J asks: Sometimes I get a sharp pain in my pinky or thumb, it usually then jumps to my elbow or back/neck area, then goes away. Why should that be? Is there one long nerve that’s being activated? Why does it think there’s pain in two relatively distant places? Is there a reason I get the random finger pain in the first place?
I’m not a neurologist (darn it, I used to have access to neurologists!) but I wanted to try and shed some light on possible causes.
The nervous system is quite vast and complex. It consists of nerves throughout the entire body that feed into the spinal cord which connects to the big bad brain. Nerves are a bit like water systems in that creeks (teensy nerves) can feed into bigger streams (moderately-sized nerves) which feed into rivers (jumbo nerves).
The neuropathic pain being described here seems to be affecting the ulnar nerve aka “funny bone.” Maybe caused by repetitive stress? I know you are more than likely doing a lot of manual writing and typing. The ulnar nerve innervates the pinky and half of the ring finger, and the median nerve innervates the other half of the ring finger and the rest of the digits. These nerves run the length of the arm and link up with the brachial plexus, a collection of nerves around the upper chest. Could be carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel syndrome?
From the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons on carpal tunnel (kinda sounds like what you’re describing):
Symptoms usually begin gradually, without a specific injury.
- Numbness, tingling, and pain in the hand are common.
- An electric-like shocking feeling in the fingers or hand.
The thumb side of the hand is usually most involved.
Symptoms may occur at any time. Symptoms at night are common and may awaken you from sleep. During the day, symptoms frequently occur when holding something, like a phone, or when reading or driving. Moving or shaking the hands often helps decrease symptoms.
Sometimes strange sensations and pain will travel up the arm toward the shoulder. Symptoms initially come and go, but over time they may become constant. A feeling of clumsiness or weakness can make delicate motions, like buttoning buttons, difficult.
One of the chief difficulties in pain treatment and management is the fact that pain is so difficult to describe. Each person experiences pain differently, very subjective. So many adjectives can be used to flesh out pain: sharp, tingling, mild, and so on and so forth. Good luck and hope the jumping pain stops bothering you!
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