Cramping fingers: the main reason and what to do

Diseases of the circulatory system

In most cases, the cause of cramped fingers is diseases of the cardiovascular system. Most often, this phenomenon occurs due to myocardial infarction or angina pectoris.

. You can recognize numbness and cramping against the background of heart defects by the fact that much more unpleasant sensations are localized in the left hand. In most cases, fingers begin to cramp at night or in the morning.

You can also determine this reason for the information by the extent of unpleasant sensations: from ailments of the cardiovascular system

The little fingers and ring fingers are most affected. These are where the blood vessels that go directly to the heart are located.

Typically, attacks of this nature are accompanied by shortness of breath, chest pain, blue lips and cold extremities.

If you experience such attacks on a regular basis, it is necessary to conduct a full diagnosis.

A nitroglycerin tablet will help get rid of such unpleasant manifestations. After just a few minutes, a person can return to their usual way of life. If this condition recurs regularly and becomes more serious each time, you should consult a doctor. He will send you for an ECG, which will help determine if you have a silent heart attack.

Preventing numbness in the hands

In order to prevent discomfort in the upper extremities, it is recommended:

• exercise regularly (discuss the type and nature of exercise with your doctor in advance);
• maintain the health of blood vessels, joints and the body as a whole (give up bad habits, eat rationally);
• dress according to the season, keep your hands warm;
• take breaks every 40 minutes if your profession involves working on a PC or performing monotonous hand movements.

Pathologies of the nervous system

Lesions of the nervous system negatively affect a person’s motor activity. Due to damage to nerve fibers, attacks of numbness or cramping may occur. If you ignore this problem for a long time, there is a high risk of developing serious complications: during attacks, not only your fingers will cramp, but your entire arm.

Due to disorders in the nervous system, a person may experience such unpleasant sensations for the following reasons:

• Pinching of the median nerve
  , which is responsible for the sensitivity of the fingertips. This usually occurs due to mixing of the forearm muscles. This disorder is formed against the background of prolonged overload of the hand with work.
• Osteochondrosis or intervertebral hernia
  . With such diseases, the roots of the spinal nerves of the cervical vertebrae between the 5th and 6th sections are pinched. If the reduction is caused by such a reason, then it appears only on one side - the one where the pathological focus is located.
• Staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time
  - a person may experience attacks of cramping due to compression of the nerve roots.

Most often, attacks of cramped fingers occur in people who spend a lot of time doing work that involves manipulating their hands. Typically, this affects monotonous workers: writers, seamstresses, computer scientists and others.

. In most cases, due to diseases of the nervous system, the middle, ring, index or thumb are cramped. On the rest, lesions rarely appear, since they are least involved in work.

Diagnosis of the causes of hand numbness. How to identify?

At the appointment, the doctor examines and palpates the patient’s limb and asks the following questions:

• Where exactly is the numbness felt?
• When did the unpleasant tingling sensation and decreased sensitivity first appear?
• How long does numbness in a limb bother you?
• What actions and movements aggravate symptoms?
• Are there any other complaints, such as burning, itching, tingling, pain?
• How do your arms, hands, and fingers feel—cold or warm?

The main task of the doctor is to determine the causes of hand numbness. It is necessary to exclude systematic mechanical compression of blood vessels, as well as to determine household and industrial factors that could cause disturbances.

Numbness may be a harmless symptom, but it may also hide serious problems - myocardial ischemia, stroke, spinal problems, diabetes mellitus, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, etc. In this case, the doctor issues a referral to doctors of relevant specializations (cardiologist, endocrinologist, neuropathologist, etc.).

The main emphasis in identifying the causes of numbness is on detecting signs of osteochondrosis. For this, the patient is referred for magnetic resonance imaging, radiography, computed tomography, and electromyography. The purpose of imaging studies for arm numbness is to determine the height of the intervertebral disc, detect osteophytes, and clarify the presence of protrusion or intervertebral herniation.

