Tingling in hand

[drh]

I just started fencing last month, and after a particularly long practice session yesterday my left arm and hand (I'm a right-handed fencer, by the way) started to fall asleep. I tried to shake it out and thought it would be better by the next morning, but I woke up to discover that although my arm is now back to normal, the tips of my index finger, middle finger, and thumb are very tingly.

Has anyone experienced this before? Should I go to a doctor? It's now been close to 24 hours since practice, and it's only slightly better. I'm puzzled because this is not the hand I fence with.

[veeco]

In my experience, tingling means nerve damage. Go see a doctor.

[JEC]

See a neurologist. Tingling in the hand can be due to a nerve lesion along the entire tract of information from the hand all the way up to cerebral cortex. However, if it is transitory, it might be lack of some electrolytes (salts), which Gatorade will take care in most circumstances. Now, if it lasts for several hours or days, and occurred while fencing (and you were not conditioned), it most likely be in the peripheral nervous system, from the neck to the hand. I would be surprised that tingling in the non-weapon arm that developed during or after intense bouting (without direct hits to the non-weapon arm, which might have injured the nerve) is due to pinch nerve in the neck. Nevertheless, consult your physician and take their advice.

[morael]

Definitely go to a doctor. Not to panic. It could be a pinched nerve, relatively minor but worth coddling. In future, try to keep your shoulders relaxed (much easier said than done!). Practice en garde at home and shift your off arm until you find a good (legal) position. The "up" position might be a problem. Are your throwing your arm back too much, or bending too much at the wrist? Too much tension? Is there another activity unrelated to fencing that's putting additional strain on the left hand?

I would guess that I'm not alone in having a tendency to be too tense all over, rather than applying energy just where it's needed. Also, monitor your body for stress just before you fall asleep and as you work. I had a wrist tendon problem for months, until I realized that I was falling asleep with my hand bent inward.

All of us in this un-ergonomic sport should do frequent awareness "sweeps" through our bodies for stuff like this. The bonus is that correcting carriage can pay off in better fencing as well as fewer strains and injuries. You have an advantage as a beginner in that you don't have to change ingrained habits!

Hope you're better soon! (Let us know what happens.)

[AndrewH]

Heh, on a somewhat related subject... one time in practice, my teammate hit me accross the forearm, perpendicular to the wrist, and my whole hand went numb, then the feeling slowly returned with pins & needles. Is that the same thing with the nerves?

[lochinvar]

Go directly to a doctor. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

Numbness and tingling in the extremities may be the first indications of an infarction leading to stroke.
Numbness or tingling in the left arm is sometimes indicative of heart attack.

In either case, don't put it off--go see about it now.
If it isn't serious, you'll be none the worse off. If it is serious, you'll have caught it earlier.

[OCTAVIA]

they're right, it's your circulation, you should have it checked, left hand/arm tingling sensation is related to heart disease, you don't say your age, but if you have a block in an artery you might need to have them 'blown out' - good luck.

[Army Fencer]

Tingling in your thumb, index finger, and middle finger (and usually half of your ring finger) is evidence that you hit your median nerve sometime after it left the brachial plexus in shoulder. The nerve also ennervates most of the flexor muscles of your wrist and your thumb. (I just learned all that!).

I've had fencers hit my ulnar nerve (another major nerve that's responsible for your "funny bone") right at the elbow, and my ring finger and middle finger tingled for a few minutes, but not all night. I agree with everybody else here--get it checked out.

Out of curiousity, did anybody hit you really hard on the inside of your elbow?

Let us know how it goes at the doctor's!

[OCTAVIA]

You could be correct on that and thanks! I almost had heart failure just thinking about it; my right hand numbed up while I was playing the Taiko and I thought it was a clogged pore or something. [thank you daaahhhhhhling]

[bug]

To reiterate what everyone here has said, it sounds like a nerve problem to me, and you should go see a doctor or trainer about it. I got hit directly in the elbow with my opponent's tip, and I couldn't feel my ring and pinky fingers, as well as that side of my arm, for a few days (imagine what fencing the rest of that tourney felt like). After I could feel my arm, it just hurt a lot. I saw a trainer at my school and they just told me that I should rest it and ice it when it hurt. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot you can do for damaged nerves. It continued to bother me consistently for about 2-3 months, but rarely do I have problems with it now. Best of luck to you, and get well quickly! (And fence lightly, if you really must.)

[drizzt_do_urden]

At the risk of running an opinion contrary to everyone who has posted here, and probably inviting heavy criticism, I would suggest that you not go see a doctor. I trust neither the motives nor abilities of modern western medical practitioners. I think you should do some reading to educate yourself about any pains or other sensations you are feeling, and use your own brain to come up with the right solution for yourself, which could include altering your diet, daily activities, exercise regimen, and/or mental outlook. The body has amazing healing powers when you focus your mind and soul on it, much more than any modern doctor could heal you, plus you won’t get billed for it.

