I wake up with numbness in my left hand when I sleep at night

Waking up with numbness in the left hand is usually related to the sleeping position. Maintaining the same sleeping position for a long time will cause pressure on the left limbs and numbness. It may also be caused by cervical spondylosis leading to monolimb neuritis. If you have this symptom, you should go to the hospital for a check-up. If the cervical compression is not severe and there is no neuritis, you can improve your sleeping posture, which will gradually relieve the symptoms. Some patients may think that they do not put pressure on their left side when sleeping. In fact, sometimes they feel awake even though they have fallen asleep, so they do not know whether they have put pressure on their left hand. This article introduces several other possibilities, let’s take a look.

1. Compression of upper limb nerves: First, numbness and pain in the thumb, index and middle fingers, often with a history of waking up from numbness at night, which improves after waking up and moving around. In severe cases, there may be atrophy of the hand muscles, affecting the fine movements of the hand. This is because the median nerve is compressed in the wrist, the so-called "carpal tunnel syndrome"; the second is numbness and pain in the ring and little fingers, and there may also be a history of waking up from numbness at night. In severe cases, there is muscle atrophy and decreased flexion strength of the ring and little fingers, affecting fine movement. This is because the nerve becomes pinched at the elbow, a condition called "cubital tunnel syndrome."

2. Cervical spondylosis: The most common disease causing numbness in hands is cervical spondylosis, which is one of the common diseases among middle-aged and elderly people. When people enter middle age, some organs tend to undergo degenerative changes. When the cervical intervertebral disc degenerates, it often leads to cervical disc herniation or hyperplasia or hypertrophy of the articular processes. Once these protruding cervical discs or hyperplastic articular processes compress the adjacent cervical nerve roots, cervical spondylosis occurs. In addition to numbness and abnormal sensation in the fingers, cervical spondylosis is also accompanied by other symptoms, such as: soreness in the bones and muscles of the neck and shoulders, radiating pain in the upper limbs or movement disorders. It is not difficult to diagnose cervical spondylosis, all you need is an X-ray. There is also a simple method to check cervical spondylosis. One person supports the affected side of the head and holds the affected upper limb with one hand, abducting it 90°, and pushes and pulls in opposite directions with both hands at the same time. If there is radiating pain or numbness, it can be preliminarily diagnosed as cervical spondylosis.

3. Stroke: Another common disease that causes numbness in the hands is stroke. The book "Health Treasure Book: Stroke" once said: "Anyone who initially feels numbness or loss of function of the thumb or index finger will suffer a stroke within three years." It is necessary to prevent it: be careful in your daily life, eat in moderation, stay away from sex, and be emotionally relaxed. Although finger numbness does not necessarily lead to a stroke, middle-aged people over the age of 40 should pay more attention and be alert to the occurrence of stroke if they often experience symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, heavy head and light feet, limb numbness, and tongue swelling, and if they also have high blood pressure, high blood lipids, diabetes, cerebral arteriosclerosis and other diseases.

4. Menopausal syndrome: Women who enter menopause sometimes experience numbness in their hands, but it is not obvious. With the end of menopause, the numbness will disappear. In short, to confirm the symptoms of numbness in the hands, it is necessary to refer to auxiliary examinations such as cervical spine films and electromyography to make a clear conclusion. Once diagnosed, if the symptoms are still mild, they can be improved to varying degrees through regular non-surgical treatment. If the symptoms are obvious and there is obvious atrophy of the intrinsic muscles of the hand, surgical treatment should be taken in time to stop the progression of the disease, so as to avoid irreversible severe atrophy of the intrinsic muscles of the hand, leading to serious functional disorders of the hand.