Big Boys Hobbies

Something to be aware of...

A

AZWIP

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
976
Location
Phoenix AZ
Howdy folks... just some free advice... seems a pinched nerve, perhaps an entrapped ulnar nerve is
stopping me now from enjoying a hunt, sigh... may very well have to train myself in lefty hunting...

Anyways, just wanted ya'll too be aware...I "suspect" my hunting may have triggered this,,, but let me start from the beginning first...

Been hunting about 4 years now, and hunt hard and frequently... ok.. a little less than 2 years
ago... fell asleep on couch with right arm folded behind my head... ended up in great pain if I moved my head a certain way... FF to doc visit, pain meds etc... seemed I had pinched nerve in neck and possibly rotator cuff... caused me a great deal of pain down the right arm, into hand... pinky and ring finger numb etc... ok, pain pills etc ... finally was ok, but the top of the hand was always numb... I left it alone...

Now, a few nights ago... hunting hard, ground like cement... I am putting my whole weight into
getting the Lesche to go deep enough... to where my palm is hurting... ok... no big deal... ignore
it...keep hunting... forearm hurts now too... digging too hard...

Get home... arm/forearm a bit sore... decide to try a "Tens Unit" I connect it to top of hand and top or wrist... turn it on... causes my three small fingers to curl up... weird... I run the
machine for 15 mins anyways... fingers curl uncurl... (hmmm, wonder if this made things worse???)

Now, next day... unable to bend my wrist up and flex my fingers straight?!??!!?!!

Have no strength/grip in the hand... can't type with the hand... am unable to hold my wrist straight
and extend my fingers straight... just can't do it!! Frustrating! If I entend my arm in front
of me... then try to flip my hand up, like making a HALT statement, right... I can't do it!!
My fingers will not straighten, period.

Have never had this happen... no real pain associated... just unable to control the muscles.

Can't extend the fingers for a handshake.... ugh.... been 4 days now... will give it some more time
before finding the doc I guess.

Research on internet... sure sounds like pinched ulnar nerve, or cubital nerve entrapped...
either way... no fun. If I try to unscrew a jar lid... then hurts like the dickens... mainly
forearm... but again... pinky and ring finger do not extend!!!

Anyways... not sure if anyoen ever had this... but... just thought I'd share and caution
ya'll. Listen too your body when hunting I guess.

Happy Hunting

Ron
 
Wow, get to a Doctor as soon as possible so that it doesn't cause other issues and worsen in the mean time. :yes:

.
 
I had a similar thing happen years ago when I was recovering from a smashed ankle. I got up one morning and my hand was partially numb and whenever I tried to grip something my entire hand would curl inward starting at the wrist and I had to use my other hand to straighten it.

After a couple of different doctors I found one who had me stand with my crutches under my arms and based on that he determined that my crutches had been set too tall to begin with and that the constant pressure on a pressure point (my term not his) under my arm had pinched a nerve.

A relaxer (probably as much for my nerves as anything) and a week or so with the crutches properly adjusted and I was good to go.

Hopefully your solution will be as simple.
 
The ulnar nerve will affect your elbow and pinky/ring fingers. Its also referred to as your funny bone by many people. Tons of things can cause it to inflame and a huge one is sleeping with your arm bent. Overuse such as talking on a phone for long periods of time with your arm bent or any bending of the arm activity can cause it to be over used. Watch your sleeping habits. Keep that arm straight when you sleep. Usually that plus some activities causes us to damage that nerve. Metal detecting can definitely cause this injury too or at least contribute to it.

The good news is it will heal. The bad news is that it can take a long time. PT would go a long way for you. Even 2-3 sessions just to get you on a program and learn what to do/not to do. You really need to learn to stretch the ulnar nerve. You can probably google it to but I would go to a PT.

In the meantime, I would start using your other arm while this one heals. It could be a few months.
 
AZWIP said:
Howdy folks... just some free advice... seems a pinched nerve, perhaps an entrapped ulnar nerve is
stopping me now from enjoying a hunt, sigh... may very well have to train myself in lefty hunting...

Anyways, just wanted ya'll too be aware...I "suspect" my hunting may have triggered this,,, but let me start from the beginning first...

Been hunting about 4 years now, and hunt hard and frequently... ok.. a little less than 2 years
ago... fell asleep on couch with right arm folded behind my head... ended up in great pain if I moved my head a certain way... FF to doc visit, pain meds etc... seemed I had pinched nerve in neck and possibly rotator cuff... caused me a great deal of pain down the right arm, into hand... pinky and ring finger numb etc... ok, pain pills etc ... finally was ok, but the top of the hand was always numb... I left it alone...

