Numb little finger and ring finger on left hand. Why? Sorry, boring. But would be really grateful for clues.

[SixKindsofCrisis]

For a couple of weeks I've had intermittent numbness on little finger and ring finger of left hand. Recently it is continuous.

Does anyone know whether it's more likely to be something minor (ike a trapped nerve or something) or a symptom of something scary?

I hurt the upper arm years ago playing squash and I'm wondering if that injury is somehow interferingwith circulation.

Are you pg? just had a baby?

If so, could be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Sounds more like a trapped nerve if it's been going on that long, but I would see the GP. Could be all sorts of other minor things too like a circulation problem.

(I'm not a medic though)

DItto Jeremy - sounds like carpal tunnel, my mum had that. Do you do any repetitive movements (This is where the typing for your MN habit comes back to bite you) - could be RSI?

DO you have any back problems at all? I have back trouble that sometimes leads to spells of numbness or pins & needles in my fingers - it's not helped by lots of keyboard time and I am trying to improve my posture...

But this could be you. However, anything like this that goes on for a couple of weeks probally needs a word with your GP just to rule out anything nasty.

I have problems with my back and shoulders and this happens to me sometimes.

Thanks snowlep and Jeremy. Not pregnant (at least I bloody hoope not!!) I've heard of Carpal T, but don't really know what it is. Will google it, and might take snowlep's advice of seeing gp.

I usually feel my CT syndrom in my wrist but I guess I wouldn't rule feeling it in my fingers out.

With that distribution it sounds like pressure on the ulnar nerve, either in the wrist (as in carpal tunnel syndrome) or in the upper arm/neck. Unlikely to be serious but you should see your GP and get it checked out.

And thanks to all other posters too, who came on while I was composing my last message. I have occasionally had a bad back in the past. And the rsi diagnosis might be relevant because when it was intermittent it usually coincided with computer time. Probably making it worse as I speak

I know this is of no use to you at all but I had a numb little finger on my left hand some months ago. It went on for a couple of days and I remember thinking it was a bit weird and wondering what it was all about but then it went away (can't remember how many days later) and I haven't had it since.

In saying that, you know yourself better than anyone so if you are even mildly concerned then it would be better to ask your GP about it, even if it was just to put your mind at rest.

Hope it goes soon.

Ulnar nerve in upper arm sounds promising in that it might fit in with the squash injury. Thank you so much all you knowledgeable MNers

Could be worth a trip to an osteopath - lots of muscles in the neck/shoulder can create pressure and squeeze the nerves. A bit of simple massage and manipulation can quickly relieve this.

Thanks becauseimwothit. I'd quite like to try an otseopath. Went to a chiropractor once, but , as it says in that Mark Haddon book, they seem to try to cure you by 'drawing a triangle in the air above your back'. Osteopath is more vigorous I understand.
Many thanks to everyone who has answered this thread. I really appreciate it.

Soounds like CT to me, I had numbness in in hand and all fingers and had to buy a splint for both hands which really helped. Time spend on the pc didn't help, just made it worse. If you try to type with splints on you can see how the wrist position you usually use can make problems worse.

I see an osteopath, probably once every 6 months, because I suffer from neck/shoulder problems. Mostly caused by stress. I occasionally suffer from this numbness/pins and needles, and can guarantee that a session will sort you out.

Each session starts with soft tissue massage - a bit deeper than just a therapeutic massage, but not painful in any way, and then may finish up with some joint 'cracking' to relieve any congestion/tightness - it sounds much worse than it is!

I can really recommend it.

Sounds good. One of ds2's classmates mum is an osteopath. Will ask her for recommendation.

If the numbness is the whole of your litte finger and just half your ring finger (little finger side) it is to do with the ulna nerve. I get this numbness due to a shallow ulnar groove in my elbow (the groove just inside the knobly bit of the elbow when arm is flexed). This is also the bit that hurts when you bash your elbow - when you catch your 'funny bone'. If this is the case, you could just have a shallow groove or changes around it, maybe due to previous injuries or a bit of early arthritis. Hth.

Thanks Kinki. This sounds startlingly accurate!

You're welcome!