[40Saberthieves]

Originally posted by drizzt_do_urden
At the risk of running an opinion contrary to everyone who has posted here, and probably inviting heavy criticism, I would suggest that you not go see a doctor. I trust neither the motives nor abilities of modern western medical practitioners. I think you should do some reading to educate yourself about any pains or other sensations you are feeling, and use your own brain to come up with the right solution for yourself, which could include altering your diet, daily activities, exercise regimen, and/or mental outlook. The body has amazing healing powers when you focus your mind and soul on it, much more than any modern doctor could heal you, plus you won’t get billed for it.

That is quite possible the worst advice ive ever seen anyone give.

[Agent_V]

Originally posted by RogueNine
That is quite possible the worst advice ive ever seen anyone give.

That is quite possibly the most correct statement I've ever seen anyone make

[MyraTrue]

I can only further the inquisition to ask if you got hit on the collar bone either. My experiences fencing have included several very hard hits to the collar bone, and that really is the pits. I lose all feeling in that arm, can't close my fingers, cant even really keep my arm up. And when feeling does come back, its pins and needles, and very painful. I don't know of anything lasting as long as you've described however.

My'

[Army Fencer]

Originally posted by drizzt_do_urden
At the risk of running an opinion contrary to everyone who has posted here, and probably inviting heavy criticism, I would suggest that you not go see a doctor. I trust neither the motives nor abilities of modern western medical practitioners. I think you should do some reading to educate yourself about any pains or other sensations you are feeling, and use your own brain to come up with the right solution for yourself, which could include altering your diet, daily activities, exercise regimen, and/or mental outlook. The body has amazing healing powers when you focus your mind and soul on it, much more than any modern doctor could heal you, plus you won’t get billed for it.

drizzt_do_urden,

I respect your opinions and your right as an autonomous being to follow this path.

However, studying the human body and then altering your diet and mental outlook probably won't help nerve damage on most people, most of the time (or a heart attack or stroke, as some suggested). If nothing else, it would be a good idea to have a professional see it to determine the extent of the problem, to help you understand your unique medical problem, and to work with you so you can together determine the best possible outcome. Perhaps that includes alternative medicine, as you suggest. You can certainly see physicians who are open to those types of therapies.

But to avoid professionals simply to avoid the cost is completely and utterly unreasonable, particularly for an initial visit.

Respectfully,
A Future MD

[drh]

Thank you for all of your replies. Since I am young (24) and in good health, I doubt it's a heart/stroke problem (though you can never be sure), and given that the left side of my neck is really stiff, I'm pretty sure it's my median nerve like Army Fencer wrote. I have an appointment to go to the doctor. I just hope the damage isn't permanent! Yesterday I took some naproxen sodium to see if it would help, and it definitely did, but now that the medicine's effect has worn off my fingers feel tingly again.

I'm really not sure what brought this on....I don't remember any hits to my left arm, nor any strong hits to my collar bone. I definitely need to work on keeping my shoulders relaxed, though...that is probably a large part of the problem. Is it possible for a nerve to be pinched by tight muscles? I carry a lot of my stress in my neck anyway...

Morael, thanks for your advice to not panic. I was starting to a little.

[drizzt_do_urden]

Army Fencer,

I knew my post would draw criticism. One thing I would like to point out was that my statement about avoiding the cost of a doctor bill was supposed to be a humorous after-thought. I guess I should have put a smiley face by it.

I agree with you that avoiding an important life decision simply for financial reasons is, as you put it, completely and utterly unreasonable.

[JEC]

Originally posted by drh
Is it possible for a nerve to be pinched by tight muscles?

Yes, there are neurological syndromes due to hypertrophic muscle pinching a nerve (i.e: Pronator syndrome).

[OCTAVIA]

We should all really follow JEC; he has the right information; offering MEDICAL advice about which foods to eat and which meditarsal is affected could lead to a giant lawsuit of the Internet. For example, too much vitamin C is associated with kidney stones.

JEC, there are many neurological symptoms associated with 'pinched nerves', but it would take a real brain surgeon to be able to find it, but also as JEC mentioned in an earlier post, we should refrain from offering medical advice, we're not doctors you know, whatever training, experience and degrees you may have earned in the past, I would put it on hold, as offering an opinion about a person's hand could create a problem later on at the Olympics, I would image the Olympic Committe's own pool of physicians would be able to diagnose this. But in reality, the pinched nerve leading to the fingertip is a true problem, I almost dropped my taiko stick when the blood supply didn't get to my fingertips, but then I was sitting seisa for about an hour, and that may be the explanation.

[drizzt_do_urden]

Octavia,

I am a little confused about your post. When you say "we're not doctors you know, whatever training, experience and degrees you may have earned in the past", how do you know that nobody on this forum is a doctor? If somebody has training, experience, and a degree as a physician, then they are a doctor.

Also, the fencer who started this post said they had only been fencing a month, so why do you suppose the olympic committee would take an interest in this? Do they have a team of medics on alert for everyone who has just recently picked up a foil? Just curious.