Cramps in the fingers
Cramps in the hands and fingers are involuntary contractions of these parts of the body. They can happen at the most inopportune moment, for example, while driving a car, while using a power tool, or during other potentially hazardous activities. Such muscle spasms can harm both the person himself and those around him. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the causes of seizures and prevent their occurrence.
Hand cramps can occur in almost anyone, regardless of age. The seizure intensity also varies. Sometimes the cramp is so severe that the pain will bother a person for several more days.
Sudden and frequent convulsions, as well as their soreness, give rise to a person's fear of another attack. This makes him feel nervous and think about his state of health. Therefore, you should not endure cramps. You need to know what is the reason for their occurrence and how to deal with them.
Content:
- Causes of cramps in the hands and fingers
- Symptoms of cramps in the hands and fingers
- When is an urgent need to see a doctor?
- How to treat cramps in hands and fingers?
- Prevention of hand cramps
Causes of cramps in the hands and fingers
If a person has a cramp in his hands and fingers, then it is necessary to look for the cause of such a violation, because such spasms themselves occur very rarely.
Possible factors that can provoke the development of seizures include:
- Long-term work at the computer, long-term stress on the wrist joint. In this regard, some professions are dangerous. At risk are violinists and guitarists, accountants, machinists, tennis players, programmers, etc.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Developing osteochondrosis.
- Migraine.
- Angina pectoris.
- Myocardial infarction.
- The presence of an intervertebral hernia.
- Vegeto-vascular dystonia.
- Dominant polyneuropathy. At first, the legs will begin to cramp, and over time it will move to the fingers. The pathological process involves the muscles of the face, respiratory muscles. If this pathology is not treated, the likelihood of death increases.
- Diabetes.
- Thyroid pathology.
- Peripheral nerve damage.
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Chronic hepatitis.
- Gastritis.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency. This is especially true for people who eat a diet.
- Tunnel Syndrome. Convulsions develop mainly in the evening and at night, when venous outflow worsens and tissues swell.
- Deficiency of magnesium, calcium and potassium.
- Alcoholism or poisoning with low-quality alcoholic beverages.
- Severe prolonged stress.
- Hormonal disruption with metabolic disorders.
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Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
- Curvature of posture.
- Progressive osteoporosis, in which bone elements become very fragile, can break and press on nerve endings and vascular plexuses. As a result, the hands and fingers will cramp.
- The growth of a tumor in the spinal column or in the chest area will lead to the fact that it will begin to press on the nerve endings and blood vessels. As a result, the patient will experience cramps of the upper extremities, accompanied by painful sensations.
- Infectious diseases can provoke seizures in humans. In childhood, muscle spasms can develop against a background of high body temperature. These contractions are called febrile seizures. In adults, seizures develop in severe infections with dehydration, or with damage to the structures of the brain.
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Cramps in the hands and fingers can be troubling for people with stroke. They develop due to the fact that certain parts of the brain have been damaged and cannot control limb movements.
As it becomes clear, there are many diseases that can provoke the onset of seizures in the upper extremities. However, they sometimes happen in perfectly healthy people. Moreover, they can be caused by completely harmless circumstances, for example, wearing tight clothes with tight cuffs or sleeves.
Convulsions develop in the hands with a sharp hypothermia of the body, when the ambient temperature suddenly decreases by 10 or more degrees. For example, when diving in a hot season in cold water, or when leaving a warm room into frosty air.
Fingers can be cramped when a person has been working at a computer for a long time without taking breaks. This also includes hours of knitting, embroidery, playing musical instruments.
Many people point out that hand cramps occur after prolonged exercise in the gym.
Coffee drinkers and smokers are more likely to suffer from hand cramps than other people.
Pregnant women often complain that their fingers are cramping. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that during the growth of the fetus, the mother's body spends a lot of trace elements. They are necessary for the baby to meet his needs. If you do not fill their deficit, then seizures will bother you more and more often. The situation is aggravated by hormonal changes in the body.
As it becomes clear, there are many people in the world who suffer from temporary or permanent seizures. Experts say that muscle spasms in the hands and fingers follow every third patient. Moreover, the reasons that cause them cannot always be called harmless.
