What causes numbness in my left arm?

People who often feel numbness in their left arm must be vigilant, because it may be a precursor to a stroke, especially for some middle-aged and elderly people. If they feel numbness in their arms, lips or tongue for a long time, they must seek medical attention as soon as possible.

1. Signs of stroke

Sudden numbness in the limbs or half of the face, or numbness in the tongue, lips, or one side of the upper and lower limbs; slow movements, sudden unclear speech or inability to understand what others are saying; crooked corners of the mouth, drooling, dizziness or unsteady standing, or even fainting; drowsiness and unexplained headaches, etc. This is a precursor to a stroke. If you encounter the above situation, you should immediately let the patient lie down quietly with his head tilted to one side. Do not disturb or move the patient, and ask a doctor to see him as soon as possible.

2. Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people, especially women. When an attack occurs, it manifests as numbness and pain in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger. This is due to excessive wrist movement, which causes the carpal tunnel surrounding the wrist tendons and nerves to become narrow. If the median nerve that controls the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger is compressed, numbness and pain in the fingers may occur, and the person often wakes up at night due to the numbness and pain. Some people also experience weakness in their thumbs and index fingers, making it difficult for them to grasp objects.

People with carpal tunnel syndrome can perform functional exercises under the guidance of a doctor, and local blockade treatment is more effective. If the compression symptoms are severe, surgery can be performed to relieve them. The prevention method is to relax the wrist after working with the hand and wrist for a period of time, and do some appropriate inside and outside, left and right, and up and down movements to promote local blood circulation and prevent the accumulation of inflammatory substances that lead to carpal tunnel stenosis.

3. Intraspinal space-occupying lesions

Some extramedullary cervical tumors may cause numbness and weakness in the fingers and palms on one side in the early stages. If the tumor is in the thoracic and lumbar regions, it may cause numbness in the toes, dorsum of the foot, etc. on one side, as if the foot is stepping on cotton, and the numbness may extend upward, with decreased pain sensation. Resonance examination can be used for diagnosis.

If your symptoms occur frequently and you are middle-aged or older, you need to further investigate the cause.

4. Is numbness in the hands necessarily caused by cervical spondylosis?

Radiculopathy of the cervical spondylosis type often causes numbness or radiating pain in the fingers, so that some patients and even doctors mistakenly equate numbness and pain in the hands with cervical spondylosis. This is not correct because many diseases can cause numbness in the hands. X-ray examinations also confirmed that the cervical spine in these patients with hand numbness was normal. Therefore, if you experience numbness or pain in the fingers below the wrist, or if you are unable to make a fist, you should go to the hospital for treatment. The doctor should carefully check whether there are other diseases that cause numbness in the hands, such as: