Should I have my elbow check-out | Arthritis Information

My pinky finger and ring finger keep going numb. My elbow is starting to freeze and sometimes when I sleep I keep it bent but when I notice this I try and straighten it out. That's when my fingers go numb. When I wake up or turn over I literally can't feel my fingers. I have to hang my arm over the bed to increase blood flow. I have spoken to my RA Doc and she recommends PT before I even think about surgery.

you are experiencing ulnar nerve compression most likely at the elbow. This has nothing to do with blood circulation. What happens when you hang the arm off the bed is removing the pressure on the nerve.

You certainly might benefit from a cortisone injection into the elbow to help with the inflammation Pt can help improve your ROM. One really cheap suggestion from my hand surgeon was to wrap a towel around my elbow at night. The towel prevents you from compressing the nerve unconsiously at night. Be careful about leaning on your elbows or on the nerve path...watch your keyboard posture. Ultimately if the non invasive things don't work you might need surgery to move the nerve. The surgeon relocated my nerve when he replaced my elbows..no more tingling and numbness