[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/extraneous text from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] Hi Marcia, The symptoms you describe are consistent with ulnar nerve entrapment either at the wrist or the elbow. It is something like carpal tunnel syndrome, but in the ulnar rather than the median nerve distribution. I hate to say it but you should stop paddling and get yourself to a good hand surgeon, who can identify precisely where the problem lies. Since your symptoms resolved, this may require a nerve conduction study. With this degree of sensory impairment, motor problems likely aren't far behind if you continue to insult the ulnar nerve. This isn't good as grip strength (baseball bat style) is with the pinky and ring fingers in contrast to pinching, which is thumb and pointer finger. More importantly, if the problem is not addressed (even if this simply means adjusting your paddling mechanics) and the symptoms continue to occur, you could end up with long term nerve damage, which you definitely don't want. Best of luck in getting this sorted out, John >On Wednesday, August 20, 2003, at 11:59 AM, Marcia Tauber wrote: > >>I just got back from my first week long expedition in the Puget >>Sound. After about five days of paddling, I began noticing some tingling >>in the finger tips on my right hand. After the sixth day, my right hand >>was totally numb from the middle, ring and pinky fingers almost to my >>wrist. This lasted for about half a day. I was trying to be careful >>about not gripping the paddle too tightly, although I did have a couple >>of fairly long, windy crossings. What was I doing wrong and what should >>I do differently next time? Thanks for your advice. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Aug 20 2003 - 14:26:08 PDT
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