Almost everyone has heard of carpal tunnel and the classic sign is pain and numbness in the hands. But what you may not know is that numbness, tingling and pain in the hands can also be caused by problems in your neck! This is what we call cervical radiculopathy. Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions about why you’re hands are feeling like this! Keep reading to learn what may be causing numbness and tingling in your hands and how we successfully manage both of these conditions in our office.

Understanding hand numbness, tingling and pain.

There are 3 main nerves that innervate the muscles and structures of your hand.

Each affects different parts of the hand and based where in your hand your experiencing symptoms we can start to figure out which nerve or nerves may be involved. Fun fact… although you only have 7 Cervical vertebrae you actually have 8 cervical nerves!

Depending on which nerve is affected will cause different fingers to go numb.

C6: Innervates your thumb and pointer finger.
C7: Innervates your middle finger.
C8: Innervates your ring and pinky finger.

*There is some overlap to these, but for the purposes of this blog this is a good understanding point!

Why a problem in your neck could be causing your hand numbness.

See how the cervical nerves exit the sides of your neck.

All of these nerves we talked about above come from your neck!
- They then travel through your shoulder and down your arm to eventually innervate the different parts of your hand.
Click here to watch this quick video from Spine Health to learn more about cervical radiculopathy.

There are many conditions that can cause pain or numbness into the hands and fingers!

The key is a thorough evaluation to figure out what is causing your symptoms. Here are a few we see and treat successfully at our Canton office:

Carpal tunnel
Cervical Radiculopathy from disc bulges or degenerative discs
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Spinal Stenosis

So what causes carpal tunnel?

Numbness of the hand and fingers caused by carpal tunnel.

The short answer, compression or irritation of the nerve that travels through the carpal tunnel in your wrist!

This is the median nerve. If you are truly suffering from carpal tunnel, this is the nerve that is being affected. When this nerve is irritated it can cause numbness, tingling and pain in the thumb, pointer finger and middle finger.

This may be due to things like:

Trauma
Working with a mouse or computer.
Repetitive activities involving the hand and wrist
Vibration

Now you can see why it’s important to have a proper evaluation to really determine what is causing the numbness in your hand! You don’t want to be treated for the wrong condition!

Why you should see a chiropractor for hand numbness, tingling or pain.

Chiropractors are experts at diagnosing conditions of the whole neuro-musculo-skelatal system, not just your spine!

We’ll perform orthopedic and neurological tests needed to rule out other conditions and figure out exactly what is causing your symptoms.
Chiropractors successfully treat many of these cases through conservative methods like chiropractic manipulation, rehabilitative exercise or gentle soft tissue work.
Surgery is expensive and irreversible. Conservative treatment options should be tried before undergoing surgery in this instance.

If you’re in the greater Canton area and are experiencing numbness or tingling in your hands that doesn’t seem to be getting any better, click here to work with Dr. Baldwin and begin finding relief!

Science Sources:

Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4005-carpal-tunnel-syndrome

Spine Health: https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-vs-cervical-radiculopathy