Basically when I get up I feel I have to constantly ‘wring’ my hands. They feel very tight and sore. I’ve slept funnily on my arm before -you know wake up numb arm but both hands? It almost feels like (I imagine) arthritis would however the pain etc seems to be not bone but the tends etc etc around my fingers and hands.

(Similar feeling to dead mans hands/grip on the bike)

Ideas? How to change the way I sleep? Its getting worse and worse but throughout the day it improves again so its definitely ‘the bed’.

you need new forks

you need carbon handle bars 😉

would suggest circulation issues, but try your docs maybe?

father in law suffers from rheumatoid arthritis – similar symptoms to you. Go to see the quack.

Change your number of pillows. Look up deep neck flexor exercises – do them. Come back in a couple of days and post “that glupton1976 is a miracle worker.” 😉

My pillows are very very flat/old now. Maybe time for new ones.

rheumatoid arthritis

Before I do that I need to kick hora jnr out of my bed. He takes up most of the bed and I’m often left on the edge/laying on a wooden board (border) at times. I can understand pain in arms from this but not just hands. Thats why I ask the question.

Stop holding yourself so tight. 😉

Carpal tunnel?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_tunnel_syndrome

teamhurtmore

Possible bingo- due to limited space I’ve been curled up/hands curled when on my side with my arm(s) often under my side too.

Before I do that I need to kick hora jnr out of my bed

Ah ,fair enough, the co sleep thing. I had to get rid of Li’l J from our bed at 8 months ‘cos he buggered up my sleep pattern/took the whole bed. 🙂
Shitehawk.

Given that it’s both hands and sounds like it’s almost a glove like distribution – it’ll probably be your neck.

My neck is crazy stiff!

Are any of your fingers numb or is it your whole hand? Could be carpal, you do spend all day on a computer so could be due to repetitive movements.

Go to docs, get nerve conduction test and go from there. If it is carpal, go for the op and don’t bother with the injections. They just delay the op. My op took 4mins start to finish and then about 8-10 weeks off the bike.

I’d suggest neck/shoulders being the issue too.

On the bike do you lean on your wrists a lot? or roadie in a bad position?
Your Kids not doing you any favours either, fix that and your pillows and you should be fine.

Massage before Bed?

I’m not offering that by the way… 😆

My neck is crazy stiff!

You probably jut your chin forwards too.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVSG4azh67o[/video]

Stop riding in old bangers round Europe. :lol:Try Yoga.

Skippy whole hand(s).

SHEESH my neck crunches 😯

Massage before bed? Reminds me of the Live in the Apollo set that I watched last night 😆

Does sound a bit like carpal tunnel.

Your Gp should bend and bang on your hands, shrug their shoulders a bit, and say “it’s most likely carpal tunnel, try some wrist splints…”

DrP

Does this defo mean an operation?

Skiprat, how the frig did you pleasure yourself for THAT long?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEvY6PcEcIY[/video]

Try that. – if it makes it worse it’s probably carpal tunnel. If not it’s your neck (Did I say that I think it’s your neck?)

Glupton +1

My sister had identical symptoms which were diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. 2 painful ops later & absolutely no change she was referred to a third consultant who scanned her neck/upper back rather than the hands & spotted a problem with her alignment.

Some simple therapy and a few changes to sleeping/sitting/working habits & she’s seen a substantial improvement.

If I apply pressure when doing the above- yes painful in the same ways. When I do it normally, no. I’m going to go with neck. Its really stiff and crunches alarmingly. Will sort a pillow, do the exercises and try that avenue first. It may be denial but I’d prefer this first! Cheers

For the exercises try to build up to holding 10 reps for 10 seconds.

Have you thought about stopping lying on your hands for half an hour at a time before you rough up the prime suspect? It’d probably be ok if you just did it once…..

Sleep with 1 flat pillow, lift some weights to strengthen and realign your neck and shoulders to free up the nerves and blood flow. I had this for years until I lifted weights and ate a primal diet. Prior to that I had to do windmill impressions every morning. Good excuse to give my hubby a quick slap in the morning though 😉

Funnily enough I bought two massive pillows yesterday and theres no numbness in my hands but just pain in my two index fingers mid-night 😐

Hands tight but better this morning- feels like the inside of my index fingers are very tight though.

I also started doing the neck exercises yesterday pm- cheers 🙂

BTW- I had a rotor cuff a couple of years ago (still have trouble with it- cant hold a shopping basket in my right hand) and I had a face plant off the bike about a month ago.

Thanks guys- work in progress and going the right way

The Medi profession is absolutely clueless re “Carpal Tunnel” they continue to do unnecessary surgeries that don’t make a difference.

That’s because the cause of the problem is elsewhere.

I usually fix this in minutes with my clients.

