I'm a little concerned...

[nobozos]

Woke up yesterday morning, and my ring finger on my left hand was numb. Thought maybe I slept wrong on my arm, and that it would go away, but it hasn't. Right now, I have no sensation on the half of my fingertip closest to my middle finger. It's now been 24 hours like this with no improvement.

Has this happened to anyone else, and if so, can it be fixed?

 

[threeminutesboy]

sorry to hear that but there is nothing we can do here I'm afraid

go to the doctor, only a pro can makes the right diagnostic

 

[bonez]

cant be fixed im sorry so you better send all your MM guitars to me!

 

[patpark]

Woke up yesterday morning, and my ring finger on my left hand was numb. Thought maybe I slept wrong on my arm, and that it would go away, but it hasn't. Right now, I have no sensation on the half of my fingertip closest to my middle finger. It's now been 24 hours like this with no improvement.

Has this happened to anyone else, and if so, can it be fixed?

how is your health overall? any high blood pressure or circulation issues? I would see a doctor asap. could be something minor or could be your body telling you something is wrong. either way get to a doctor.

 

[ShorterOnVenus]

I experienced this myself on my middle finger left hand , but same thing half the tip was numb, I had held a plastic grocery bag with two 12 packs of soda with just this finger while holding a door open for a colleague for about 10-12 minutes while B.S.ing (not showing off just failing at multi-tasking), the finger started throbbing so I put the bag down and it was almost completely white-out white, and totally numb! I figured it was just asleep, but after a few hours the feeling hadn't returned to half the tip, I inquired with my family doctor, the problem was a partially severed nerve, it took about a month for the feeling to completely return. you might have just pinched, crushed a nerve, please see a professional and please post to let us know whats going on, hate to hear about a fellow knucklehead down, good luck!

 

[andynpeters]

BP says we shouldn't try to diagnose other peoples' guitar problems, never mind the medical ones.
I'm with the others, off you go & see someone who knows what they're talking about

 

[jcm900]

go to pro as soon as you can.

 

[bazxkr]

go to pro as soon as you can.

Now that is what I call good advice

Shame I'm broke

Cheers
Baz

 

[Spudmurphy]

if I was cruel I would say "Contact Customer Service" - but seriously get it checked out

 

[browndog]

Even if the symptoms go away, still see your doc.

I have serious issues with my hands and I never hesitate to see my doc when they flare up.

 

[metalmarty]

Here's advice from a pro: go see a doctor . Could be anything. Peripheral nerve issues tend to heal, but best go see a physician.

 

[mojomkr]

Go to the Doctor....good luck, Hope you feel better

 

[custom53]

how is your health overall? any high blood pressure or circulation issues? I would see a doctor asap. could be something minor or could be your body telling you something is wrong. either way get to a doctor.

It probably isn't anything but like stated above. Get checked...! Soon...!

 

[slofingers]

For sure, check with your Dr. You wouldn't want to rely on this, but you can do a search online and maybe find something that will relieve your anxieties some about it. It used to be when I was a golfer whenever I cut my hand the first thing I would do was simulate my golf grip to see how that was affected. Now that I am devoted to my guitar, I panic if it is my left hand. And I am only a bedroom player.

 

[straycat113]

Well as someone who has not been able to play for 30 months now due to severe damage that is going to require surgery the one thing I can tell you is to STOP playing totally until you go see a doctor.

Not to freak you out or cause you any stress but this is how my Cubital Tunnel Syndrome which affects the Ulnar Nerve in the elbow, and causes the pinkie and ring fingers to go numb started for me. But by just playing through it after waiting for the symptoms to cease over years has led me to where I am today.

The best thing I can tell you is to not pick up the guitar -which I know is hard- and go see a doctor who specializes in this field and they will do an electronic test that feels like they are using a tazer on you connected to a computer screen that will tell them everything.

It is great that you posted the minute you had issues, and believe me I know what I am talking about. I doubt very highly you have any severe issues but use your head and go about things correctly. Also -and this is for everyone- properly warm up your hands with stretching exercises before you play,also run them under warm water for a few minutes as this gets the blood flowing which I learned from Steve Morse lol and take a 10 minute break for every hour to 90 minutes of playing you do. Good luck and I believe you will be just fine.

 

[nobozos]

Thanks Stray, and everybody. I tend to think that it's a pinched nerve, since I've never had any problems with it before, and it's not unusual for me to wake up with an arm somewhat asleep (probably need a new mattress).

I did a little digging online, and it sounds like the culprit may be a pinched ulnar nerve in the elbow, just like stray was saying.

As of 6:00pm tonight, the fingertip is still somewhat numb, although at certian times during the day, it did feel like I was regaining feeling in it.

If it is not any better Monday, I will make an appointment to go see the doctor. I'm assuming my first doctor visit will do me absolutely no good, and will consist of, "Yeah, I really don't know what's wrong with you, so I'm going to refer you to a specialist. That'll be $400.00"

I'll keep you updated.

 

[Smellybum]

I dropped a laptop and tried to catch it with my ring finger 2 weeks ago - since then had the same symptoms, my physio has told me to put ice packs on it - had improved immensly - worth a shot?

 

[nobozos]

Update 10/3/10.

There does seem to be some improvement. I have regained feeling in all but the very tip of my finger under my calus. Still feels a little weird, but I'm now confident that it will take care of itself. I think I'll probably skip the doctor visit for now. If it's not totally better by Friday, I'll go to the Doc.

My overall health in general is pretty good, so I'm not too worried now that it seems to be improving. Thanks to all you guys for your positive vibes.

 

[edhalen]

Glad you're doing better.

 

[ShorterOnVenus]

good to hear.