Now, a few nights ago... hunting hard, ground like cement... I am putting my whole weight into
getting the Lesche to go deep enough... to where my palm is hurting... ok... no big deal... ignore
it...keep hunting... forearm hurts now too... digging too hard...

Get home... arm/forearm a bit sore... decide to try a "Tens Unit" I connect it to top of hand and top or wrist... turn it on... causes my three small fingers to curl up... weird... I run the
machine for 15 mins anyways... fingers curl uncurl... (hmmm, wonder if this made things worse???)

Now, next day... unable to bend my wrist up and flex my fingers straight?!??!!?!!

Have no strength/grip in the hand... can't type with the hand... am unable to hold my wrist straight
and extend my fingers straight... just can't do it!! Frustrating! If I entend my arm in front
of me... then try to flip my hand up, like making a HALT statement, right... I can't do it!!
My fingers will not straighten, period.

Have never had this happen... no real pain associated... just unable to control the muscles.

Can't extend the fingers for a handshake.... ugh.... been 4 days now... will give it some more time
before finding the doc I guess.

Research on internet... sure sounds like pinched ulnar nerve, or cubital nerve entrapped...
either way... no fun. If I try to unscrew a jar lid... then hurts like the dickens... mainly
forearm... but again... pinky and ring finger do not extend!!!

Anyways... not sure if anyoen ever had this... but... just thought I'd share and caution
ya'll. Listen too your body when hunting I guess.

Happy Hunting

Ron
Click to expand...

I pinched or pulled a nerve in my shoulder many, many years ago lifting weights. had some of the same symptoms you describe for a year or two.
Earlier this week I was out detecting long and hard in the heat, several hours after I returned home my hands started cramping up. I had very little control of them, I was pretty scared and even set my phone on the table and punched in "911" but did not hit the call button just in case I got to a point I could not control my hands enough to dial. I think it was a mild case of heat stroke. Have to be careful out there and don't over do it. Especially us old guys!
 
Great info Adam bomb, always learn something new here. joinned1 hope you get some help and don't wait !!
HH
 
Thanks

Thanks for the well wishes and for sharing and advice... I'm hoping too that this will clear on
its own... crazy. Hmm, yeah, under my arm, there is a point that causes some pain from time to time... interesting.

I'll give until Monday... like I said, was never back to normal since July of 2014... but at least
I had no strength issues or coordination etc...I could use hand and arm, no problem... after a few months of pain meds etc... but thsi definitely feels like ulnar... pinky and ring finger curling
etc etc... will give it more time. Oh yeah, another really tender spot... under the elbow....ouch! Lol

Glad to hear that ya'll recovered... amd hoping mine will as well.
 
sorry to hear this... I too dig in daily pain, I had cervical surgery a few years ago and my hands still go numb and burn. after swinging for even an hour my right arm is killing me...when I get home I have to take some aleve and just deal with the discomfort of the pain, burning and numbness. I'm not to worried though as I have been dealing with ulner nerve issues on both sides for years. I also have severe carpal tunnel and that makes my hands burn , go numb and my fingers curl like you have posted.
Most of my arm, hand issues were traced back to my badly deteriorated neck by one of those tests were they start at your hands and check your nerves. I hope a little rest and maybe a change in how you detect or for how long at a time will really help you feel better... pain is a horrible thing to live with, explaining it to someone that does not feel it daily is hard. I hope they listen.
 
30 years ago i slept on my arm and woke up with numbness in my arm and couldnt lift my sagging wrist..still had grip control in my hand but couldnt straighten my wrist...recovery was slow,took 6 weeks to heal and even then i certainly wasnt 100% ... i was in my 20s back then... i would seek medical attention just for peace mind if nothing else... there was no treatment or even much therapy that i remember. ..its scary ... hope it all works out for you...
 
Thanks

Thanks again folks, and quick healing to ya'll that need it as well. Stinks getting injured... I'll give mine until Monday or Tuesday... as of today... no change,... can't extend and flex the fingers, very frustrating at best.

Encouraged by hearing that it can hopefully resolve itself... I am popping 3 advil every 4-6 hours to hopefully relax the muscle and speed up the recovery process.

Really makes you appreciate the hand that's useless though... can't use it to wash the hair or face... doing all that with left only. Crazy!

Happy Hunting!

Ron
 
Etc

Howdy again... just some advice... might be worth wearing padded gloves (at least padded in the palm area) when you dig. I know I dug hard as rock ground and really had to put effort and pressure onto the right hand palm etc... and next day - it was hosed, and as mof today... still is. No change.

