Just about everyone has experienced the pins-and-needles sensation of their hand falling asleep. This sensation is caused by nerve compression and commonly occurs when you sleep in an awkward position that puts pressure on the nerves in your hand. While this is typically short-lived, if your hand keeps falling asleep, it could indicate an underlying nerve or musculoskeletal issue. At Macomb Pain Management, we understand how concerning symptoms like this can be for patients, and we are here to provide more information about hand numbness and some reasons your hands keep falling asleep.
Why Is My Hand Falling Asleep and Feeling Numb?
In order for our hands to be able to feel sensations, a complex system of nerves travels throughout our arms and hands. When one of these nerves is compressed, irritated, or otherwise damaged, it can interfere with our sensation, leading to numbness and the pins-and-needles sensation we associate with our hand falling asleep. Understanding why your hand is falling asleep and what nerves are involved is the first step towards building a treatment plan that helps you manage this irritating symptom. Next, we’ll take a closer look at some of the more common medical conditions associated with hand numbness.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Can Cause Numbness and Tingling in the Fingers
One of the more common causes of hand numbness we see in our patients is carpal tunnel syndrome. When a patient develops carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive wrist and hand movements, the median nerve that travels through the wrist becomes compressed, causing numbness in the arm, hand, and wrist. If carpal tunnel syndrome is to blame for your hand numbness, you’ll likely notice other symptoms as well, including:
- Weak grip
- Difficulty holding objects
- Frequently dropping objects
- Hand discomfort
Carpal tunnel syndrome is typically caused by repetitive movements of the hand and wrist, and if you have an existing case of carpal tunnel syndrome, you may notice your symptoms get worse when you’re doing certain activities like typing or writing. Next, we’ll take a look at another common cause of hand numbness: arthritis.
Arthritis and Hand Numbness
While the most common symptoms of arthritis are typically joint pain, in many cases, patients may also deal with hand or finger numbness as well. As joints develop arthritis, it is not uncommon for pressure to be applied to nearby nerves, causing hand numbness. Your arthritis doesn’t even have to be in your hands for you to experience hand numbness, as patients often get hand numbness from arthritis in the spine that can compress nerves that run to the hands and other extremities. If arthritis is causing hand numbness, our team at Macomb Pain Management can help you build an arthritis treatment plan that addresses all aspects of your arthritis symptoms, including hand numbness.
Peripheral Neuropathy and Hand Numbness
Peripheral neuropathy is the final common cause of hand numbness we’ll discuss. Peripheral neuropathy is the broad term for what happens when the body’s peripheral nerves become damaged, compressed, or irritated. This causes symptoms like pain and, of course, hand and finger numbness. There can be several different causes of peripheral neuropathy, with some of the more common causes including:
- Diabetes
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Injuries
- Underlying medical conditions
Treatment for hand numbness with peripheral neuropathy starts with identifying the root cause of your peripheral neuropathy and building a treatment plan centered around your symptoms and specific causes.
Find Answers and Relief From Hand Numbness at Macomb Pain Management.
Whether your hand numbness is caused by peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, or carpal tunnel syndrome, Macomb Pain Management’s team of board-certified pain management doctors is here to help. To get started receiving treatment for your hand numbness, give our team a call today at (248) 844-8281.
