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I started having problems with my elbow and two (when looking at my palm) innermost fingers (pinky and ring fingers). At the beginning I thought it's tennis elb

I started having problems with my elbow and two (when looking at my palm) innermost fingers (pinky and ring fingers). At the beginning I thought it's tennis elbow, but then started having problems with my neck as well and getting dizzy (vertigo, headache and sometimes nausea) when lying down and getting up from the bed. I've noticed that that happens most when my head is on flat surface and even more when it reclines back (when a physiotherapist lowered my head below the flat surface of the bed I was ling on). Did anyone experience something like this or has any advice? I did have an ultrasound and EMG (electromyography) done which did not show any problems in my elbow. I do exercise for my neck now and hope that will help... I might add some exercises from the OP to my routine. PS. Funnily my problems (at the beginning it was only elbow and fingers) started during lockdown, when I finally started doing yoga-type exercises and I felt like I'm getting better at it (I think it's just coincidence, not causation though).

jacksonkmarley 6y ago
Curious about this, what was the issue with your fingers? Pain or numbness?
- renw0rp 6y ago
  feeling weaker grip and sensations leading sometimes to clumsiness. I would describe it as slight numbness (in the sense of weaker sensations and a weird, kind of tingly feeling in the fingers). It was becoming a proper numbness when using phone/tablet for prolonged periods, but now I try to avoid doing that. I have similar tingly sensation in my elbow, and in the worst time I actually woke up at night with pain in the elbow. It's sometimes better, sometimes worse, and I'm trying what else (other than giving up my job and using computer) can I do to help relieve this issues. COVID pandemic is not helping either getting proper medical attention.
  - PaulHoule 6y ago
    Check your blood sugar
    - renw0rp 6y ago
      I actually had some fasting glucose tests done recently (different labs) 20.10.2020: 92 mg/dl 23.10.2020: 91.5 mg/dl Both labs give around 70-100 as a normal range. Would you suggest something more? I had glucose tolerance test done around 2 years ago (glucose&insuline tested before/after consuming 75g of glucose; sample taken at 0h, 1h, 2h). Looks like I have "insuline resistance" which prompted me to eat more vegetables and lose some weight, but I need to admit that it's hard for me to give up on fruits and sweets.
      - PaulHoule 6y ago
        Many people will tell you that your fasting glucose should be as "low as possible" and you'd be better off at the low end of the range than the high end of the range, but really if you are under 110 then doctors are not going to get excited. If you were a lot higher than that it would be a concern in and of itself and a source of tinglingness and other nerve trouble in the long term.
  - jacksonkmarley 6y ago
    If by "using phone/tablet" you mean the hand holding it up is getting these symptoms I actually also get this and my guess is that it is a general circulation problem (I am not a doctor!). FWIW I didn't find an exercise solution, but actually some common spices that apparently promote circulation did help me (not medical advice!): ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper.
    - benibela 6y ago
      I get something like that as well I just sit there normally and my arms start tingling. Or the leg falls asleep. It has been getting worse since I am 30 Not so good to sit 14h/day at the PC
mike_h 6y ago
Elbow plus those two fingers implicates ulnar nerve, which passes from your lower neck (C8 and T1 vertebrae), through your clavicle and behind your elbow, into pinky and ring finger. If it gets entrapped by tight tissue anywhere on the way down (look up “thoracic outlet syndrome” for example), it can cause issues below, e.g. in elbow and those two fingers. For the neck and dizziness I forget how things work, e.g. if it means the the problem is rooted in your neck / spine area or if the neck symptoms could also be rooted lower further along the nerve. It could all be due to mobility problems along the same nerve, or if you’ve been hunching at a computer for a while, there could be additional issues in the neck with other nerves or circulation. This is the kind of thing physical therapists and chiropractors work on, but at least when I went through it a decade ago, it was really hard to find one who could troubleshoot the problem and reason about the body vs. going by a lookup table of symptoms and approved treatments. The things that helped me were tissue-loosening massage in the neck, shoulder, and upper rib area. It finally went away one day when the therapist loosened my top rib enough to stop impinging on the nerve. Just to give you an example of how counterintuitive it can be. As a general cheat sheet, be thinking about places nerves could get impinged from vertebrae through wrist. Tight muscles, tissue locking you into certain postures, vertebral misalignment. I bet there’s more info on reddit and places like that now, but one book that used to be good for modeling the whole system was called “It’s not carpal tunnel syndrome”. Also look up trigger point therapy. During pandemic you may be more on your own so be aware of self-massage tools like Theracane. Posture work may also help, and walking / general cardio fitness.

