numbness in pinky/ring finger

[Kooshball]

over the last few days i've had a sort of numbness/tingly feeling in my ring/pinky finger. it comes and goes but i also noticed when i went to play the guitar making a barre chord feels strange and my ability to bend strings forward a whole step is really difficult where i didn't have trouble a few weeks ago at our last show

has anyone experienced something like this before?
not sure if it's a pinched nerve or what but its affecting my guitar playing which is scary.

 

[Crowder]

That is probably an Ulnar Neuropathy, if I had to guess. The ulnar nerve runs down your arm and over the outside of your elbow (or actually in the channel between your bones, where you feel a tingle if you hit your "funny bone." Lots of everyday activities can put pressure on this nerve and cause numbness. If you rest your elbow against your desk at work, or against the hard part of your car door as you drive, it can cause numbness.

The good news is that if you relieve the pressure and learn to protect your elbow more, the feeling should return.

 

[rspencer]

I have a similar issue. My pinkies & that side of my ring fingers are constantly numb.
Talk to your doctor. You have a problem somewhere along your ulnar nerve (where is what your doc will need to determine, hopefully yours isn't spinal like mine).

 

[Kooshball]

If you rest your elbow against your desk at work, or against the hard part of your car door as you drive, it can cause numbness.

The good news is that if you relieve the pressure and learn to protect your elbow more, the feeling should return.

that's what i've read. since then i notice myself doing both of these..it just seemed so out of nowhere too. thanks for the input...hoping to avoid the doctor office if at all possible

 

[Rockledge]

My pinky and ring finger are sometimes numb when I wake in the morning, perhaps because of how I sleep. I started wearing a carpal tunnel brace to bed for a while when it got to be an every day thing and it has improved since. Still happens now and then.

 

[jabromusic]

i had the same problem a couple of months ago. it was an aggravated ulner nerve. i rested my arm and went for a few sessions of accupuncture and the numbness is basically gone. stress can play a part in all of this too.

 

[klatuu]

I had surgery for ulnar neuropathy about 2 years ago but mine had progressed to "claw hand" i.e., my pinkie and ring finger would no longer straighten or come together side by side. Incisions were made through my wrist into the palm of my hand and at my elbow to relieve the nerve. My surgeon told me that untreated that particular form can be permanent. No problems since in that hand, but of late my fretting hand is experiencing numbness in the pinkie and ring finger and my middle finger has some "trigger finger" and pain. If I play 15 or 20 minutes it actually feels much better. My brother is a neurosurgeon and has advised me to see my ortho again but I've been putting it off...........

 

[Kooshball]

stress can play a part in all of this too.

well my job stresses me out..and now this is too.

 

[Rockledge]

I seen a doctor on TV once say there is a simple thing you can do to help relieve carpal tunnel syndrome, for you guys who are concerned about it.
He said a few times a day you simply shake your hands in the air, like shaking water from them.

 

[jabromusic]

well my job stresses me out..and now this is too.

yeah, that could be it. i think 50 or 60% of my problem was also stress related. leaning on my computer desk with that elbow didn't help much either. the accupuncture definitely helped plus just resting the arm was good too. the nerve can either be pinched at your elbow or your neck and it's also possible (especially if it's stress) that the muscle near the nerve can be putting pressure on it.

 

[MetalOctane]

I had elbow surgery years ago (Ulnar nerve was out of it's channel) and my pinky and ring finger still have good and bad days when it comes to guitar playing.

 

[Julia343]

Mine has been like this for about 15 yrs. I had to retrain technique on the piano to work around it. Unfortunately there isn't any work around on guitar except ... well you could use lighter gauge strings. That seems to help.

 

[Kooshball]

i've got a doctors appointment for next friday...very scary stuff
it doesn't feel too bad today but like i said. i can't bend strings like i could last week.

we have a show thursday...will be interesting to see if i can pull it off
i've taken my hands/health for granted.

 

[Jahn]

I find this happening due to this:

 

[Kooshball]

yes, i'm in IT and behind a computer ALL day
now that i'm conscious of it i can avoid that...i just pray that it's only temporary and reversable.

playing guitar is my reason for being

 

[sacakl]

I find this happening due to this:

Yeah, I had problems in the same fingers after spending a marathon-session typing for a work project. I had also stopped going to the gym. Took my ring off for a little bit and it stopped getting worse but it didn't improve until I finally went back to the gym on regular basis.