Hope ya'll are smarter than I. (-:

Ron
 
Yup

Will probably be making an appt with a hand specialist soon... had hoped by now it would have started to get better... been over a week. Thanks again folks and Happy Hunting!
 
Wow. I am new to this forum but the exact same thing happened to me. I was doing a long hunt- over three days from sun up till dark. The morning after the hunt, I went to lift a shower towel off the rack and wham! My shoulder was hosed. It got worse and reached the point where the pain radiated down my arm. The doc said it was a "Repetitive Use Injury", put me on steroids plus physical therapy and told me to switch up arms more often. That was 4 years ago and I have practiced the arm switching technique every time I am out for more than two hours.


I guess folks who swing a lot for long periods should pay attention to this one.

Oh btw: Go to the doc ASAP. You will feel better fast. This is one of those things that will not get better on its own. The nerve is pinched between the vertebrate and will only become more aggravated... I held out two weeks and that was stupid.
 
Quick Update

Howdy folks... finally got in to see the hand surgeon/specialist... he suspects possible radial nerve... had to schedule appt with Neuro diagnostics folks.. for EMG (?)... to make sure.

Appt is another week or so away... am wearing a hard plastic custom fitted brace... not sure if it will help... but, reckon it can't hurt.

Thanks for sharing ya'lls experiences/fixes as well, I appreciate it.

Getting hunting withdrawals lol... have gone a handful (no pun intended) of times, hunted lefty... wow, don't make a whole lot of progress.

Happy Hunting folks!

Ron
 
It's always a personal choice about seeing a doctor. A doctor can't really heal you, we have to do that part ourselves. A doctor can help you heal quicker, correctly, ease your pain. Sometimes, you can just 'walk it off', and everything will be fine, eventually.

There is always the potential for something healing in the wrong position, and will keep causing the same problem. Waiting, just makes it worse, more complicated and expensive to correct. Always risks with any surgery, there is scar tissue, which can give you pain the rest of your life. Usually, something that is giving you crippling pain, or causing your body to do weird and uncontrollable things, should be looked, or risk it becoming permanent.

I'll give most things a few days to improve. Most pain comes from swelling (inflammation). Once the swelling goes down, the pain goes away, function returns to normal. Does show any sign of improvement, I'll go see a doctor.
 
Update

Howdy again, I know its been a while, but figured I'd drop an update, and again, thanks to you all for the advice etc, I really appreciate it.

So, as a summary, I ended up getting nerve release (entrapped?) surgery at the top of the elbow area I guess for lack of appropriate terminology, lol. That was back in October, two months of PT followed, and they told me, that they are hopeful that this will correct the problem... so, here it is approx. 4 to 5 months later, and I "think" things may be getting a wee bit better... hard to tell... still cannot fully extend the fingers when I hold my wrist straight... ugh... but I think/hope its getting better as I can now at least extend my thumb again... doc did say could take upwards of 6 to 12 months "after" this surgery as nerves heal very slowly. I'm hoping/praying all will recover fully. I do have a brace I'm supposed to wear as much as I can. Makes me look like Wolverine from X-Men, lol.

So, all that to say, more time to allow healing I reckon. And again, a WARNING, folks, try not to "hang your head down" constantly during the hunt as I did to always look at the ground - that helped goof up neck nerves around the C6, 7 and 8 I guess) and give your arm a break... listen to your body I reckon.

I have been hunting as a lefty for a number of months now, it slows me down sure, but it is what it is for now. Until all heals.

Also, when it begins to get sore (the left), I stop now, lol. Sooooooo addicted to this fun hobby! Lol!

And I try to remind myself to not drop my head as much during the hunt.

Happy hunting folks!!

Ron F.
---------
 
Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery, hope things finish healing sooner than later !

......since this thread is cautioning people about stuff, everyone PLEASE be careful how you pick up things with any weight to it. Sometimes we get in a hurry or think we are he-men and just grab heavy stuff and lift without thinking. THAT is an easy way to get a hernia. So please do not try to lift something by yourself that is too heavy for one person. ......and when you do lift, bend with the knees, not your back !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Advice please
Replies
6
Views
53
Toddy654
T
maxxkatt
Which detector was the hardest to learn for you?
Replies
7
Views
59
Cherry Picker
Cherry Picker
M
Meteorite Rockhounding
Replies
5
Views
57
Montrose81401
M
Z
Silver ore
Replies
7
Views
136
hoser
hoser
V
Who did it?
Replies
13
Views
209
Kansashunter
Kansashunter
Back
Top Bottom