tingling sensation in hands

[........yewwww]

Today I was working on a client and my hands started to feel very tingly, almost like the sensation when they go to sleep before the painful pins and needles. It wasn't painful at all, but very disturbing since my tactile perception was altered. I couldn't really feel anything (pressure, movement, even skin) with my hands, just vibrating energy.

I'm wondering what could be causing this (a pinched nerve, or just tired, sore hands and thumbs). Any thoughts?

 

[Chandru .]

Was your table too high at the moment, or were you bringing your shoulders up higher than normal to gain height. This happens to me, and was a big problem when I first started out, because I couldn't have a lower table due to knee surgery. I work with a lower table, and severely watch my body mechanics while working.

 

[rorpino]

I don't feel like my table was too high, but it could have been my body mechanics. That is always something that I have to keep on top of, and sometimes I get lazy and don't move correctly...

If this happens again (hopefully it won't) I'll check out my body positioning and make sure I'm moving through my legs primarily.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Jenna Bee]

In all the classes I have taken with massage therapists, I am so surprised at how they work with such poor posture! I will also include myself because I know that I'm not 100% great at paying attention to my own posture, but I do work at it.

The most prevalent issue I notice with mt's is the hunching of the upper back and inward rotation of the shoulder joints while working. It may help to practice in a mirror to make sure that you aren't doing that.


http://www.rajamroose.com

 

[karissa]

What type of massage were you giving? What level of pressure? Was it your entire hand or just certain fingers? Could you recreate the sensation if you had to? Give us an idea of the table height in relation to your body.

 

[RedSnook]

tingling numb sensation is probably nerve pinch. maybe you've work certain muscles too much and not relaxing them so the tension over long term pinches a nerve due to imbalance. remember to take care own body when your not working.

 

[h56781]

I had something like that happen to me about a year ago, but I felt some throbbing in my hands as well.
I just iced my hands and forearms like crazy after work everyday, and a friend helped work out trigger points that were in my subscapularis and by Ant. Deltoid, but all of your SITS muscles could be involved, just be really aware of the posture you keep and body mechanics you use to help pinpoint were the sensations are coming from. Could you get a group of your MT friends together so you could have someone watch you work? Some outside perspectives and ideas usually help.

 

[Wamishda]

I have had this myself and can often wake up with the tingling/pins and needle feeling. Sounds like you may be in need of a good massage. I would work on the teres major (there's a good point on the bottom corner of your scap about 1cm in that you may feel pulse when you press it.) The shoulders probably need a look to, a good work over your traps, if you are really tight around T1 you may get tingling in your arms too.

 

[teresathegreat]

Another thing for you to consider and to check - insertion points of muscles in the upper chest - pecs major/minor, etc - and muscles of the arms that insert into the chest/shoulder girdle that might be hypertensive and placing pressure on nerves and blood vessels that are in the vicinity of the clavicle.

Also, check your elbows for muscular hypertensive points, same for the forearms. Anything and everything above the hands and wrists can be feeding into your problem.

Good mechanics when using your hands and arms - we learned no more than a 30-40 degree angle to the wrists in school -

fwiw

 

[Laya]

I have this happen too and it's usually related to the pecs and scalenes. Try having these worked on in conjunction with those SITS muscles and serratus anterior.

 

[Holiday Blue]

tingling sensation in hands

Hey. How's it going? Hopefully your problem is solved by now. I'm going to give you a list of muscles from memory that can refer pain down the arm. Have these muscles worked and your problem will probably be solved (find someone certified in NMT who will work every fiber of these muscles). This will be a list of muscles that refer pain down the arm and also the ones I remember off the top of my head that can entrap nerves.

*Pec major, pec minor, subclavius, and the scalenes (these can be responsible for thoracic outlet syndrome, closing the space between the clavicle and ribs and compression on nerves exiting the thoracic outlet).
*Also subscapularis and serratus anterior. These refer pain down the arm. (since serratus anterior attaches at the anterior vertebral border of the scapula, you might as well have it worked while subscap is being worked).
*Also supra- and infraspinatus, teres major and minor. These can refer pain down the arm too.
*Trapezius, levator scapula, and the rhomboids (this is a safety measure that couldn't hurt, and although none of these have pain referrals down the arm, it might help to releive some intra-joint pressure in this area and tightness in these, in my personal opinion, could contribute to tension in the scalenes , and you'll need to release the trapezius to get deeper into the supraspinatus anyway, so it couldn't hurt).
* Get the biceps brachii and brachialis, the triceps, the wrist extensors in the forearm.

Basically the idea is to leave no stone unturned so that you're having every muscle that could either refer pain down the arm and wrist or entrap nerves that supply the arm. It's also to get secondary trigger points that may have resulted from the original pain pattern. Hope this helps!