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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Re: tingling and pain in arms
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Re: tingling and pain in arms
by John-Parlberg, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By John Paarlberg on June 08, 1999 at 09:19:58
For the past few months I have been experiencing pain and a tingling sensation in both arms and hands (especially the thumb, index and middle fingers), mostly at night. Sometimes I am awakened by the pain and need to move my arms to relieve the symptoms. I have also recently begun to experience involuntary twitching in my arms and legs when I am lying in bed and about to go to sleep. I rarely have any symptoms during the day, except for occasional numbness in my arms while driving. What might be causing these symptoms?
For the past few months I have been experiencing pain and a tingling sensation in both arms and hands (especially the thumb, index and middle fingers), mostly at night. Sometimes I am awakened by the pain and need to move my arms to relieve the symptoms. I have also recently begun to experience involuntary twitching in my arms and legs when I am lying in bed and about to go to sleep. I rarely have any symptoms during the day, except for occasional numbness in my arms while driving. What might be causing these symptoms?
The two most likely sites for the problem are the neck and the wrists.
In the neck, nerve roots come out either side of the cervical spine, leaving the spinal cord on their way to go through a "freeway interchange" called the brachial plexus, and then become actual nerves which distribute to different regions of the shoulder, upper arm, forearm, and hand.
In many people, various mechanical factors compress the nerve roots and cause pain and/or numbness to radiate to different regions of the upper extremity. These mechanical factors are usually related to wear and tear - for example, debris from discs that have lost their natural springiness and firmness.
In the wrist, the median nerve goes under a bundle of connective tissue called the carpal tunnel. If that happens to get inflamed or somehow narrowed, the mechanical compression of the nerve causes symptoms of pain, numbness, etc, in a specific distribution in the hand. As you may have guessed, this is called carpal tunnel syndrome.
I can't make a specific diagnosis here - it would be appropriate to see a neurologist, who can perform a physical exam as well as take a careful history from you. Tests which can nail this down include MRI of the cervical spine and EMG / nerve conduction study of the hands. That doesn't mean you would get either or both of these tests, but it should help you figure out what to expect.
I hope this helps. CCF MD mdf.
Follow Ups:
tingling and pain in arms KT 6/13/1999
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Re: tingling and pain in arms RC 7/12/1999
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tingling and pain in arms CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS 7/13/1999
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