What causes numbness in the thumb?

Our human body is a sophisticated machine, and every organ is interconnected. For example, if your liver fire is too strong, you may have symptoms such as getting angry and nosebleeds. If your kidney essence is insufficient, you may have symptoms such as split hair, dry skin, and back pain. These are all part of our body language, and some people also have symptoms of numbness in their fingers and thumbs. Many people do not take it seriously, but this is not correct. Thumb numbness may be caused by stroke, cervical spondylosis or neurological disease, etc., and people should pay attention to it to prevent more serious phenomena. Here are some reasons why your thumb may go numb.

Finger numbness may be an independent disease caused by damage to the motor nerves of the limbs. It is mostly caused by hemiplegia caused by stroke, diabetes, neuritis, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, etc. The tiny blood vessels around the motor nerve fibers are blocked, compressing the motor fibers, causing serious damage to the motor nerve fibers, and the conduction ability and conduction speed of the nerves decrease, resulting in numbness of the hands and feet. In severe cases, it may develop into painful symptoms such as limb paralysis and muscle atrophy.

There are many reasons for numbness in fingers, which may be related to the following causes:

1. Cervical spondylosis

Cervical spondylosis is one of the most common diseases that causes finger numbness, and it is one of the common diseases among middle-aged and elderly people. When people enter middle age, some organs tend to undergo degenerative changes. Due to cervical bone hyperplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration or relaxation of local joint ligaments, the local blood vessels and nerve tissues of the cervical spine are compressed. When the cervical 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. The symptoms vary, and numbness in the hands is one of them. 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. Cervical spine X-rays can be used for diagnosis, and treatment measures include physical therapy, traction, and the use of blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs. In normal times, you can do some slow neck exercises, and pay attention to the appropriate height of the pillow when sleeping. Generally, 7 to 9 cm high is appropriate, not too high or too low, and the hardness should be moderate. You should also have a correct sleeping posture. The correct sleeping posture can also avoid compression of local blood vessels and nerve tissues in the cervical spine, which may cause numbness in the hands. There is also a simple method to check for cervical spondylosis. One person holds the affected side of the head, holds the affected upper limb with one hand, abducts it 90 degrees, 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.

2 Upper limb nerve compression

One is numbness and pain in the thumb, index and middle fingers, which often cause waking up at night and improve 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."

3. Transient cerebral ischemia

This is a common cause of numbness in the fingers. The elderly often suffer from high blood lipids and high blood pressure. High blood lipids can cause vascular sclerosis, and high blood pressure can cause vascular spasm. In addition, the blood viscosity of the elderly increases and blood flow is slow during sleep. These factors can lead to transient cerebral ischemia and numbness of the hands. Therefore, the elderly should check their blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood rheology tests regularly. If they have high blood lipids or high blood pressure, they should receive treatment. Drink more water and take some medicine to reduce blood viscosity, prevent thrombosis, improve blood supply to the brain, and the numbness in your hands will disappear.

4. Stroke

Another common disease that causes numbness in the hands is stroke. "The Stroke Chapter" of the Health Treasure Book 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 who often experience symptoms such as heavy head and light feet, headaches, dizziness, limb numbness, and tongue swelling, and who also have high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cerebral arteriosclerosis and other diseases, should pay more attention and be alert to the occurrence of stroke.

5. Diabetes

Diabetes can cause many complications, one of which is diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Once this complication occurs, there will be symptoms such as numbness and abnormal sensation in the limbs. If you suffer from diabetes, you must receive regular and reasonable treatment, control your blood sugar to a normal range, and pay attention to supplementing vitamins B1, B6, and vitamin C. You can also use ginkgo leaf preparations, ligustrazine and other drugs to eliminate numbness in your limbs.

6 Menopausal syndrome

Women who enter menopause sometimes experience numbness in their hands, but it is not obvious and will disappear as menopause ends.

7. Peripheral neuritis

If the digestion and absorption function is poor and malnutrition is caused for a long time, it will cause vitamin B1 deficiency and peripheral neuritis, which will also cause numbness in the hands. At this time, just pay attention to increasing some nutrition and supplement more vitamin B1.

8Compression of the brachial nerve

If you have an incorrect sleeping posture, your arms are compressed or your neck is tilted, your hands may become numb due to compression of the brachial nerves. In this case, you can simply change your sleeping posture and move your arms to eliminate the numbness.

9. Overdose

Overdose of certain drugs, such as gentamicin, can cause side effects such as numbness in the lips and limbs, so be careful to avoid overdose.