ZocdocAnswersHow do I relieve numbness/tingling sensation in right hand?


How do I relieve numbness/tingling sensation in right hand?

I smacked my hand against the wall out of frustration. About 30 mins. later I noticed it felt "asleep" accompanied by pins in needles but only on the fingerprint side of the thumb, tip of index finger, and thumb side of the forearm. My right hand is weaker when carrying stuff and the pins and needles only occur if I touch the described areas above. The top (nail side) of the thumb and index finger feel normal however.' Any idea what this is? It's continued for the past few days and came on suddenly after hitting my hand.


Based on your description of the distribution of the numbness/tingling, it sounds like you may have symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome due to smacking your hand. I recommend that you speak with an orthopaedic hand surgeon. While carpal tunnel syndrome has many different causes, lasting carpal tunnel syndrome due to hitting your hand is rare. As such, I'll address your question as I would for someone with mild and early carpal tunnel syndrome being seen for the first. time. The carpal tunnel is a space located on the palm side of your wrist which contains (among other things) your median nerve, which is partly responsible for feeling in your thumb, index finger and part of your middle finger. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when there is irritation of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. While this is usually due to narrowing of the tunnel due to thickening of one of the ligaments that makes up the 'roof' of the tunnel, it can also occur when there is swelling in the tunnel due to injury. In your case, smacking the wall with your palm may have caused enough swelling to irritate the median nerve, causing your symptoms. I would expect this to get better with time, but it may take days to weeks to get better depending on how irritated the nerve is. The best therapy for this in the mean time is anti-inflammatory medications (eg Aleve or Advil) on a scheduled basis (7-10 days) to decrease the swelling, and an over the counter 'cock-up' wrist splint that you can wear to minimize compression of the carpal tunnel. If you do not notice any improvements in several weeks, please see an orthopaedic hand surgeon. If these conditions should ever really apply to you or someone you know, please contact your physician or call 911 in cases of emergency.

