Slow Circulation or Numbness in Your Fingers?

If your fingers have a lot of numbness, here's something you can do to stimulate your circulation and nerves. Tap.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Tap your finger pads on the surface of a table or desk.  At least 4 of your fingers should hit, and part of your thumb will also hit.  Pretend you don't have a wrist.  Let your hand flap up and down, but just a little.

The movement with your hand is small and your wrist shouldn't have much movement--it should be pretty straight.  Remember, you're pretending you don't have a wrist.

Tap with the pads of your fingers, not your tips.  The pads are on the palm side of your fingers.

Hold your arm in a comfortable position.  Your elbow should be at approximately a 90 degree, or right, angle.  Your elbow should be straight down from your shoulder.  Keep tapping until you feel sensation in your finger tips.  You can tap until it is quite uncomfortable.  If your arms tire, take a break.

Do this up to 5 minutes at a time.  Do it once or twice a day.  Start with less time and build up, so you can see how you will respond.

I am not aware of any contraindications or reasons why you should not tap.  The tapping is not hard enough to cause bruising, just sensation.

But, please remember, it is your body.  You are in control of it.  If this movement, or anything I suggest, or anyone else suggests, doesn't feel "right" or comfortable for you, in any way, then don't do it.

Otherwise, keep tapping, tapping, tapping. 

Comments

[Alex]

Isn't tapping on a keyboard what causes carpal tunnel syndrome in the first place??

[Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach]

Alex, that is an excellent question!

Sometimes carpal tunnel syndrome IS caused by repetitive motion when we hold our hands, heads, backs and arms in incorrect (not neutral) positions. In this type of tapping, you are pretending you have no wrist and you are not tapping in a specific location (for instance, to hit a specific key on a keyboard.)

Also, with this type of tapping, your fingers are in a pretty straight position as is your wrist so that causes no strain to your hand and arm muscles from curled fingers.

The tapping is rather like vibration or the movement of a trampoline. It helps relax your muscles and gets your bodily fluids moving. It also acts to stimulate the sensory abilities of your fingertips.

Thank you for your thoughtful question.

Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach

[Erika]

Lately my fingers and my whole hands up to the wrist get numb but it happens only at night ,I weak up 4-5 times for this almost every night.Is this supposed to happen at age 43? Why is this happening?
Thanks

[Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach]

Hi Erika,

Actually this should not happen at ANY age. The reason for your numbness is because somewhere nerves or blood vessels are being squeezed--compressed--and you are feeling the symptom of that. Think about the position you sleep in. Is it possible that you hike your shoulders up to your ears while you sleep, or that your shoulders are pushed forward, or that your head is pushed forward with pillows? Any of those things may compress the nerves around from your neck that run into your hands. These are my suspicions since this happens during sleep.

Another possibility is that you may be curling your wrists while you sleep. If this is the case, wearing a not-too-tight fitting wrist brace will help you keep your wrists straight while you sleep.

Thank you for a very good question and I hope this helps.

Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach