Numbness of hands and fingers in Louisville KY is a very common occurrence. Symptoms are often described as your limbs falling asleep or thousands of pins and needles pricking your limb. Often, this occurs after sitting for long periods, crossing your legs, sleeping on your arm, or other activities that constrict blood flow. Most diagnose themselves through the Internet with serious neurologic problems like carpal tunnel syndrome, most of which is a mistaken assumption.

If you look at your hands, you will notice that the nerves and veins come from high up. They start at your neck and end up in your fingertips. They travel through your shoulder, under your chest, into your elbow, under your forearm, via the bones in your wrist and into each finger. That length of travel presents a number of areas for obstruction to happen.

Think of the nerves and veins to your hands as a river. Think of your neck as the reservoir for the water. The river spills out from the reservoir into the surrounding areas. Sometimes though, a beaver may block the river with a dam and dry up the surrounding areas. So the ends of the river don not get much water. This is when most people experience a numbness of hands because of that lack of supply.

How Louisville KY Chiropractic Can Help

Several chiropractic exercises can relieve this problem. Chiropractors specialize in the spine and its functions. After a thorough assessment, they should recommend a couple of exercises for you to do each day. It is advised that you perform these exercises initially with your chiropractor to avoid further problems. Some commonly prescribed exercises are as follows.

The brachial plexus slide is used to decrease numbness of hands and arm. Stand up straight, tilt your head to the right, hold your upper arm and bend your elbow. Make a fist, tuck under your chin, and straighten your elbows until it is parallel to the floor. Bend your wrist upward and slant your fingers. Reach your arm backward and bend your head to the opposite side.

Do the median nerve slide to lessen symptoms in the index, middle and ring fingers. Stand up straight, hold your upper arm by your side and bend elbow to 90 degrees. With your pinky finger facing the floor, make a gentle fist. Straighten your fingers and bend your wrist backwards. Bring your arm out to the side, straighten the elbow and raise your arm. Bend your head to the opposite side.

Perform the ulnar nerve slide if you feel numbness in the pinky finger, ring finger, and pinky side of your forearm. Raise your arms in front of you below shoulder height with palms facing upward. Bend your wrists downward and straighten your fingers. Bend your elbow and bring your palm toward your chin. Hold for a second then return.

Execute the radial nerve slide if you have numbness on your hand’s back. Stand up with your arms on your side and palms to you. Turn your arms so your palm faces backward and flex your wrist so your palms face up. Lower your shoulder and bend your head, then return to the starting position.