Metabolic disorders

Metabolic disorders can provoke cramping of the fingers. Most often, the cause of this phenomenon is a deficiency of nutrients. Therefore, such attacks usually occur in the autumn or spring, when the risk of developing hypovitaminosis is extremely high.

This nature of the disease can be recognized by the fact that numbness affects both the right and left hands to the same extent. Finger cramping caused by disturbances in the endocrine system can occur due to:

• Lack of vitamins A, B or E
  - a person who does not eat fresh vegetables or fruits for a long time and does not compensate for the deficiency of essential elements with vitamin complexes begins to feel cramps in the fingers. Also for this reason, the skin begins to dry and peel.
• Formation of atherosclerotic plaques
  . They are formed due to improper and unbalanced nutrition, which leads to an increase in the level of bad cholesterol. It is this substance that is deposited on the walls of blood vessels, preventing the normal outflow of blood.
• Lack of calcium and potassium
  , which are responsible for conducting nerve impulses along fibers. Most often, this phenomenon occurs in pregnant women and is accompanied by severe swelling.

Curls your thumbs

Many people often experience a condition where their fingers begin to constantly cramp. However, some still do not pay due attention to this phenomenon. But it can be caused by the following reasons:

• pathological disorders in the spinal column or degenerative-dystrophic processes in the cervical spine;
• excessive physical activity, which strains the muscles of the spine;
• prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position, which pinches the nerve trunks;
• severe emotional stress or stress;
• the appearance of ischemia in the brain or areas of the cervical spine;
• disturbances in the outflow of blood from the extremities;
• hypothermia;
• alcohol or food poisoning.

If such a problem occurs, we strongly recommend drinking a vitamin complex that contains magnesium, calcium and potassium. It is these elements that are responsible for the conduction of nerve impulses along the fibers. With the help of such drug therapy, it is possible to get rid of cramping of the fingers. If this method of treatment does not bring any results, you should consult a doctor for detailed information.

First aid for hand cramps

You need to try to unclench your fingers and rub them.
If your fingers suddenly cramp and they hurt, you need to help yourself with your other hand, forcibly unclenching your fingers . Then you can perform intense rubbing directed towards the fingertips, and then in the opposite direction. This forces blood into the hands.

If seizures occur regularly against the background of a primary disease, it is necessary to consult a doctor and review the treatment regimen. The dosage of medications may need to be changed.

Immediately after a cramp, you need to make several active movements with your arms - swings, jerks . It is important to restore blood circulation in muscle tissue. You can drink water to eliminate dehydration, especially if you had a heavy dinner.

Why do fingers cramp during pregnancy?

If your fingers or hands often go numb during pregnancy, it means you have a chronic disease that worsened when you “got into the position.” This is due to the fact that all metabolic processes have accelerated, and therefore diseases that previously did not manifest themselves begin to bother you. When your hands go numb in the fingers or hands, the following sores may be to blame:

• diabetes mellitus of any type;
• arthrosis of any part of the spine;
• osteochondrosis, as well as a number of other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Perhaps your finger cramps at night if you don't sleep properly. You can, without noticing it, crush your own hand, which will lead to poor blood circulation and numbness. It may be that you are hugging your husband in bed and he is pressing on one of your limbs, causing you to wake up with discomfort.

We hasten to reassure you right away: in most cases, numbness of the hands during pregnancy is not associated with diseases.

According to gynecologists, many pregnant women complain that their hands go numb. The so-called tunnel syndrome, which is also called an occupational disease of computer scientists, is to blame. This disorder develops as a result of regular stress on tendons, joints and muscles, for example, after prolonged work with a computer mouse.

The mechanism of muscle contraction is quite complex; different ions (charged particles) take part in it: potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium. If we are talking about a cramp, that is, a condition when we cannot relax a muscle, then magnesium ions play a leading role. It is their deficiency that leads to women having cramps in their calves during pregnancy at night. The lack of minerals in the body of the expectant mother can be explained simply: the restructuring of metabolism and functioning in the “double load” mode have such consequences.

In particular, the expectant mother needs one and a half times more magnesium than usual.

