Hands Go Numb During Pregnancy: Reasons, What To Do, Treatment

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 19:51

Why hands go numb during pregnancy and what to do

The content of the article:

1. Hands go numb during pregnancy: reasons

   1. Physiological causes
   2. Cervical osteochondrosis
   3. Tunnel Syndrome
   4. Deficiency of vitamins and minerals
   5. Kidney pathology

2. What to do if fingers become numb during pregnancy

   1. General recommendations
   2. Survey
   3. Specific treatment
3. Video

Numbness of body parts is an alarming sign for any woman, especially during the period of bearing a child. If hands become numb during pregnancy, this is often due to fluid retention in the body. But also the cause can be serious diseases that affect the health of the expectant mother and baby. Women do not always associate numbness in the arms and legs with illness, therefore they do not go to the doctor. Nevertheless, if hands become numb often, it is better to play it safe and make sure that there is no pathology.

If the hands of a pregnant woman become numb often, for a long time and for no apparent reason, it is necessary to consult a doctor

Hands go numb during pregnancy: reasons

Numbness of the extremities is one of the forms of sensory disturbances. The onset of the symptom is associated with damage to the sensory nerves. There can be many reasons - compression of nerve fibers due to edema, infringement of the nerve root, inflammation of the nerve, disruption of its blood supply.

Physiological causes

In late pregnancy (second and third trimester), numbness in the right and left arms is often associated with fluid retention.

If hands rarely go numb, after sleep or long work, this condition is considered a normal variant. There are a number of factors that contribute to hand numbness during pregnancy:

• uncomfortable posture while sleeping;
• tight clothing that squeezes the shoulders;
• high pillow;
• excessive stress on the arms, especially on the hands;
• excess salt in the diet.

In these cases, numbness is not a permanent symptom. Unpleasant sensations arise periodically and pass quickly. In this case, there are no other pathological symptoms.

Cervical osteochondrosis

During pregnancy, the risk of developing osteochondrosis increases, which is associated with an increase in the load on the spine. Most often, the disease occurs in the cervical spine. How does this affect the female body:

• neck pain appears;
• pain can be given to the left or right limb;
• hands go numb from shoulder to fingertips;
• trophic skin changes appear.

Various factors contribute to the development of osteochondrosis - curvature of the spine, overweight, hormonal disorders.

Tunnel Syndrome

Brushes during pregnancy are often numb due to tunnel syndrome. With pathology in the carpal tunnel, the median nerve is compressed, which leads to the development of not only numbness, but also other symptoms:

• pain in the hand;
• tingling sensation;
• decreased sensitivity on the palmar surface;
• weakness of flexion of the hand.

The development of tunnel syndrome may be associated with fluid retention in the body, narrowing of the carpal tunnel. In the high-risk area there are women whose activities are related to the execution of hand movements - seamstresses, artists.

Deficiency of vitamins and minerals

In pregnant women, the cause of numbness in the hands is often due to poor diet. If the diet lacks vitamins and minerals, this affects the state of the whole organism.

The deficiency of B vitamins (especially B12) affects the state of the nervous system the most. Hypovitaminosis is manifested by the following symptoms:

• numbness of the limbs;
• tingling, creeping sensation;
• trophic skin changes;
• pallor;
• general weakness.

Women who are vegetarian or vegan are at high risk. Also, vitamin B12 deficiency often occurs with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.

Kidney pathology

In pregnant women, hands can become numb due to kidney problems. The cause of numbness is fluid retention in the body, and as a consequence of this - peripheral edema. The swelling leads to pinching of the nerves that provide sensory innervation to the upper limbs. A pinched nerve is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• tingling sensation;
• burning;
• crawling feeling;
• loss of sensitivity.

Often there are other symptoms that indicate kidney damage - edema, intoxication, decreased urine output.

What to do if fingers become numb during pregnancy

The tactics of treatment for hand numbness depends on several factors - the severity and duration of numbness, dependence on external conditions, the presence of additional symptoms. Someone is helped by simple advice, for others this is not enough, an examination is required to find the cause and the appointment of a specific treatment.

General recommendations

If numbness of the hands during pregnancy is caused by temporary factors, and not by a serious illness, a lifestyle correction will help get rid of the symptom. What is recommended to do:

1. Reduce salt intake. This applies not only to pure salt, but also to products with a high content of it - salted fish, spices, chips, various pickles.
2. Do not drink water at night. But during the day, it is recommended to drink about 1.5 liters of clean water.
3. Avoid wearing tight clothing that squeezes your neck and shoulders.
4. Choose an orthopedic pillow that relieves the cervical spine.
5. Do gymnastics or swimming.
6. If during the day you need to do work that burdens your hands - take a break every hour and stretch your hands.

Survey

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to determine why the numbness occurs. For this, laboratory and instrumental studies are used.

Research method	Explanation
General urine analysis	General urine analysis is a general clinical research method, it is prescribed for all pregnant women. High protein in the urine (proteinuria) can indicate kidney disease, which is manifested by fluid retention in the body. In pregnant women, this can cause limb numbness.
Blood chemistry	Several indicators are determined: glucose - increased in diabetic polyneuropathy; vitamin B12 - with numbness, its deficiency is often observed; renal complex (creatine, urea, protein fractions) - changes indicate kidney pathology.
Electroneuromyography	The method allows you to clarify the level of damage to the nerve tissue - to determine in which area the nerve roots, plexus, peripheral nerves are affected.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)	MRI is prescribed to assess the condition of the intervertebral discs. MRI can detect the following changes: Bulging of the fibrous ring; Protrusion (prolapse) of the disc; · Falling out of the disc.

Specific treatment

Specific treatment is aimed at eliminating the primary disease. The complexity of the selection of drug therapy lies in the fact that the prescribed medicinal substances should not affect the bearing of the child.

Disease	Treatment method
Osteochondrosis	In the treatment of osteochondrosis during pregnancy, the main role belongs to non-drug methods: 1. Fixation of the spine in the cervical region (Shants collar). This will reduce the stress on the spine. 2. Physiotherapy exercises. Exercises are performed to decompress the nerve roots and strengthen the muscular corset. 3. Physiotherapy. To relieve pain and reduce inflammation, ultrasound therapy and heat are used locally. 4. Manual therapy and massage. Allows you to reduce muscle tension. If non-drug methods do not help, medications are prescribed - anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen) and B vitamins.
Tunnel Syndrome	In the treatment of tunnel syndrome in pregnant women, they also try to do without the use of medications. For treatment, restriction of movement is applied by wearing an orthosis.
Vitamin B12 deficiency	There are two ways to replenish the vitamin B12 deficiency - with the help of food and medicine. The diet for hypovitaminosis should include a high content of the following foods: · beef liver; · Tuna; · chicken eggs; · Sardines; · rabbit meat; · Milk; · Hard cheeses. For drug treatment, the parenteral form of vitamin B12 is used - Cyanocobalamin in ampoules.
Kidney pathology	Treatment depends on the nature of the kidney damage. For symptomatic treatment, diuretics are used - herbal or medicinal. The following medicinal herbs are used: Lingonberry; · horsetail; · Rose hips; · Bearberry; Parsley; · Birch tree; · cornflower. Medication devices with a diuretic effect should be used with caution, as they can negatively affect the course of pregnancy.

Video

We offer for viewing a video on the topic of the article.

Anna Kozlova Medical journalist About the author

Education: Rostov State Medical University, specialty "General Medicine".

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