Ekaterina Ruchkina March 23, 2016
Loss of sensation in the fingers may simply be caused by an uncomfortable posture. But this same symptom also accompanies many dangerous conditions. How to understand that numbness is caused by a disease and you need to urgently go to the doctor? – We’ll tell you in our review.
To understand more clearly why fingers go numb quite often and for completely different reasons, let's take a look at their anatomy. It’s not for nothing that the arms and legs are called “limbs” - they are truly the “far edge” of our body.
Fingers (especially fingers) are our “manipulators” and “researchers”; they are the first to come into contact with the environment and are more often susceptible to various aggressive influences (injuries, chemical and thermal burns, and so on).
At the same time, these are the parts of the body farthest from the centers of the nervous system and heart. Blood and nerve impulses come here, overcoming maximum resistance. Therefore, the tissues of the fingers (especially the toes) are the most vulnerable in terms of nutrition and innervation.
There is one more feature that distinguishes the functional state of the upper and lower extremities of a modern city dweller. Fingers are often maximally loaded and even overloaded - working on the keyboard, controlling gadgets, driving a car, and so on. Practically, any of our activities involves the active use of a brush (especially a leading one).
In this case, the toes of a person walking in shoes, on the contrary, are not involved at all. They make minimal movement. Although the foot, especially when walking in uncomfortable shoes, is subject to overload.
The conditions in which numbness occurs can be divided into two large groups:
The path of the impulse from the nerve ending at the tip of the finger to the large centers of the nervous system is very long. And if somewhere at this distance the nerve is compressed, then sensitivity will decrease or disappear altogether. Such “obstacles” may arise as a result of:
For example, tunnel syndrome is now very common, when the nerves of the arm are compressed by constantly spasming muscles. It develops when the body is positioned incorrectly when working at a computer. Another common cause is osteochondrosis.
A separate group of reasons are disorders of the nervous tissue itself, its ability to conduct impulses. Several diseases can be listed here:
We have already mentioned that the problems of blood supply to the extremities are due to their anatomy. The heart needs to expend a lot of force to “pump” arterial blood. Moreover, the vessels in the fingers gradually become thinner and branch into a network of capillaries. Through them, blood flows directly to the tissues (including the nervous tissue), bringing nutrients and carrying away metabolic products.
With the return of venous blood to the heart, the situation is even more complicated. This movement has no additional “motor”. Blood moves due to the tension of the venous walls. It is clear that the ascending path to the heart from the feet is especially difficult.
Our fingers are constantly moving, we raise and lower them, this stimulates the inflow and outflow of blood. But toes that remain motionless do not at all contribute to intensive metabolism in the tissues.
It is clear that any factor that worsens blood circulation and especially microcirculation will quickly manifest itself in numbness of the fingers or toes. These may be diseases that lead to fragility of capillary walls:
In principle, with any pathologies of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, or endocrine disorders, blood circulation in the extremities is at risk. With age, the condition of blood vessels does not improve. In young people, the elasticity of capillaries can be negatively affected by a lack of vitamins C or PP in the diet.
If your arm or leg is simply “numb,” this can be easily corrected by making a few vigorous movements and rubbing the limb. And we always understand what reason caused this condition: cold, long absence of movement, and so on.
But if you experience numbness regularly and cannot always associate it with a natural cause, this is a cause for concern. If you have diseases of the heart, kidneys, metabolism, or nervous tissue, you must always pay attention to the loss of tissue sensitivity and immediately report this to your doctor.
Remember that numbness in your fingers or toes may be the first symptom of a serious health problem. If you treat it with due attention and, together with specialists, establish the cause, you will be able to start treating the pathology at an early stage.
Naturally, it is not the loss of sensitivity itself that will have to be treated, but the disease that caused it. And here an accurate diagnosis is very important. Since in some conditions it is indicated, for example, artificially increasing blood circulation in tissues (rubbing, using irritating ointments, warming procedures, and so on). For others, it is useless. And there are diseases in which such manipulations are harmful due to increased fragility of blood vessels.
Prevention plays an important role here. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, spend a lot of time sitting, especially at the computer, do not watch your diet, have bad habits - you will, a little sooner or a little later, definitely develop pathologies of the cardiovascular system and microcirculation disorders.
As usual, healers offer to fight the investigation. After all, the reasons for the numbness are unknown to them. You can find many recipes for rubbing, compresses, wraps, and baths.
For example, it is suggested to coat a numb limb with honey, wrap it in film and leave it overnight.
Or steam your feet in a bowl of rosemary infusion.
Original method: heat cereals or seeds in a frying pan and finger them.
However, knowing how different and serious the causes of numbness in the limbs can be, we do not advise you to engage in such dubious self-medication.