Hand going numb

[rubydubyr]

Hopefully it isn't carpal tunnel syndrome, but just the way I've been clutching the mandolin...... I shall practice on less of a death grip (after all, the darn thing doesn't have legs and isn't gonna jump up and run off.....)

[allenhopkins]

Something in your playing position (and your cycling hand position) may be constricting nerve(s) in the wrist or forearm. Where does the numbness occur -- some fingers, all fingers, palm, thumb?

I have had numbness (that never goes away) on the little-finger side of my palm, since a Sept. 2013 car accident that fractured both bones in my wrist. As part of the orthopedic surgeries to set and pin, and subsequently unpin, the broken wrist, I also had carpal tunnel surgery, since my surgeon said there's generally bleeding into the tunnel as part of the surgery. This usually causes subsequent carpal tunnel problems, so freeing the nerve from the tunnel was preventive of later surgery.

You can get a nerve conductivity test of the hand and arm, if you're experiencing other than "situational" numbness. It's one of the most unpleasant tests I've ever had -- like being tasered on your arm a dozen or more times -- but it does determine if the arm's nerves are functioning properly.

Situational numbness can occur when nerves are compressed for a period of time, such as when you sleep on one arm and wake up to find it numb. Your hand/wrist position during playing may be doing this. And you may be on to something, thinking that partially supporting the mandolin neck with your left hand contributes to the problem.

In your shoes, I'd experiment with other playing positions -- holding the neck nearly vertically, raising the instrument up on your chest, "pushing" the neck away from you so that the mandolin's at an angle to the plane of your body, etc. See if you can isolate the part of your playing stance that's compressing one of the nerves, most likely around the wrist joint. The fact that you can "shake out" the numbness argues for a situational explanation, rather than a more wholistic one related to low blood pressure or carpal tunnel syndrome.

Good luck! Keep us posted...

[bennyb]

Howdy ruby,
To add to your list of things to look at. If you're using medium gauge strings, switch to lights at your next string change - that makes a lot of difference in ease of playing. Your mando won't sound quite as good, but your hands will thank you.

"Action" was mentioned upthread. Action at the nut is more important to a beginner than action up the neck. To change it requires luthier or tech skills and tools. Here is Frank Ford's page on checking action at the nut.

I ride a ten speed with cruiser bars and bars ends(with pipe insulation) just so my hands don't have to pay the price.

One other thing, although instructors usually say something like "just try to get each note to sound clearly" (certainly good advice), try to see how little pressure is actually necessary to get that good note.

Just one more, there's lot of little "pains" that accompany learning to play a fretted instrument, most of them go away as your hands get stronger and more accustomed to playing.

Good luck, benny

[charanjeet]

Hi All, Sorry for going off topic. I would like to know from where can I find good quality Cittern in London and what price.

[rubydubyr]

Thankyou all! I believe I am past it, or the worst of it. I practiced Christmas carols quite a while with my daughter Christmas eve and Christmas and did not have a numbness issue. I've been working at relaxing my hand, taking a short minute or 2 break, and also have a shoulder strap so I'm not trying to play and hold onto the mandolin at the same time. Only issue to longer practice times now is a bit of dissociation where the mind takes off on flights of fancy on songs I've come to know a bit better. Working on that issue now.

[mikeyes]

I'm surprised that no one has suggested your seeing a hand specialist as there can be a number of medical/mechanical issues causing your set of problems. This could be anything from mechanical nerve damage to bone anomalies to tumors; it could even be the result of a spider bite but you don't really know right now.

Cycling is notorious for causing ulnar nerve compression (tingling in the ring and little finger) whereas carpal tunnel syndrome can cause medial nerve problems with tingling, pain and even anesthesia in from the thumb to the middle of the ring finger. It is also possible that you have nerve compression at the cervical outlet or somewhere in between.

The problem is that all of these issues may be serious and the treatment may be less effective the longer you wait.
Rather than having well meaning non-professionals give you advice that may or may not be helpful (or may or may not be detrimental), you should consider seeing a specialist in hand injuries (or if possible a sports medicine/performance specialist who sees musicians and cyclists) to find out what is going on.

Mike Keyes

[Randi Gormley]

charanjeet -- you might want to post this over at the CBOM section.

