_lola]

Well friend I am not a doctor, but as long as I know, the ulnar nerve runs on the outside of the elbow (the "funny bone"), so if you're resting your elbow on something, aside from the arm bending you've already talked about, this will make it worse. One of the worse offenders is resting the left elbow on the car door while driving. Pressure and vibration together are a bad combination for nerves.