jacksonkmarley 6y ago

Curious about this, what was the issue with your fingers? Pain or numbness?

renw0rp 6y ago
feeling weaker grip and sensations leading sometimes to clumsiness. I would describe it as slight numbness (in the sense of weaker sensations and a weird, kind of tingly feeling in the fingers). It was becoming a proper numbness when using phone/tablet for prolonged periods, but now I try to avoid doing that. I have similar tingly sensation in my elbow, and in the worst time I actually woke up at night with pain in the elbow. It's sometimes better, sometimes worse, and I'm trying what else (other than giving up my job and using computer) can I do to help relieve this issues. COVID pandemic is not helping either getting proper medical attention.
- PaulHoule 6y ago
  Check your blood sugar
  - renw0rp 6y ago
    I actually had some fasting glucose tests done recently (different labs) 20.10.2020: 92 mg/dl 23.10.2020: 91.5 mg/dl Both labs give around 70-100 as a normal range. Would you suggest something more? I had glucose tolerance test done around 2 years ago (glucose&insuline tested before/after consuming 75g of glucose; sample taken at 0h, 1h, 2h). Looks like I have "insuline resistance" which prompted me to eat more vegetables and lose some weight, but I need to admit that it's hard for me to give up on fruits and sweets.
    - PaulHoule 6y ago
      Many people will tell you that your fasting glucose should be as "low as possible" and you'd be better off at the low end of the range than the high end of the range, but really if you are under 110 then doctors are not going to get excited. If you were a lot higher than that it would be a concern in and of itself and a source of tinglingness and other nerve trouble in the long term.
- jacksonkmarley 6y ago
  If by "using phone/tablet" you mean the hand holding it up is getting these symptoms I actually also get this and my guess is that it is a general circulation problem (I am not a doctor!). FWIW I didn't find an exercise solution, but actually some common spices that apparently promote circulation did help me (not medical advice!): ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper.
  - benibela 6y ago
    I get something like that as well I just sit there normally and my arms start tingling. Or the leg falls asleep. It has been getting worse since I am 30 Not so good to sit 14h/day at the PC

mike_h 6y ago

Elbow plus those two fingers implicates ulnar nerve, which passes from your lower neck (C8 and T1 vertebrae), through your clavicle and behind your elbow, into pinky and ring finger. If it gets entrapped by tight tissue anywhere on the way down (look up “thoracic outlet syndrome” for example), it can cause issues below, e.g. in elbow and those two fingers. For the neck and dizziness I forget how things work, e.g. if it means the the problem is rooted in your neck / spine area or if the neck symptoms could also be rooted lower further along the nerve. It could all be due to mobility problems along the same nerve, or if you’ve been hunching at a computer for a while, there could be additional issues in the neck with other nerves or circulation. This is the kind of thing physical therapists and chiropractors work on, but at least when I went through it a decade ago, it was really hard to find one who could troubleshoot the problem and reason about the body vs. going by a lookup table of symptoms and approved treatments. The things that helped me were tissue-loosening massage in the neck, shoulder, and upper rib area. It finally went away one day when the therapist loosened my top rib enough to stop impinging on the nerve. Just to give you an example of how counterintuitive it can be. As a general cheat sheet, be thinking about places nerves could get impinged from vertebrae through wrist. Tight muscles, tissue locking you into certain postures, vertebral misalignment. I bet there’s more info on reddit and places like that now, but one book that used to be good for modeling the whole system was called “It’s not carpal tunnel syndrome”. Also look up trigger point therapy. During pandemic you may be more on your own so be aware of self-massage tools like Theracane. Posture work may also help, and walking / general cardio fitness.