Ok, so I have been working out for the better part of a decade and like anyone who lifts heavy weight had my share of injuries. I’ve gotten over most of them and learned to live with a few of them, but now am faced with a whole new kind of injury.
Ulnar neuritis
I work in law enforcement and during a defensive tactics training went home and realized that my little finger and ring finger on my right hand were numb. I figured it would go away, but a week later it was still numb, the shocker came when I tried to do pull ups and could not hold on with my right had for more than 3. I went to the doctor and have been to 2 other doctors both Neurologists who ran tests on my arm and say I have Ulnar neuritis. They both say I need surgery.
The surgery itself looks gruesome, they need to make an incision along my entire arm and free up the nerve. Needless to say I am hesitant about the whole thing. Especially when there is no guarantee that my hand will improve. In doing a strength test my right hand was about 60% weaker than my left, but it has improved over the past few months. (Yes, the two fingers are still numb)
My question is this, has anyone ever had a similar injury? surgery? should I give it more time?
Go see an ART practitioner first. It may be just a nerve impingement. Docters still think surgery is the only way to fix something. They still recommend $5,000 surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Somehow you should get it fixed, Art, surgery whatever.
In your line of work you can’t afford to have only a hand and a half!! How does/will it effect your shooting, putting handcuffs on a struggeling person, etc…
I got stabbed many years ago and got my ulnar nerve cut (left arm) so I know how you feel. The strength will come back because the “good” fingers will compensate by getting stronger but you’ll still be weaker than before.
If I could get my left arm back to “normal” I would.
It’s kind of an odd coincidence but I too got stabbed on my other wrist about 2 1/2 years ago, along with once in each leg. I had to get two tendons reattached on my wrist and am now back to 100% on that wrist. My current Ulnar Neuritis is, however, on the opposite hand. Go figure that my wrist got sliced completely open and I got NO NERVE DAMAGE, yet somehow manage to damage the nerve on the other arm during training without actually sustaining a painful injury. I guess that is what makes the whole nerve injury hard to swallow.
I have looked up what I could about this. I am however, somewhat hesitant because I know that a doctor is a businessman just like anyone else and he makes his money doing surgeries more than anything. Like I said before the pictures of the surgery looked really gruesome, not to mention that it will leave a scar running all the way down my arm.
Thanks for those of you that have taken the time to reply. I welcome any other input.
I think I had that… Those kinds of symptoms are common to computer related overuse injuries. While I’ve never had really severe symptoms (no strength loss, at least), I have run through a variety of hand/arm tendon/nerve problems related to my career as a computer programmer.
The thing that sucks about nerve problems in the hands is that the nerve could be entrapped in any number of places, as the nerves that feed the hands start at the back of the neck, run down the back of the arm, through the elbow to your hands… So if anything goes wrong in that ~30-inches of meat and bone, you end up with pain, weakness and numbness.
I was able to basically eliminate my symptoms through stretching, massage, and improving work ergonomics. Figure out what’s aggravating your hand and avoid it. In my case, poor work posture (being hunched over at my desk all day) was causing shoulder tension that squeezed the nerves that feed my hands, and this is where treating stuff like this gets tricky, because I felt the symptoms in my hands (and elbows sometimes), but real problem was in my triceps and shoulders.
I’m not a medical “expert” but IMO docs in general are clueless about stuff like this. Seriously, does cutting the fucking nerves out of your arm sound like an elegant solution? Please, that sounds like incompetance to me. I don’t care how many years they spent in school, if that’s the best they can do as a first line of treatment they have no idea how to appreach this particular problem.
I would recommend the book It’s Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! RSI Theory & Therapy for Computer Professionals
by Suparna Damany. I realize you didn’t get this typing, but the book covers all manner of hand/arm nerve problems, and is general enough in it’s explainations and suggestions that I think it would help you a lot.
In the meantime, stretch your upper body like crazy. Massage your hands and arms. Get a foam roller and roll out your arms (especially the triceps near the elbow) and upper back like nobody’s business. I’ve never had ART done but seeing as it’s a massage/soft-tissue manipulation it may be just the ticket.
I had stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column due to bulging disks. The “injury” happened during a flag football gam as near as I can tell. My right tricep virtually disappeared almost overnight. I went from a guy benching in the low 300’s to a guy who could not do a push-up, a guy who couldn’t push open a door with my right arm.
I had the surgery, anterior cervical diskectomy & fusion (C5-C7). I was scared shitless. Anyway, the doc found lots of scar tissue and bone spurs in there… not recent stuff.
I have a steel plate, 6 screws, and 2 “dowels” made of cadaver bone in my neck these days.
I had the surgery in Jun 01. I was 75% or better within the first year. I am stronger now than prior to the injury. My right tricep is still “different” than it was and different from the other.
Moral of the story: Docs that do this surgery are BRAIN SURGEONS! Not to downplay your injury or your fears, but this procedure is childs play in the hands of the right doc.
The doc that did mine specialized in emergency brain surgery on newborns etc. You would not believe the kids in the waiting room… perfectly normal except for the scar across their domes from ear-to-ear.
I had something similar once. The little finger and ring finger of my left hand went numb. They were doing this on and off when I would run or do certain lifting movements.
I went to my Chiropractor who said that I was “out” somewhere in my neck (he told me where specifically, I honestly can’t remember right now). He gave me an adjustment and I was feeling better almost immediately.
Your situation does sound worse, but before I would allow anyone to cut me open I would exhaust every other means at my disposal.
My advice is to go see a physical therapist with experience in neurodynamics. They will probably be able to help you with a combination of manual techniques and exercises designed to get the nerve moving again. Your nervous system is made to move just like any joint or muscle and when something happens to alter movement, the result is often numbness and tingling. If you have any other questions or want help finding a qualified PT, I’ll help as much as I can.