severe hand cramps

Hi ladies,

i am 26 weeks pregnant and for the past 1 week i am experiencing severe pain and numbness in my fingers on left hand.i tried oil massage,streching exercises,heat therapy and even a wrist band..nothing seems to help.the pain is gradually getting worse that i could not do any work or sleep at night.have anyone else experienced this?

Cramps and numbness in fingers is not usually seen associated with pregnancy. Depending on the fingers which are numb it can tell what causes the condition. Also it depends on one's work pattern (long hrs with typing), or sleep patterns where you could kink a nerve etc. So check it out with your ob and ask if you need to talk to an internist or specialist. Make sure you don't get any massages in your neck and back from massage parlors before you check the condition with your doc... as the massage therapists do not have that much professional info and can worsen the scenario. Hopefully your doc will resolve it and you'll feel better. Keep us updated.
-L.

Hi,
What you are experiencing sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome which sometimes occurs in pregnancy because of increased pressure in the canal along which the nerves to the hand travel. The pressure is due to the increased body fluid during pregnancy. The following article gives you more info and ways to decrease the symptoms Carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy - BabyCenter HTH.

Vanathi.

Hello lavanya and vanathi,
thanks for the response.vanathi,ya my symptoms looks like carpal tunnel syndrome.unfortunately,from what i have found there is no treatment for this during pregnancy.i find this numbness so painful that i am unable to grasp things during day and sleep at night.i dont know how i am going to survive this pain and sleepless nights for another 3 months.can anyone suggest me any pain relief techniques?

I've had carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis before pregnancy. here are a few excercises you should do a few times a day

1. Stand near a wall. Place your palm on the wall with fingers pointing to the ceinling and your hand staight parallel to the floor. Hold for 15 seconds. Then turn your fingers to point to the floor and again hold for 15 seconds. Repeat 4-5 times.

2. Place a soft ball or ball of dough in your palm and squeeze it tightly. Release and repeat atleast 10 times.