It started as a minor nuisance — occasionally, you felt some numbness in one of your hands or maybe some tingling that traveled down your arm. Now, this minor nuisance is becoming more of an issue as the numbness is more constant, interfering with your ability to use your arm and hand.
There are many routes to numbness and tingling in the upper extremities, and problems along the spine are among the most common.
Since we specialize in all things spine-related, the team at Texas Spine Consultants, which includes Dr. Michael Hennessy, Dr. Chester Donnally, Dr. Heidi Lee, Dr. Andrew Park, and Dr. Robert Viere, will focus on three conditions that can lead to numbness in the arm and hand and stem from the spine.
Your cervical spine, or neck, contains seven small vertebrae separated by six soft discs that provide cushioning and support. The anatomy in this region also includes eight pairs of cervical nerve roots that exit your cervical spine.
If you have degenerative disc disease, which affects about 90% of people by age 60, discs lose moisture and become more brittle. As a result, they are far more prone to herniation, which means a piece of the disc escapes its space where it can run into and press up against one of the nerve roots.
When you experience nerve compression in your neck, the side effects can travel the length of the nerve, leading to numbness and tingling in one of your arms or hands. This nerve entrapment issue, called cervical radiculopathy, typically only leads to symptoms on one side of your body.
Another common degenerative issue in your issue is spinal stenosis, which describes a narrowing in your spinal canal due to degenerative changes. These changes can include bone spurs and thickened ligaments — and both can lead to crowding in your spinal canal. When this occurs, nerves can become compressed, leading to numbness that travels down the nerve and into your arm and hand.
Another problem that counts numbness in your arms and hands as a primary symptom is thoracic outlet syndrome.
Your thoracic outlet is an opening between your neck and chest where your brachial plexus nerves, subclavian artery, and subclavian vein pass through. If something disrupts or narrows this passageway and presses up against the nerve group, people report numbness and tingling in the upper body, especially in the arms and hands.
Also called neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, this condition accounts for 95% of all cases of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Now that we’ve set the scene for some of the primary culprits behind numbness in your arm and hand, your next step is to come see us so that we can figure out what’s behind your symptoms. Once we identify the problem, we can work quickly to free up the nerve entrapment to relieve your numbness.
To get started, we invite you to make an appointment at one of our offices in Addison or Plano, Texas.
