What should I do if my hand is numb when I wake up in the morning?
Disease description:
Recently, upon waking up in the morning, I often experience numbness in my hands. Sometimes the entire palm feels numb and it takes quite a while to recover. I would like to know what I should do about hand numbness upon waking up.
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Lv Zhiqin
Hand numbness upon waking in the morning is a common phenomenon, usually related to sleeping posture during the night. If it occurs occasionally, the following measures can help alleviate the symptoms:
1. Change sleeping position: During sleep, avoid prolonged pressure on the arms or wrists. Especially when sleeping on your side, make sure not to place your arms under your body, in order to reduce pressure on the hands.
2. Gentle movement: After getting up in the morning, perform some simple wrist and finger exercises, such as making a fist, stretching the fingers, and rotating the wrists. These activities can effectively promote blood circulation and thus reduce the sensation of numbness.
3. Warm compress: Apply a hot water bag or warm towel to the numb area of the hand. A warm compress can help relax the hand muscles, improve local blood circulation, and aid in relieving the numbness.
4. Physical therapy: If the hand numbness is caused by cervical spondylosis, physical therapy treatments such as neck traction or massage may be considered.
If hand numbness occurs frequently and is accompanied by other symptoms such as pain and weakness, there may be an underlying medical condition. For example, diabetes can cause peripheral neuropathy leading to hand numbness, and cervical spondylosis may result in hand numbness due to nerve compression. In such cases, you should go to the hospital for medical examination immediately.
