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Hello everyone, I'm pretty sure I'm experiencing a pinched nerve or something similar for the last 2 days now. I have a tingling, "funny bone" feel radiating from my elbow down into my pinky finger, which is making most tasks fairly difficult. My fingers have almost no strength and I have lowered range of motion in them as well. Is there anything I can do? I'm actually in quarantine right now so I need to get this solved at home. I can barely use a mouse let alone practice piano, it's been very problematic since this is also my dominant side.

Any suggestions??

I have some experience with that. I fell asleep exhausted, woke up the next morning with a dead arm. Didn't think much of it but the tingling didn't go away after a few minutes as usual.

It stayed with me for about 10 weeks and I thought it would never go away.

What helped for me the most was keeping my arm straight. You can tell when the nerve is pinched and you need to give it as much rest as possible.

Try to force your arm straight when you are sleeping.

If you got this by overuse, unfortunately the only way this is going away is change your ways until the nerve is healed.

There is all sorts of operations and injection solutions but those are last resort.

Like I said keep arm straight as much as possible. To me just dangling on my side felt best.

There is lots of good info on the web, here is a page for starters.

https://www.schreibermd.com/blog/2018/8/27/can-using-a-computer-cause-carpal-tunnel-syndrome

10 weeks!? Oh my goodness. Not the way I wanted to spend my time at home. Thank you for the response, I will make sure to keep it straight as much as possible. I do find that when I hold it a certain way I get that cold sensation of my forearm and hand 'waking up'. I will definitely take your advice!

I'm a pianist, not a physician.
That said, I have a bit of a specialization in working with students who have had injuries.
One of my students reported similar pain to yours.
After visits to various and sundry medical specialists - and if this pain persists, DO get examined, please - the term "Cubital Tunnel Syndrome" was one of the diagnoses.
There's an article here that explains it:http://blog.handcare.org/blog/2015/...nd-therapist-on-cubital-tunnel-syndrome/
The article advocates a homemade "straight" brace.
Other sources indicate that a specific type of brace is helpful.
Here's an example:

https://www.amazon.com/BraceAbility-Entrapment-Hyperextended-Prevention-Immobilizer/dp/B01E7U3O4C


I hope people find this helpful.

Professional medical advise is required. You want to make sure you don't make things worse. My piano teacher said never play in pain.

In the meantime:

- take some time off repetitive (most) activities with hands, arms, shoulders...

- research you laptop/desk/chair egronomics. Consider moving mouse to other side.

- consider changing hands for mobile phone. And research how you are using your fingers for interaction.

I have had this problem and it took a few years to recover. Still I don't feel I have fully recovered.

You definitely need an elbow brace that will prevent your arm from bending, especially during sleep.

Rest your arm all the time. Do not even carry a small bottle of water with your injured arm.

You may be suprised of how beneficial the development of your weak hand and arm can be.
Don't hurry, take your time for your arm to heal completely.

Check out piano music for RH and LH alone on both the internet and also imslp.org. IMHO it is a great tool for your non-dominant hand.