I ran a 5 mi race on saturday that was fairly cold. During the race, my hands went completely numb within the first 10 minutes and stayed that way for the rest of the race (35 min). Towards the end of the run, I noticed that if I dropped my hands down to waist level or lower, I got a strange tingle in my hands, which I attributed to a sudden rush in circulation.
It’s now been 3 days and my left still feels different. It’s not completely numb, but it feels half asleep and stiff, especially when I flex it. That feeling extends partially into my hand and somewhat up my forearm. If I extend my arm to full lock, I still get a little of that tingle. I’ve also noticed that my entire left hand (especially my thumb) has lowered temperature sensitivity.
I remember reading about a (mostly) harmless circulatory issue caused by exposure to cold that causes this sort of thing. For those that know what I’m talking about, do these symptoms fit? Does this sound like something I should have checked out?
The only thing i’ve had is with the nerve in my elbows. My elbows are kind of funky and when I was working 10+ hours a day on the computer, resting my elbows on the desk or armrests would aggravate them, but that would usually just make that region of my elbows tender. A few years ago, I did keep managing to hit that part of my left elbow into the hand rail of a ladder which would send my entire arm through burning, cold, tingling fits that would last 10 to 20 minutes. Even then, though, I wouldn’t feel effects lasting this long.
Thanks for your concern Tom, but no I don’t have a headache or any of the other associated symptoms.
Although compared to this morning it seems to have gotten worse. I can feel it stronger in the knuckle of my thumb and now into my index finger and wrist.
I think I’ll take a few Naproxin tonight to try and rule out inflamation
Hmmm. Well, I am certainly not qualified to dispense advice here, but the standard advice in these matters applies if it doesn’t get any better: Head over to the doctor.
Hopefully it is nothing serious and reduction in inflammation will enable it to pass.
Best of luck My Friend, I hope you feel better quickly.
It’s important to identify if your symptoms are bilateral, and include the whole hand or distributed to specific digits. You also mention that you are having tingling up your forearm. You should seek a consultation with a Hand Surgeon, and also have you neck looked at. The nerves to the hand originate in the neck. A problem in the neck can lead to your symptoms.
If this was a circulatory problem your symptoms should have resolved with rest, but without a examination it’s hard to say.
I can feel the symptoms in my whole hand and forearm, but they are concentrated in my thumb, index finger and wrist (especially the thumb side).
Sunday, I woke up to find my shoulders and back feeling like I had just swam 5 IM swims back to back completely out of nowhere, but I’m not sure if that is related or not.
I think I’ll see how it feels in the morning and probably make a dr’s appt.
Just curious if you were wearing a long sleeve shirt that restricted bloodflow to your lower arms.
Sometimes that happens to me while wearing 2 long sleeve shirts. I haven’t had the issue last as long as yours though, I return to normal after adjusting the shirts.