Symptoms of cramps in the hands and fingers
It is not difficult to determine the seizure on your own. During an attack, the muscles seem to stiffen, a person feels heaviness and pain in the upper limb.
Sometimes the palm can involuntarily clench into a fist, or, on the contrary, unbend in the opposite direction. The fingers often tremble during a cramp.
The intensity of the pain varies. It can be sharp or pulling. Often, a spasm is accompanied by the running of goose bumps and tingling.
Clonic seizures are characterized by rhythmic twitching.
When is an urgent need to see a doctor?
If the hands or fingers are cramped, then it is necessary to seek medical help when this condition persists for a long time - 4 hours or more.
Also, on an emergency basis, you need to visit a specialist for ascending cramps, which began with the legs, and then passed onto the arms.
Sometimes a cramp in the left arm can be a sign of a heart attack. In this case, the patient may lose consciousness. The reason lies in cardiac arrhythmias of varying intensity: from ventricular tachycardia to complete AV block. In addition, in a patient during this period, convulsions can be triggered by neurological disorders, but a similar situation is observed with a heart attack not often, in about 3-4% of cases. Acute chest pain and a drop in blood pressure come to the fore. If you suspect a heart attack, you should seek emergency medical help.
Transient seizures require medical advice, but emergency treatment can be delayed.
How to treat cramps in hands and fingers?
If a person has a seizure attack, then he needs to be given first aid. In this case, it is recommended to massage the hands, as well as the forearm area.
When there are no serious pathologies of the nervous or circulatory system, it is necessary to use the following techniques:
- You need to clench your fingers into a fist and shake them several times.
- You need to unclench your fingers, raise them above your head and move them intensively in the air.
You need to repeat these simple hand manipulations several times until the cramp stops.
Frequent seizures caused by muscle strain can be relieved by regularly doing intense flexion and extension with the little finger. You need to do the exercise at a fast pace, for three minutes.
Hand baths help increase blood flow in the upper limbs. It is good to add a little lavender oil to the water. This procedure will not only calm the nerves, but also relieve tissue from hypoxia. Therefore, it is best to do it before bed.
You need to understand that it is not difficult to eliminate a seizure attack, it is important to find out the cause of its occurrence. Therefore, with regular spasms, you need to see a doctor.
Depending on the cause of the seizures, a specialist will select the appropriate treatment. In 70% of cases, seizures are provoked by a deficiency of trace elements and vitamins. Therefore, the patient is selected complexes containing B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium (Calcium D3, Magnefar, Magne B6, etc.).
When cramps in the hands are accompanied by painful sensations, it is necessary to take antispasmodics, for example, Spasmalgon or Trigan.
With convulsions caused by innervation, acupuncture is helpful. In 10-15 sessions, it is possible to completely solve the problem and get rid of seizures for a long time.
Video: 3 ways to relieve a seizure:
Prevention of hand cramps
Treatment of seizures caused by any serious medical condition is within the competence of the doctor. However, even mild pathologies take a certain amount of time to get rid of them.
To minimize the risk of seizures at the stage of treatment, simple recommendations help:
- Drink at least 2 liters of water per day if there are no kidney problems or other contraindications.
- If a person takes diuretics, then it is forbidden to independently exceed the permissible dosage.
- In the cold season, you need to use gloves or mittens to prevent hypothermia of the upper limbs.
- You need to eat varied. It is not recommended to focus on any particular type of food. The menu should include both plant and animal food.
- In the spring, it is recommended to take vitamin and mineral complexes for prophylactic purposes. The course should last for 30 days.
- If professional activity forces you to work with your hands for a long time, then you definitely need to take breaks. During rest, do a short warm-up.
- You definitely need to move during the day. Physical inactivity is the basis of most diseases of modern society. However, overvoltage should not be allowed.
Compliance with these rules will reduce the likelihood of seizures to a minimum.
Author of the article: Sokov Andrey Vladimirovich | Neurologist
Education: In 2005 completed an internship at the IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and received a diploma in Neurology. In 2009, completed postgraduate studies in the specialty "Nervous diseases".
