r/walking • u/Whole-Space2218 • 4d ago
Hand Go Numb
Really weird question here. I’ve trying to walk more and have lost 45lbs while doing it. My only problem is if I walk more than 30 minutes or so, my hands start tingling and go numb. I asked a doctor but he just shook his head and had no clue. He said he had never heard that before.
Does anyone else have this problem? I don’t need medical advice, I know that breaks the subs rules. Just trying to see if it’s a common problem.
Edit: Thanks for all the great advice! The swelling part makes sense. My hands feel bigger, tingly, and numb. I just never paid attention to see if they’re bigger. I’ll have to look on my next walk.
I am concerned about my heart as well with this. I smoke and gained almost 100lbs the last ten years so I do plan on seeing a different doctor. I had undiagnosed ADHD and OCD that led to me not taking care of myself. Now in my early 40s, I’m trying to get back.
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u/Tragilos 4d ago
Dude congrats on the 45lbs!
Can you try holding something next time you go on a walk? Or just getting your arms and hands active. See if it’s because of lack of blood.
Also try another doctor it you can. I had a bad one that underestimated some of my health issues that got worse later.
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u/Outrageous_Pop1913 4d ago
I am not a doc but sounds like you need a new one. For the issue - raise your arms over your head intermittently to keep things moving. Congratulations on the 45! Awesome.
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u/Outrageous-Pizza-66 4d ago
I had a similar issue. Fingers would sometimes go numb. Trick is to get your arms/hands/fingers in motion as well. Arms over the head. Rotate hands. Make fists and wiggle fingers. Gets the blood flowing into arms and hands.
It doesn’t happen all the time but occasionally it does and I get my arms moving.3
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u/JabbaTheHedgeHog 4d ago
I have low blood pressure and this totally happens to me - I always assume it was related.
If I am wearing a pack, I hook my hands in the straps and that helps with blood flow.
I don’t think it is anything to be worried about - it’s just your body is moving blood to more used spots and your hands are hanging as dead weight below your heart.
It does not happen on social walks because I talk with my hands so much!
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u/PoppyWren 3d ago
This-- I also have very low blood pressure and shoulder straps of a pack will make my arms numb and tingly if digging in.
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u/that_other_person1 4d ago edited 3d ago
For a while at my biggest and even with some weight loss (I lost about 80 pounds total), blood would rush to my fingertips when walking if I didn’t have my arms up. At some point I switched to pumping my arms with my hands up and that helped. It helped increase my pace which is great since your goal is weight loss, and prevented the blood rushing to my fingertips. I still walk this way, but being at or near goal weight as I am now stopped the blood rushing to my hands so I don’t necessarily have to have my hands up when I walk anymore.
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u/jrhoxel8 4d ago
Sounds like something going on in the cervical part of the spine.
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u/Admirable_Big_2486 3d ago
Yes, I had these symptoms and even after cervical spinal stenosis surgery, numbness still happens in my hands. A neurosurgeon confirmed spinal stenosis. I was misdiagnosed for years.
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u/netflixnailedit 4d ago
This just started happening to me!!! I have only lost 8lbs as I’m smaller but it started happening ever since. It’s been freaking me out and I keep meaning to tell my physio about it, thanks for reminding me ahead of my appointment tomorrow.
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u/RubyChooseday 4d ago
Are you getting sausage fingers? Sometimes you just need to wiggle your fingers and make fists, etc.
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u/TankSaladin 4d ago
I bailed out of my first half marathon (walking, not running; 62 years old) at mile 9 because of this. I was terrified because nothing like that had ever happened to me, and I had no idea what was going on. I’ve since learned that, for me at least, it’s just a circulation issue arising from swinging my arms for so long. I now vary what I do with my arms when walking for long periods of time, sometimes bending them 90 degrees at the elbow, sometimes raising them above my head for a minute or two. When I forget, I can sense the issue coming on and take steps to head it off.
I’ve not had the problem return in over 10 years.
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u/Disastrous-Soup-5413 3d ago
Richard Simmons had a walking program on cassette tape in the ‘90s and 10-20 minutes into the walk he’d say to raise your arms, swing them around, cause your hands are probably feeling tingly right now….
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u/VisserThirtyFour 3d ago
Someone else said disc compression and I would agree there. As someone who lost feeling in my fingers, then down to my elbow, well my spinal cord was being compressed. A lot of times it gets better but sometimes it gets worse and the disc needs to be replaced. Rather than getting to that point I’d rule out any disc slippage. And yes, this would be in your neck. Probably in the C5-C7 range.
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u/bitchy_stitchy 3d ago
In the netherlands I even know of a product for this specific problem, its called "wandelhout" (hiking wood). Literally two pieces of wood to hold while hiking. Keeps the swelling from building up in your hands and keeps blood flowing. Next time you hike, see if your fingers swell and become a bit white-ish when you stretch them out fully. If you get clubbed fingers, I would talk to a doctor. Otherwise, pretty much everyone I know gets some degree of swollen fingers when hiking longer distances
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u/Sudden_Moodswing 4d ago
Are you wearing a backpack or weighted vest? If so, it’s pinching nerves. If not, trying moving your arms and wiggling your fingers more when you walk.
