What does it mean when my thumb is numb?
Thumb numbness can have many possible causes. This may include injury to any nearby components of the arm, wrist, or hand, temporary nerve compression from arm positioning, nerve root compression in the neck or nerve compression in the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome), or even some systemic illnesses.
What nerve causes numbness in the thumb?
The carpal tunnel is a passageway in the base of a person’s hand. The median nerve passes through it, and the pinching of this nerve can cause numbness, itching, or pain in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and ring finger.
How do I get my thumb to stop being numb?
How is finger numbness treated? Your doctor may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) medication to reduce inflammation. Examples include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen. Another option is wearing a brace or splint.
How do you Unpinch a nerve in your thumb?
Home remedies
- Massage the area that feels discomfort using light strokes with the fingers of your other hand.
- Apply ice or heat to your fingers or other areas affected by the pinched nerve.
- Keep your arm and fingers elevated a bit when lying down with a pillow.
- Try stretches and exercises that target the affected area.
What helps carpal tunnel in thumb?
Home remedies for carpal tunnel relief
- Ice it down. Ice your wrist or soak it in an ice bath for 10 minutes to 15 minutes once or twice an hour.
- Wrist splints. Buy a wrist splint to keep your hand properly aligned.
- Shake it off (gently)
- Pain relievers.
- Warm water treatment.
- Ergonomic changes.
- Cortisone shots.
Is it carpal tunnel or a pinched nerve?
A pinched median nerve in your wrist can lead to pain, numbness and weakness in your hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome). A pinched nerve occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues, such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons.
Can carpal tunnel affect the thumb?
Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms usually start gradually and include: Tingling or numbness. You may notice tingling and numbness in your fingers or hand. Usually the thumb and index, middle or ring fingers are affected, but not your little finger.
What makes your thumb go numb?
Carpal tunnel. This is undoubtedly the most common cause.
Why do I have numbness in my Thumb?
Numbness in thumb and fingers is a classic symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome, also known as CTS. Other symptoms include a burning pain or tingling in the hand. To understand CTS, you must first understand the wrist’s anatomy.
Why my Thumb is numb?
Diabetes and thyroid disease also can cause peripheral neuropathy. Most of the time, thumb numbness just results from compression of a peripheral nerve. While annoying, it isn’t dangerous, provided no other warning signs are present. So long as the numbness is the only problem, no really aggressive treatment is generally called for.