[Paul Statman]

From what I've read here, it sounds like this could well be a neck issue. If a vertebra is pushing on a nerve, or the nerve is pinched between two vertebrae, symptoms like yours are exactly what can appear. Tingling, aching (or pain) from the neck and/or scapula down the arm to the hand is also common. If the numbness goes to specific fingers, it is possible to figure out which vertebrae are responsible.
I would visit a DNFT (no force chiropractor). Far superior to 'traditional' chiropractic treatment, their approach does not involve joint 'cracking', and their work methods can be found online should you wish to investigate this further. Either way, I am sure everyone else reading this thread feels for you, and hopes you emerge victorious after conquering this obstacle!

[metrognome]

My hand has never gone numb, but it has cramped up before when I've let it get weak. Then again, your hand is adapting to new stresses and we can all experience different things during an adaptation period. If it doesn't start improving quickly, I'd see a doctor (my $.02!).

[Pasha Alden]

I am not sure how you are holding your mandolin. My hand used to do that for a little while. Try and concentrate that your hand is in the correct position. Also find my nails simply have to be short as long nails somehow forces the hand in an unnatural position for mandolin.

[Pasha Alden]

Hi again, I wish you good fortune with the hand. Hope one of the solutions given here will at least assist and that you will soon have a well adapted hand for playing.

Best with that.

Pasha alden

[rubydubyr]

Thankyou Pasha, so far, my hand has not gone numb again, but I've not been trying to practice for very long either. Just doing short bursts.

[Tom M]

Ruby, does the numbness affect certain fingers? For instance if it affects the thumb, index, middle and half of the ring finger it's compression of the median nerve and is classic carpal tunnel syndrome, particularly if it wakes you up at night.

If it affects your pinky and 1/2 of your ring finger it's likely thoracic outlet syndrome and the ulnar nerve is compressed. Let me know and I can offer some tips that might helpl

Tom

[JeffD]

Get yourself checked.

It could be a lot of things not even yet mentioned here.

I went through a lot of pain, numbness, pins and needles, in my left hand. Struggled with it for a while, not being able to play more than 20 or 30 minutes.

Then, unrelatedly, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Once I got my blood glucose back to normal, all the pain and problems went away. Gone. Within a week. No problems. At all.

Looking back there were several things I might have noticed that would indicate diabetes, but at the time I had no clue. I thought (foolishly) that pain at a certain location can only be cause by something at that location.

I am not saying you have diabetes, or anything else. How would I know. Just be open to the full range of what it might be.

Good luck.

[kjcole]

You are getting good advice here from those who are saying to go get a diagnosis from a hand specialist or neurologist, someone who is trained in upper extremity neural and vascular function. You need to find out if it is compression related (and where the compression is occurring and why), or if it is vascular. Several posters here sound like they know something about the possible sources (ulnar vs median nerve, cubital tunnel vs carpal, brachial plexus/thoracic outlet, cervical radiculopathy, and so on). And they are also telling you to go through the proper diagnostic procedures. Count me as also suggesting that you go get checked out. Be prepared to report whether the whole hand is going numb, or the little finger side vs the thumb side. That's a huge diagnostic clue.

[rubydubyr]

Get yourself checked.

It could be a lot of things not even yet mentioned here.

I went through a lot of pain, numbness, pins and needles, in my left hand. Struggled with it for a while, not being able to play more than 20 or 30 minutes.

Then, unrelatedly, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Once I got my blood glucose back to normal, all the pain and problems went away. Gone. Within a week. No problems. At all.

Looking back there were several things I might have noticed that would indicate diabetes, but at the time I had no clue. I thought (foolishly) that pain at a certain location can only be cause by something at that location.

I am not saying you have diabetes, or anything else. How would I know. Just be open to the full range of what it might be.

Good luck.

Not diabetes, I get checked regularly since my mother, father, and now my brother were/are on insulin. I do however, have pre-diabetes and watch it closely. I believe I've always had a blood sugar issue, as when a child, I would see spots and faint if I used a lot of energy w/o refilling in a timely manner, but up until my 40's I was in my 120's weight wise and my blood sugar was within normal range. Now I'm about 30 lbs more, and can't seem to get it off no matter how much I exercise, a sign of aging I expect. I keep snacks with me, especially when bicycle riding. I watch my sugar/carb intake closely, I exercise, and most of all...... hope. Diabetes is a nasty, nasty, NASTY disease. I've known at least one person personally that went blind from it due to not taking care of himself properly. Definitely not something to "ignore".