Numbness and tingling in the arms and hands.

In my 20 years as a chiropractor numbness in the hands and arms is one of the least understood symptom by patients.  Also, I find that the symptom is sometimes misunderstood by  physicians.  The only thing that can cause numbness is pressure on a nerve. The key to fixing the numbness is to understand where the nerve is pinched. 

Dermatomes

Most people have never heard of a dermatome. For chiropractors, dermatomes are a very important concept that can help them figure you what may be causing pain in the arm, numbness in the arm, neck pain and headaches. A dermatome is an area of skin that is controlled by a distinct nerve root. Each nerve root begins at the spinal cord and are named by the vertebra that protects it. You have a pair of nerve roots at each level of the spine; one for the right and one for the left.

As you can see from the chart above, your chiropractor can see where you may have problem in your neck by the area of skin on your arm that may be numb or painful.

Not all arm pain is caused by nerve root pressure. However, many of the patients that visit our office with arm pain or numbness do have a pinched nerve in the cervical spine (neck.) 

Besides pressure on the nerve in the spine, nerves can be trapped along their path somewhere in the body. Although it is possible for nerves to be trapped anywhere there are a few suspect areas that are usually the culprits. Finally, there are a few diseases that can cause nerve damage. Examples diseases that cause numbness includes heart attack, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, pernicious anemia or even cancer.  

 There are many causes of pinched nerves some are an easy pain free treatment and others may take some work to resolve. Chiropractors have the training and expertise to properly diagnose the cause of  arm numbness using physical exam, x-ray, electrical diagnostic testing and blood work.  All causes of numbness can cause permanent problems if not taken care of promptly. Do you or a loved one have arm pain? Arm numbness? Have you figured out the cause?  Let me put my 20 years of experience working on thousands of patients to work for you. Consultations in my office are always free. If I can not help you I will get you to someone who can.