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Serendipity
Written by Cath on Wednesday, April 8, 2009
I woke up this morning to total lack of feeling in all the fingers of my left hand! It was extraordinary. My fingers were curled and overlapping. When I touched them with my other hand there was nothing and although I could move them I had no proprioception.
Sadly of course they returned to normal within about a minute. I’m probably the only person I’ll ever meet who would have no interest in getting treatment for Carpel Tunnel, which I have read can eventually be irreversible if left. I’m not sure if I have it or just the odd trapped nerve, but the incidence of waking up to numb fingers is increasing in my house.
It reminds me of the time when, aged 19, I went on a cycling holiday. My friend and I had stopped for a picnic lunch and the predictably unpredictable English summer weather decided to reward us with a downpour. We were sitting under some trees and there was no other shelter for several hundred yards. At first it wasn’t too torrential and we huddled crosslegged in our macs, deciding to wait it out. After about half an hour of steady rain it turned into a cloudburst. I had been carefully sitting very still indeed, so as not to let the rain through my now dripping mac and when my friend suggested that with nothing to lose, this was the time to bolt for a church porch about a hundred yards away I thought no problem, I’d just grab my stuff and run.
Except that when I stood up I took one step and collapsed on the sopping grass like a rag doll. I was shocked. One leg appeared to be missing, as far as my nerve endings were telling me. All the way up. No pins and needles to shock me into action, no nothing. I had to sit there for a good ten minutes, rain pouring down my face, until it woke up sufficiently for me to stand, never mind leg it to shelter. But it didn’t matter because the rain was forgotten for a short while and I felt incredible. I’ve never forgotten what it was like. I’ve tried inducing a dead leg deliberately since, but for some reason it has never worked so well as that first time. Maybe it was the surprise that made it special.
Tags: Nerve, Proprioception
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7 Comments
I find if I sit on a bed with my back flat against the bedboard and my legs straight and together in front of me they fall asleep. After about 20 minutes I lose sensation and the ability to move my knees down, bum, and back of my thighs. It can feel like I am paralysed for real. Amazing feeling. When I lay back down again it’s gone in a minute though. I always hope it stays. Strange to want that.
@Rich. I was wondering if people had found reliable ways of making this happen deliberately. I should try this.
It does work for me any time. I have chickened out of holding it more than half hour though. Maybe I will get the nerve to try it.
I have a feeling it just stretches my nerve roots in my lower back.My circulation is fine and my legs stay warm with a pulse so it is nerve.
Let me know if you need any explaination. Just email me.
@Rich
As a physiotherapist I can confirm that what you are doing is putting a mild stretch on your nerves. There shouldn’t be any long term damage from holding it for longer, you should just find that the numbness takes longer before you return to normal.
I’m not really sure if that’s good news or bad news but hope it’s useful anyway.
Rich, i tried your way of making legs numb, it seems quite cool, my feet became numb after a few minutes, the remaining parts of legs were only mildly numb, so there wasn’t any deep paralysis, bu it’s cool nevertheless. thanks!
@john. Thanks for the info. Now I know that it should be reletively harmless, ok going to rent some movies be try this position for a whole day. I should be paralysed after that, just will have to see how long it lasts. Exciting.
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1 On 8 April, 2009, Seth said:
I have this reoccurring dream that I’m a LAK amp, in a chair. Life is great. Then I wake up. One time, after having this dream, I hopped around my bedroom for a good 5 minutes trying to find the jeans I wanted to wear, when I felt a pain in my left foot. I thought, “That must be a phantom pain.” No, I looked down, and I had stubbed my big toe on my left foot one of my sons toys. Talk about a reality check…