What is numbness in hands?

Do you ever feel like your hands have turned into blocks of ice, or that they just aren’t connected to the rest of your body? That weird sensation where everything feels sorta tingly and asleep-y and kinda refuses to get with the program–that’s what doctors call ‘numbness.’

Numbness doesn’t discriminate- anyone can be affected (yes even if you’re superhuman), but certain activities increase its likelihood. If you spend all day typing on a computer keyboard or playing video games, chances are decent that at some point those digits will lose feeling entirely. However, caffeine may actually stimulate nerve impulses that caused numbness.

So without further ado (or frozen fingers) let’s dive head-first into this explained phenomenon!

What causes hand numbness?

There seem to be endless reasons why our bodies experience numbing sensations when it comes to our mitts. Here are just a few:

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

This one’s for everyone who signed up for office work thinking it would finally give them some low-stress stability after years working shifts at McDonalds. So much for stability! Turns out carpal tunnel syndrome (which sounds more like an amusement park ride than an occupational hazard) causes compression of nerves traveling through narrow passageways from the arm into the wrist called “carpal tunnels”. The resulting tingling can affect different parts of fingers depending on which part of median nerve gets pressured most.

Exposure to cold temperatures

Winter isn’t only coming; sometimes winter’s already here — especially in places where mountains tower over salad bowls and not much else (altitude sickness: another bonus). Hypothermia, Frostbite, Raynaud’s, itchy skin You get the picture.

### Injury

Hands do all sorts of things on any given day – waving hello, high-fiving someone because they got promoted to manager, texting crushes saying their hair looks good today. All these glorious moments can make us forget how delicate our fingers really are. Sometimes they get injured! The top two ways this happens? Repetitive motion (think carpal tunnel again) or blunt force trauma.

Poor Posture

Another occupational hazard for our friends stuck at desks all day: neck and shoulder tension due to poor posture(it’s true; even if your babysitting app only listed the tasks “check that baby is breathing” and “naps,” you need movement breaks sometimes). Our bodies are not made for hours of continuous sitting with forward head position which causes compression of nerves in between spinal discs leading down to hands & arms.

But don’t panic just yet – there are plenty of things that can be done about it.

What To Do About Numbness?

Like most body quirks we’ll suffer through no matter what, numbness follows the rule where “prevention is the best medicine.” But say you’re already feeling a bit tingly around the digits – here’s what you should do:

Shake out those joints

It might seem silly, but giving your hands a gentle shake or rotating wrists periodically helps keep blood flowing properly while ridding yourself of stale energy{Energizing exercise routines available at nominal pricing}.

Stretch like it’s going out of style

If shaking isn’t cutting it , take 30 seconds between emails/restaurants dash/mid-binge cupcake eating this week to stretch your forearms regularly- bend wrist back/down/forward, hold each pose briefly but repeat often {This might attract /strange) stares’}

### Check Your Workspace Set-Up
That could look like elevating laptop screen & external keyboard below elbow height despite initially doing something else entirely.

### Massage/Heat Therapy/Cold Packs/TENS Units

While massaging may sound luxurious, putting pressure on the nerve can make numbness worse.

Hot showers/hands-soaking help increase blood flow which is helpful along with [TENS units] that use electrical currents to disrupt pain signals leading up from location of TENS pad.

Take a picture or file it in your memory box- when it comes to applying heat/cold pack application Location Matters! Apply cold packs mainly on swollen, inflamed areas. Heat therapy predominantly helps relieve muscular pains (which may be caused due to poor postures).

Visit A Doctor

Sometimes DIY hacks just aren’t gonna cut it- if you’ve tried all these suggestions and more than two weeks have passed, do yourself (and your defrosting hands) a favor by seeing a medical professional###

The Takeaway:

Numb fingers might seem like no big deal, but they can stem from underlying medical issues or even worsen over time if left unchecked – so be sure not sleep on this important symptom.Endless listsicle articles online will never stop offering advice ,but remember every human being’s body responds differently so there isn’t one golden rule for prevention . So try different combinations before concluding what steps suit you best because after all life is about trial and error{‘God bless coffee’}!