In addition to helping muscles relax, magnesium is involved in a number of important physiological processes. In particular, magnesium is needed to regulate the processes of formation and expenditure of energy; it is involved in several hundred enzymatic reactions, and if there is little magnesium, then disturbances can occur in the functioning of almost any system of the body. Therefore, if magnesium supplements are prescribed during pregnancy, this recommendation should not be ignored.

Principles of treatment

In most cases, a person complains not only that his fingers are cramping - he also notices regular sensations of numbness, tingling or even burning. Typically, this condition only indicates compression of the nerve endings; only in rare cases does it become a symptom of a serious illness.

To get rid of this unpleasant feeling, doctors recommend the following types of therapy:

• Drug treatment
  - vitamin complexes and drugs are prescribed to reduce pain, inflammation, swelling or to remove waste and toxins from the body.
• Taking chondroprotectors
  that affect the trophism of the innervated zone.
• Manual therapy - influencing the muscles helps to quickly get rid of spasm and swelling in the damaged area and restore normal movement.
• Physiotherapy
  - ultrasound, magnetotherapy and laser treatment restore blood circulation in the extremities.
• Therapeutic gymnastics
  - due to rhythmic muscle contractions, it is possible to restore the normal functioning of nerve fibers in the hands. You need to do exercises every day.
• Alternative medicine
  - vacuum exposure, hirudotherapy or acupuncture help to quickly and permanently get rid of cramped fingers.

If you cannot get rid of this condition for a long time, you should consult a doctor. Perhaps your body is communicating a more serious problem in this way. An experienced specialist will send you for a comprehensive diagnosis, which will help identify the cause and what to do if your fingers cramp.

Diagnostic methods

If the cause of the seizures is unknown, you should consult a therapist.
You can first visit a therapist , describe your problem, as well as the events that preceded the onset of symptoms.

Based on the available data, the therapist can refer the person for consultation :

• to an endocrinologist;
• neurologist;
• gynecologist;
• phlebologist;
• gastroenterologist;
• oncologist.

Diagnostic methods used in this case are ultrasound, MRI, laboratory blood and urine tests, gastroscopy.

MRI of the hand

Effective physiotherapy

There is no general principle of drug treatment for finger cramps.

. In each individual case, it is necessary to determine the cause of this condition and comprehensively influence it.

It is better to leave the choice of one or another type of physiological procedure to the attending physician - he will be able to choose the best option.

However, a variety of physiotherapeutic procedures will help alleviate this problem. They have virtually no contraindications or side effects. With their help, it is possible to restore damaged nerve fibers and improve blood circulation.

The most popular methods of exposure are the following procedures:

Treatment with folk remedies

If cramps in the fingers or toes are caused by numbness in the limb, then this condition does not require special treatment. To get rid of unpleasant sensations, it is enough to regularly carry out a simple set of physical therapy. To reduce pain, you can use the following recipes:

• Boil 50 grams of ground black pepper in 0.5 liters of vegetable oil. When the product has cooled, pour it into a container and apply it regularly to your fingers.
• Apply pumpkin pulp to your fingers and wrap it in cellophane to enhance the effect. After 20 minutes, the compress can be removed.
• Mix alcohol tincture of cinquefoil, wormwood and nettle in a 1/2/2 ratio. If you feel your fingers tightening, rub your skin with this product.

Remember that traditional medicine treatment methods cannot guarantee an accurate result.

Before using traditional medicine, we strongly recommend that you consult with a specialist. People with hypersensitivity to plant components should use such products especially carefully.

Preventing seizures

Sudden cramps of the limbs in most cases occur in the spring, when the body has used up all its vitamin reserves. Many vitamins do not accumulate; a constant supply of these substances is required. If painful nighttime finger cramps begin, the first thing you need to do is improve your diet.

The second important factor is movement. In order for blood to circulate well, you need to walk at least 1 km daily. It is also beneficial for the immune system, as lymph can only move when it moves.

The third factor is not to start treatment of existing diseases , so that secondary symptoms in the form of seizures do not appear.