Numbness From Using A Hook Grip?

A Society of Strength poster has been experiencing progressive numbness in his thumb and hand and wonders what it is and whether it's caused by the hook grip he uses for deadlifting.

He asks:

For the past six months or so my left hand has been numb in varying degrees.

I didn't know what to make of it until last week when the day after heavy deadlifting with my usual hook grip it was really numb the next day. It's still numb, although less so, as of today.

Does anybody else who uses a hook grip experience this?

Responses:

I use the hook grip very rarely and I have yet to notice that.

Use it all the time, no numbmess.

Is the hand just numb when you use the hook grip, or is it bothering you throughout the day? Is it just certain fingers, or an overall numbness?

You really don't want to mess around with numbness; it's often a sign that you've got some nerve entrapment going on. Not a good thing.

The original poster:

Since my last DL session using the hook grip it hasn't stopped bothering me.

Before that, it came and went and I never noticed a correlation between the two.

I also have numbness and tingling in my mid back on the same side of my body, but that started after the numbness in my hand did.

Just some nonsencial anecdotal crap but I experienced hand numbness before I torn my cuff muscles.

Yikes - not good. What part of your hand is numb? Pinky and ring fingers? Middle and index? Thumb?

The original poster:

It started in my pinky and ring fingers and now it's spreading.

I'm starting to get a bit worried.

Well the pinkie and the medial aspect of your ring finger indicate an ulnar nerve issue, how exactly is it spreading? Where has it spread to?

Smug, I had the same symptoms last spring, after shoving a needle 1" into the meaty part of my palm. Took about 3mos before everything was normal.

Well, it's definitely an ulnar nerve issue, no question of that.

The fact that you have ascending numbness tells us something but not being a neurologist I'm going to stop talking now.

Sounds largely like an ulnar nerve entrapment. Move to Alberta and come see my ART guy.

Definitely ulnar nerve to some degree, but whatever you do, don't leave your doctor's office until he has checked out C7, C8, and T1 at your spine. C8-T1 give rise (eventually) to the medial cord of the brachial plexus, which in turn forms the ulnar nerve. The symptoms in the hand can just be referred from the spine, and it's even more likely if you've been complaining of some upper back pain.

Ulnar nerve stuff usually occurs at the elbow, but you want to rule everything out. Chances are that ART is going to help you a ton, if it is the elbow. If it's the spine, a simple adjustment could fix everything pretty quickly.

It's the ascending numbness that has me thinking it might be a more distal entrapment but it's certainly good advice to ensure that everything is checked out prior to leaving the office.