Here is a clue to any docs or surgeons reading this… Follow the nerve complex up HIGHER. Check their posture and rattle your tiny brains to see if you can figure out where the nerves might be impinged higher up. Doh!

Answer is usually brachial plexus bundle under Pec Minor [it being one of the biggest compensators in the body] and Scalenes [nerves pass between Anterior and Medial Scalenes]

Neck restriction is almost certainly a given. Intertransversarii can lock the facets restricting movement and setting up a chain of compensation. Easy to release. But again you need to figure out why they are doing it [often a core imbalance – by core I mean muscles that attach to the spine, not the muscles your gym instructor or personal trainer thinks is the core!]

Very simple to improve things for clients.

Not so simple figuring out WHY you have ended up like this….that’s what I specialise in. Drop me a line if you want to book in an appointment. Worth travelling for.

P

P where are you based?

When its happened previously (woke up with numb prob due to sleeping awkwardly on it) I’ve found massaging hard around the ‘funny’ bone (oi binners) seems to send relief to the numbness straight away too.

Didn’t work this time/different.

I’m down south.

Repeat for dramatic effect – worth travelling for.

A moderately clued up physio may give you neck stretches. Problem with this approach is that the scalenes don’t like being stretched so usually rebound to protect themselves.

I wouldn’t recommend a physio [based purely on the horror stories I hear from my clients and I don’t think their level of training is high enough]

Some advanced massage therapists may have a clue, but again will stretch things without properly assessing things.

Who ever you say, ask them if they do assessments to figure out why things are as they are [in terms of structural compensation patterns]

Otherwise you are wasting your money.

Just my opinion 😉

“Does sound a bit like carpal tunnel.

Your Gp should bend and bang on your hands, shrug their shoulders a bit, and say “it’s most likely carpal tunnel, try some wrist splints…”

DrP

As I said… the medical profession is clueless! All they do is chase symptoms.

I know of a concert cellist who was recommended bilateral surgery by two surgeons. This is big business in the States as the op only takes a few minutes. Success rate is rubbish. I wonder why that would be…

Anyway, thankfully the cellist sought a second opinion from a noted bodyworker who sussed that the probem was cervical nerve impingement [ie higher up] not CT.

Said cellist subsequently told the surgeons what she thought of them 🙄

A moderately clued up physio may give you neck stretches.

A fully clued up one would give you strengthening exercises like the ones I have given you above and remove the cause by getting you to change your sleeping position… Your issues are coming from the nerve roots being compressed as they are leaving your spine.

There is nothing complex whatsoever in your case and you do not need to travel anywhere to be treated by a complimentary/alternative therapist.

As for physiotherapists not being highly trained enough – I have a 4 year honours degree during which I completed well over 1000 hours supervised practice and many other training courses. What does a bodyworker have?

wtf is a bodyworker?

there’s a book called ‘treat your own neck’ by Mackenzie that had loads of good stretches in it. he also does a back book – again great home therapy, which if used in consulatation/conjunction with a properly trained physio should have you sorted. George +1 😆

@Glupton

What specific muscles would you strengthen?
Why do they need strengthening.
If certain muscles present as inhibited, how did you test for that?
What other muscles are contributing to the the inhibition?
Is it an issue in the cerebellum?
If so how would you reprogram the brain to fix that?

As for the vid showing cervical retraction – ideally the client needs to assist to end range with maxilla pressure not mandible as that might contribute joint compression,to as that’s where the goodness happens. Just retracting isn’t enough.
What tests do you do for longs coli et al?
How might they be contributing to the possible forward head posture.

Would you release locked facets?

No offence dude but this is way beyond physio degree level.

You think I am a complimentary therapist! Ha!

Podium – what is your medical qualification ?

A moderately clued up physio might give you neck stretches was alluding to the fact that they would be wrong to do so. As hinted in my meanderings. As it’s a typical one size fits all “solution”

The biggest mistake therapists make is in assuming a short tight muscle is a facilitated one. Epic failure.

Please don’t tell me you have clients stretch their short tight psoas without doing a neural activation test first as Psoas is top candidate for the most inhibited muscle in the body. what happens when you stretch an inhibited muscle…

over and out.

Podium – what is your medical qualification ?

errr…..

over and out.

hmmmm 😆

I have no axe to grind, but you do seem to give a lot of specific medical advice, which is rare for a medical professional on the internet.

outstanding differentials the pair of you. if a fourth year medical student couldn’t do better than that, even with the history given, i’d slap them in the head.

and just in case anyone’s missing it, when i say outstanding i really, really don’t mean it

Carpal Tunnel or Neck. Or other stuff too…

Nowhere near enough info here for anyone to make a dogmatically certain diagnosis, and then trash others opinions and treatments. It must be good to be as certain as some STW therapists…