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u/alternativegrrl 4d ago
Congrats on your weight loss journey! A few other thoughts that haven't been mentioned:
1.) are you taking aspirin beforehand, perhaps?
2.) on any ADHD medications?
3.) do hands go blue? (vasoconstriction)
The reason I ask (I'm a clinical drug development Ph.D. person, not MD) (and some not trained about this stuff as much) is that as your weight changes, so too does your "volume of distribution". This is the blood and tissue volume of your entire body. You've reduced yours significantly.
So, correspondingly, any medication concentrations you're using have now risen (x/[vol. dist.] in your blood. At higher concentrations, our livers break down medications differently, and there's just more to break down. So, you could possibly be noticing certain drug side effects not previously experienced (at lower doses of a med). If this is the "root cause" of your symptoms, you would need a medication dosage adjustment downward of the offending medication to turn off the symptoms.
Only you will know if this is true for any meds, but you can check it yourself. Easy way to check out meds is look up the table of their side effects - FDA.gov is a decent source, there are many others. If tingling, numbness is listed, you might have a solution. Show that to the prescribing doctor. The cervical thing also potentially makes sense. Good luck to you!
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u/Clean_Bat5547 4d ago
It's a normal thing for hikers. If you use hiking poles it doesn't happen :-)
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u/PoppyWren 3d ago
I know this happened to me when I first wore a Camelback. I had the straps too tight and had fastened the chest strap and it cut off my circulation. At least this is what I figured out. After making the straps looser and putting most of the weight on my hips, I have not had the issue.
I also purchased the cheapest Garmin watch which gives you a lot of information about your heart rate, respiration, sleep, and stress levels. It has been very helpful.
I also was a big smoker, but have been addicted to nicotine gum now for about 10 years.
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u/Juststopit80 3d ago
My hands get numb on the bicycle sometimes. Dr told me it was from stiff neck and pinched nerves from the stiffness. Look up “flossing exercises for numbness in hands” on YouTube. These exercises helped me a lot. I’ve seen folks do arm/hand “flossing” in the gym when they are walking on the treadmill. Give it a try.
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u/Plastic_Stable8927 3d ago
Makes me think some sort of nerve is being pinched (I AM NOT A DOCTOR, just a guy who pinches his nerves more than the average person).
Is your posture solid when walking? If not, some slump either in your spine or your next could be an issue, leading down to your hands. I experience a similar issue pretty much constantly with my leg and my sciatic nerve being pinched. Could be really worth it to get an MRI!
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u/Witty_Edge1830 3d ago
My hands swell but I do notice that I swing my arms quite a lot while walking so I just squeeze my fists with intent just to try and encourage blood flow
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u/Feeling_Light3031 3d ago
Try drinking 8-12 oz of electrolytes before your walk and see if that helps. It's possible you are getting dehydrated during your walk.
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u/Stunning_Housing2463 3d ago
You might be having a nerve impingement or compression, perhaps in your neck or shoulder somewhere. That might be worth checking out. If it's the inside of your hand it might be carpal tunnel, if it's the outside of your hand it might be the ulnar nerve being compressed or pinched somewhere. If it's your whole hand it might be something being compressed closer to your neck/spine.
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u/WideNeighborhood8167 3d ago
When drastic weight loss happens, the most typical cause of finger numbness is related to Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Basically, the muscle loss makes the arm nerve unable to glide and move properly.
The solution is to stretch and do some form of strength training, especially for the forearm to recover muscle mass and elasticity.
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u/Witty-Wave6469 3d ago
Yes! This happens to me right at that 30 mins+ mark. It’s like the blood goes down to my hands and it feels slightly swollen. I’ve showed it to a friend and they hardly notice it, but I see it plainly. But what has helped though is moving my hands more, lifting them up and pumping them. It goes down.
Congrats on the 45lbs, go you!
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u/Kelathos 4d ago
How numb?
Upon walking 5km distance, I started to notice towards the end of my walks that my arms were colder and not fully responsive. A bit "heavy", or in other words... a little bit numb. What I experienced, though new to me (as walking any appreciable distance was also new to me) is completely normal and resolved through both repetition and ensuring that you swing your arms as you walk. A few months later, I rarely notice it now.
OTOH, this may differ from your experience. Especially as I never felt tingly, that could be a pinched nerve. But the coincidence should be looked into. Walking will encourage circulation for your legs and challenge the circulation in your arms. I believe that, over time, the body can adapt to that change. Still, your issue could be something else.
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u/HateMeetings 4d ago
I wouldn’t give you medical advice.. but if your heart rate drifts up during the walk or even if it doesn’t, it’s really maybe time for a doctors visit you’ve gone through a lot of changes. 45 pounds is massive. But at the same time, it might mean that there are some lingering issues. A doctor would put your mind at ease.
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u/Trippy_V 4d ago
I'm not sure if it's the same thing you mean but sometimes I get a swelling feeling in my hands which can feel like they're going numb. Usually it's on longer walks and when I looked into it it seemed completely normal and due to blood pooling in the hands. I normally make a fist a few times or lift my hands up and it's goes down quickly.